The Fascinating Back Story of Authentic Convict Art: The Rajah Quilt
Made by “Dangerous Women”
One of the wonderful things about reading is how much it teaches me about the world. Recently, I read the novel, Dangerous Women, by Hope Adams. While I had heard about the penal colonies in Australia, I had never really considered how those colonies were populated, and I certainly had never thought about the journey of the prisoners who were forced to migrate there.
I had certainly never thought about the plight of convicted women in the early 19th century until I read this novel. What I discovered there was not just a good story, but also a glimpse at the life of convicted women in the 19th century, the ardent social reform taking place at the time, and the power of patchwork to teach discipline and hope.
The plight of convicts
In 1717, Britain passed the Transportation Act which was a system for sending criminals to other locations. Those accused of petty crimes would be boarded onto ships and sentenced to seven years of labor. Those accused of capital crimes received a fourteen-year sentence. Many people believed that the hard work would rehabilitate the convicts.
Between 1788 and 1868, Britain transported 164,000 convicts to colonies in Australia and Tasmania. About…
