>>4023296what i was told was that it was during a famine, and the overwhelming majority of these convicts stole bread and other food items. either that or other really minor crimes. they had an excess of people and wanted at least some of them gone
rape and murder generally wasn't something you could get deported for, i think they just got executed. the worst of the worst of the convicts came from scotland/ireland and some of them were in fact murderers etc
