Thought this was interesting enought to repost. "The Lady Juliana" _______________ You asked me to see could I view the programe on the television. I did so last night. It was on BBC 2 and entitled: "The Floating Brothel". It profiled London in 1798, with re-enactments of scenes of petty thievery and prostitution on the part of women in the poorer quarters of London. It then profiled a few in other parts of England, Devon among them. The age profile was for the most part young girls and women in their twenties. They specifically followed the lot of about four women and one girl. The prisons became overfilled in England and the authorities became concerned primarily about an outbreak of disease in the prison population which could then spread to the city as a whole. Co-inciding with this discussion among the powers that be, a letter arrived from Australia where at that time were just a handful of men and a garrison. They needed seeds for planting, implements and so on to establish any kind of habitable living but they also required women for the men. The authorities regarded this as the answer - ship all the women in Newgate Prison who were in for life imprisonment or condemned to death to Australia and so get rid of them and lessen the number in the prison. The ship "The Lady Juliana" was thus designated for this purpose. Over five months it was berthed and gradually filled up with women prisoners, all living down in the part of the boat just above the bilges. After five months it was ready to leave and set sail. Once out at sea the women were allowed above on deck and gradually their pallors improved. These women were given preferential treatment, a ship's surgeon was on board to see they kept well, they were fed very well and generally gotten ready to be ready for the men awaiting them in Australia. On the boat all the crew including the surgeon took a woman as temporary wife and over the duration of the voyage seven children, I think was the figure, were born at sea. En route they docked at various places and men living in these remote outposts were allowed board the boat and have relations with the women for a fee - the rates being organised by one woman aboard who was mature, better bred and a business woman who was being transported for high class thievery. Thus each woman had a little money of her own. Upon reaching Australia these women were in good shape - just one woman had died on the journey, a Scottish woman who never really got up off her palet from the start of the five months awaiting departure from England. Once in Australia the women and men sorted themselves out and thus was the colony of Australia established, once the women starting having children and establishing homes. The more senior woman was the only one who did not remain in Australia, for she worked her sentence and then returned to England. Subsequent boats that brought women to Australia were not the like of the "Lady Juliana" at all. They were convict ships and the women were not let out to air, were not well fed and so on and there were many more deaths from among these transportees on board. "The Lady Juliana" was a once off. So Australia was surely founded on women who had been convicted of petty crimes and prostitution in England, some had had children from the crew or the men at places at which they called on the way to Australia and the rest then had their first children to the original men settled in Australia. This is the synopsis of the programme for you. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.375 / Virus Database: 267.15.1/250 - Release Date: 2006/02/03