A Queen question for our British cousins. (actually everyone, but them, mostly)

[yulzari]

Weren't more criminals transported to the American colonies (excluding Canada) than Australia?

I thought that the principal reason to colonise Australia was to find an alternative dumping ground.

In a mild defence of transportation: it was promoted by the judiciary as they were unhappy at being expected to condemn less serious criminals. A similar reason the judiciary promoting the idea of an age of criminal responsibility so that they didn't have to condemn or imprison children. It was the judges, not the MPs, who thought the existing law unjust and unreasonable.

 

[meatloaf109]

No, we were founded by prudes who dreamed of freedom for all. (As long as you were white and rich, of course.)

 

[buffnut453]

And male.

 

[yulzari]

and Protestant.

 

[stona]

and Protestant.

Hardly surprising for 17th century English puritans.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Readie]

Pilgrims (Plymouth Colony) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Americans Canadians like to pay homage to the Mayflower steps in Plymouth where the Pilgrims Fathers set sail to the New World.
I cannot image the courage these people has setting sail into the literal unknown.
Perhaps this quality was our greatest to our colonies
John

 

[meatloaf109]

Hardly surprising for 17th century English puritans.

Cheers
Steve

I just wish that they had been a little less "Puritan". Did you know that , in most states, any sexual position other than "missionary" is Illegal?

 

[meatloaf109]

Pilgrims (Plymouth Colony) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Americans Canadians like to pay homage to the Mayflower steps in Plymouth where the Pilgrims Fathers set sail to the New World.
I cannot image the courage these people has setting sail into the literal unknown.
Perhaps this quality was our greatest to our colonies
John

I've been there.
They built a wall around it.

 

[Readie]

I've been there.
They built a wall around it.

Only so the large over enthusiastic Americans don't fall into the water ML
We have to look after you boys.
John

 

[Messy1]

No, we were founded by prudes who dreamed of freedom for all. (As long as you were white and rich, of course.)

Or had a strong back!

 

[yulzari]

It's a shame that the Mayflower steps never existed when the 'Pilgrim Fathers' (as the religious bigots are now known) set sail.

 

[meatloaf109]

Used to be a truckstop up in Conneticut named the Mayflower. Had a motel, resturaunt, bar close by, anyways Me and this other mover friend found ourselves without a challenge after killing off a case of beer and a bottle of who-hit-john, had to have a contest to see who could put the most stuff in a small space.
We got the entire contents of two motel rooms into one bathroom.
Couldn't get any of it back out the next morning.
Next time I went through there, a sign had been put up,
read, "No Dogs Or Movers Allowed".
Can't help but wonder if ....

 

[michaelmaltby]

".... It's a shame that the Mayflower steps never existed when the 'Pilgrim Fathers' (as the religious bigots are know known) set sail ..."

OK. Don't know where that comes from, but would you have preferred Huguenots ...?

 

[Lucky13]

Tea anyone?

 

[buffnut453]

Now that's just not cricket!

 

[yulzari]

Ah tea. When the american tea smugglers were **** off that the governor undercut their criminal activities by removing the tax on tea they boarded a legitimate importing vessel and threw their hard earned tea into the harbour to keep the local prices up. They should have been happy that they paid negligible taxes and didn't have to pay for their own defence. Still they are much better off now......?

 

[michaelmaltby]

".... Still they are much better off now......?"

Compared to whom ....?

 

[meatloaf109]

Interesting take on the events in Boston, I suppose that the line between criminal and patriot can get blurred.
It is also easy to sit here today 200+ years later and think all the conspiricy revisionist things one wants.
Doesn't change my views on those brave, red-blooded, tax-hating, dress-up loving guys that made it possible for me to enjoy my second cup of coffee this fine morning!

 

[stona]

Not tax hating. It was a refusal to pay an imposed tax to which the colonists had not consented. This is not the same thing. In a democracy an elected government may impose taxes that we may not like but to which,in electing that government,we have tacitly consented. If you don't like those taxes and can get enough others to agree with you,then you can vote that government out and elect one more to your taste! This was not an option for the colonists who were having taxes imposed on them from London.
This was one of the causes of the so called English civil war (actually far more complicated than that). Infact many of the English parliament's 17th century grievances against Charles I bear a striking resemblance to those of the American colonies against the crown a hundred and twenty odd years later.
Cheers
Steve

 

[Readie]

Interesting take on the events in Boston, I suppose that the line between criminal and patriot can get blurred.
It is also easy to sit here today 200+ years later and think all the conspiricy revisionist things one wants.
Doesn't change my views on those brave, red-blooded, tax-hating, dress-up loving guys that made it possible for me to enjoy my second cup of coffee this fine morning!

Neither criminal or patriots really ML..the whole 'Tea' issue was a cunning way of letting you new Americans 'win' so you lot thought that you had bettered blighty whereas in actual fact we let you go...
We tried a similar trick with the Canadians but, they insisted on staying Royal and with us.
John