Convicted prisoners held in a boating prison on the Thames (England), awaiting transfer to the...

Convicted prisoners held in a boating prison on the Thames (England), awaiting transfer to the penal colonies. Scoundrels, wanderers, and beggars were deported from England, most of them to America, starting in the 17th century. Many of them were used as slaves on Caribbean plantations. The American Revolution (1775-1783) stopped these expatriations, so the prisoners were held in former warships, transformed into floating prisons, a 'temporary measure' that lasted for more than 80 years. Starting in the 1780s, prisoners were massively taken to Australia, until the middle of the 19th century. Engraving by George Cooke (1781-1834), colored in watercolor around 1835, based on the painting by Samuel Prout (1783-1852).