Surgeon-superintendents and penal discipline : the transportation of female convicts 1818-1835

Royal Navy surgeons were introduced onto convict transports from 1815. Using their journals, this paper investigates the surgeon’s role in managing the transport ship as a female prison in the period from 1818–1835. Their journals provide an analysis of the women in their care including their previous illnesses, their health coming onto the ship, and their progress during the voyage. It was the surgeon’s responsibility to ensure hygienic conditions on the ship, and personal hygiene and a routine of cleanliness were enforced. This article argues that the maintenance of these disciplined practices was a major contributor to the ability of the prisoners to adjust to colonial life.