Prison HulksBy Ben Gallego

The Beginning of the Prison Hulks In England

• The 18th century has been characterised as the era of the 'Bloody Code'

• There was a growing opposition to the death penalty for all but the most serious crimes.

• Hard labour was seeing as a suitable sanction• Transportation was used for the disposal of

convicts until the end of the American Civil War in 1776 other sanctions had to be found

• Two alternatives were hard labour and for those unable to do it, the house of correction led to the use of prison hulks, from 1776 until 1857

The Prison Hulks• Prison hulks were ships that were anchored in the Thames river, Portsmouth, and

Plymouth• Converting ships into prisons hulks involved the removal of various features for

sailing they were all inoperable, and added jail cells• Those sent to them were employed in hard labour during the day and then

loaded, in chains, onto the ship at night

The various horrors of these hulks to tellThese Prison Ships where pain and horror dwell

Where death in ten fold vengeance holds his reign,And injur'd ghosts, yet unaveng'd complain;This be my tale — ungenerous Britons, youConspire to murder those you can't subdue

— poet Philip Freneau (was in a prison hulk for some time)

The Galleys

• A Galley is an ancient ship used between 700 BC till the 16th century

• It could be propelled by human oarsmen, used for warfare and trade

• The rowers were usually prisoners and slaves• For centuries the sentence to the galleys was

one of the cruelest punishments possible

Prison Hulks during the American Civil War

• Many Americans died as prisoners of war in prison hulks• There was lack of control and poor physical conditions• 11,500 men and women died due to overcrowding,

contaminated water, starvation, and disease on prison ships• Prisoners were finally released with the treaty of Paris in

1783

British use in Napoleonic Wars of prison hulks

• The prison hulks housed prisoners of war and captured crews from French corsairs

• Between 1803 and 1814, 12,845 imprisoned Frenchmen died in British prison hulks

The HMS Temeraire a famous prison shipwhich served from 1812-1815

British use in Australia• In New South Wales, hulks were also used as juvenile correctional centers.• Vernon (1867–1892) and Sobraon (1892–1911) were the latter officially a

"nautical school ship“• The commander of the two ships, Frederick Neitenstein (1850–1921)

introduced a system of discipline, hard work, physical drill, and a system of grading.

• Each new boy was placed in the lowest grade, and through hard work, they would slowly gain a restricted number of privileges.

The Nazi German • The Nazi Germans assembled a small fleet of

ships in the Bay of Lubeck to hold concentration camp prisoners.

• All ships were sunk by British aircraft

The Cap Arcona, a passenger liner, was converted by the Nazis to hold concentration camp-bound prisoners

Military Regime in Chile

• The regime of Augusto Pinochet (1973-1980) • The Esmeralda (BE-43) used as a floating

jail and torture chamber for the political prisoners

• Probably over a 100 persons were kept there

The United Kingdom• In Northern Ireland in the 1970’s the HMS Maidstone

was used as a prison ship for suspected Nationalist guerrillas

• In 1997 the United Kingdom Gov. established HMP Weare as a new prison ship temporary measure to ease prison overcrowding

The HMS Maidstone

Bibliography• "History of the Prison System: The Howard League for Penal Reform." Howard League: Home:

The Howard League for Penal Reform. Web. 13 Apr. 2010. <http://www.howardleague.org/history-of-prison-system/>.

• "History of Prison Hulks - Search." Google. Web. 13 Apr. 2010. <http://www.google.com.eg/search?q=history+of+prison+hulks&hl=en&rlz=1T4TSEA_en-GBEG291EG292&tbs=tl:1&tbo=u&ei=Y7DES-XaB5DG_gagtJWuDw&sa=X&oi=timeline_result&ct=title&resnum=11&ved=0CC8Q5wIwCg>.

• "Prison Ships." Http://wapedia.mobi/en/Prison_ships. Wapedia. Web. 13 Apr. 2010. • "Prison Ship Plan under Consideration by Tories." PrisonPlanet Forum - Index. Web. 13 Apr.

2010. <http://forum.prisonplanet.com/index.php?topic=156541.0>. • Gibson, Juanita. "Family History Stories - John Clark Lidiard." My Ancestor's Story.com. Web.

16 Apr. 2010. <http://www.myancestorsstory.com/my-story.html>.

Bibliography• Illustrated London News. Convicts Breaking up the Prison Hulk York (1807). Digital image.

British Prison Hulk. Web. 13 Apr. 2010. <http://wapedia.mobi/en/British_prison_hulks>.

• Cray Jr., Robert E. "The 'HORRORS OF THESE HULKS'." Naval History 20.1 (2006): 42-47. Advanced Placement Source. EBSCO. Web. 14 Apr. 2010.

• Fachzeitschrift. Cap Arcona. Digital image. Prison Ship. Web. 16 Apr. 2010. <http://wapedia.mobi/en/Prison_ships>.

• Held, James E. "British Prison Ships A SEASON IN HELL." Military History 23.8 (2006): 60-67. History Reference Center. EBSCO. Web. 14 Apr. 2010.

• William Turner, Joseph Mallord. The Fighting Téméraire Tugged to Her Last Berth to Be Broken. Digital image. Prison Ship. Web. 16 Apr. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison_ship>.