What was convict life like?

Answer 1

Convicts were treated horribly! -If the convicts misbehaved or didn't do as asked, they would get 'boxed' or whipped with cat-o'-nine-tail. The cat-o'-nine-tail would leave horrible red marks on the person's back

Answer 2

Life for the convicts varied according to a number of factors, such as which penal colony in Australia they were sent to, along with the convict's own background, and whether or not he/she was assigned to a free settler.

The conditions were harsh, but largely depended on the colony to which they were sent. For example, Captain Logan, the first Governor of the Moreton Bay colony dealt particularly harshly in matters of discipline (and earned an untimely death via murder as a result). Punishment might have involved loss or reduction of rations or tobacco, while harsher punishments involved a lashing with the cat-o'-nine-tails, a cruel leather whip with 9 "tails", each with a sharp piece of metal in the end, which would gouge out the skin. A convict might receive 40 lashes or more.

A convict's nationality had a bit to do with how he or she was treated. The Irish were usually political convicts, and as such were suppressed more harshly than the British. Reverend Samuel Marsden, the "flogging parson" earned his nickname because he was determined to beat the irish people's rebellion out of them.

Some convicts were assigned as servants to free settlers, and again, some settlers would treat them well, but others would treat them badly. Some convicts earned enough trust and respect to be given a Ticket-of-Leave, which enabled them to move freely within the colony, but they were not truly free until they gained a Free Pardon. They could work at their own jobs or be trained in a trade. After this, they might be assigned some land of their own to farm, or even have earned enough to purchase their own property.

Answer 3

Life for the convicts who were sent to Australia was initially very difficult. They travelled for eight and a half months far from their home country, mostly being kept below decks. The last couple of months they were on very rough seas, and were hardly allowed up on deck at all, for their own safety.

The convicts were most commonly punished by being placed on reduced rations, meaning they were given less food, or certain privileges such as tobacco, tea or sugar were withdrawn.

The Cat o' nine tails was a particularly vicious type of punishment. This was a whip with nine cords of leather, each of which had a metal triangle embedded in the end. A convict was given between 10 and 50 lashes (in some case more), and within just a few lashes, the flesh would be ripped out, sometimes to the point where the bone was exposed.

Once they arrived in Australia, it was a different matter.

Australia was very strange for the convicts and settlers of the First Fleet. When the first European settlers arrived in Australia, they found a hot, humid country. The bushland was thick and unlike anything they had at home - instead of green, grassy hills and green trees, they found rocky terrain and strange, grey-green trees that smelled strong and sweet. There was an eerieness to the bushland, because it seemed all the same to their inexperienced eyes, and stories of the Aborigines were exaggerated to make the convicts fear stepping outside the camps. Any who did escape quickly became lost, and many convict bones lie scattered in the bush where they became hopelessly lost, and unable to fend for themselves. There were strange hopping animals - the 'kangaroo' - and strange, noisy birds such as the kookaburra and cockatoos.

The heat and humidity made it difficult to motivate the convicts to work, and English tools and implements were unusable in the tough Australian soil. very few of the convicts had any skill in farming, and as a result, in the early years the colony nearly starved. It took some time for Sydney Cove to become self-sufficient, and for the first few years, the colony relied entirely on the supplies of the second and third fleets.

Answer 4

Although life was hard in Sydney in the early colony, it was usually better than the conditions which caused convicts to be transported in the first place.

Initally, the convicts lived in tents and lean-tos. Food was a constant problem until 1791, when crops finally started to grow properly. Unable to obtain sufficient rations from other countries, and also unable to hunt the strange Australian animals, many people simply starved. Australia was a long way from advanced medical help as well. There was no sanitation, of course, so creeks were quite polluted as they were where people washed their clothes, themselves and anything else.

In the early years, convicts were put to work immediately on building projects, particularly roads, and farming. New buildings needed to be constructed as the first shelters were just tents and lean-tos. The first jobs involved clearing the land. The convicts had to chop down trees, then cut the wood up for practical uses such as building. They needed to clear the shrubs and low bushes as well, and prepare the ground for tilling and planting. This was hard work as most of the English tools were unable to stand up to the demands of Australia's harsher, rocky soil. The convicts also had to quarry rock and haul it. This was used for building, and in the construction of roads and bridges.

Some of the convicts were assigned as servants to the free settlers or the officers. As the colony developed, the convicts worked in more skilled areas such as smithing, building tools, and even more intellectual pursuits where they showed aptitude. One of Australia's most famous architects, Francis Greenway, was a convict. Another convict with a background in printing was given permission to establish the colony's first newspaper. gradually, so many of see early convicts developed their own trades, businesses or farms, and found themselves with far greater opportunities than they would have had back in England.

Answer 5

The treatment of convicts were very poor. Convicts were always asked to do as told,convicts sometimes got dirty jobs like cleaning their masters chamber. Thus I think that convicts were treated horribly.

Answer 6

convicts live in prison or jail

Answer 7

HELL PEROIOD.