The Swan River experiment : coerced labour in Western Australia, 1829-1868
This thesis situates the transportation of convicts to Western Australia within the context of global flows of coerced labour migration in the period 1829-1868. It examines the role of European, Chinese and Indian indentured servants; Aboriginal Australian people; juvenile emigrants from Britain; and child and adult convicts who were amongst the extraordinary range of labourers who travelled to, and helped build, the Swan River Colony. Previous research has examined these forms of labour separately and within their local context. Instead, this thesis analyses the connections and entanglements between these different experiments in labour importation and extraction. It also shows how social categories â including age, gender, ethnicity, and âcriminal statusâ â affected the development of labour systems and the experiences of various kinds of labourers. By examining the relationships between these differing practices this thesis overturns presumptions about a clear shift from free to unfree labour in Western Australia in 1850, when convicts were first transported. Instead it reveals a much longer process of the introduction of new and increasingly controversial forms of unfree labour from 1829 until
Moss, Kellie
The Swan River experiment : coerced labour in Western Australia, 1829-1868. This thesis situates the transportation of convicts to Western Australia within the context of global flows of coerced labour migration in the period 1829-1868. It examines the role of European, Chinese and Indian indentured servants; Aboriginal Australian people; juvenile emigrants from Britain; and child and adult convicts who were amongst the extraordinary range of labourers who travelled to, and helped build, the Swan River Colony. Previous research has examined these forms of labour separately and within their local context. Instead, this thesis analyses the connections and entanglements between these different experiments in labour importation and extraction. It also shows how social categories â including age, gender, ethnicity, and âcriminal statusâ â affected the development of labour systems and the experiences of various kinds of labourers. By examining the relationships between these differing practices this thesis overturns presumptions about a clear shift from free to unfree labour in Western Australia in 1850, when convicts were first transported. Instead it reveals a much longer process of the introduction of new and increasingly controversial forms of unfree labour from 1829 until
river coerce labour western australia situates transportation convict western australia within_context global flow coerce labour migration_period examines_role european chinese indian indenture servant aboriginal australian people juvenile emigrant britain child_adult convict amongst extraordinary range labourer travel help build river colony previous examine form labour separately within local_context instead analysis connections entanglement different labour importation extraction also_show social category include age_gender ethnicity criminal status affect_development labour system experience various_kind labourer examine_relationship differ practice presumption clear shift free labour western australia convict first transport instead reveals_much long process introduction_new increasingly controversial form labour