Discott:
[[File:Cape Town - Speeches on the Convict Crisis by T Bowler1849 Cape Archives.jpg|thumb|Crowds gather in Cape Town to hear speeches and rally against the landing of convicts at the Cape (4 July 1849). ]]
The '''Convict crisis''', also known as the "'''Anti-convict demonstrations"''' or "'''Anti-convict agitation"''' or "'''Cape Town anti-convict petition"''' was a period of civil unrest and protesting, lasting from 4 July 1849 to 1850, in the [[Cape Colony]]. It was caused by the prospect of the British authorities making the Cape Colony a penal colony and was triggered by the arrival off the coast of Cape Town of the ship, The Neptune, which was carrying 288 [[Ticket of leave|ticket-of-leave]] convicts from Ireland.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Neptune 288 convicts board enters simons bay strong resistance cape inhabitants |url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/dated-...simons-bay-strong-resistance-cape-inhabitants |website=sahistory.org}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Holdridge |first=Christopher |date=2010-11 |title=Laughing with Sam Sly: the cultural politics of satire and colonial british identity in the Cape Colony, c. 1840-1850 |url=http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php...0259-01902010000100002&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en |journal=Kronos |volume=36 |issue=1 |pages=29–53 |issn=0259-0190 |archive-url=https://repository.uwc.ac.za/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10566/206/HoldridgeLaughing2010.pdf?sequence=1 |archive-date=2024}}</ref>
== Background ==
Starting in 1841 the British government began suggesting that the Cape Colony be used as a penal colony<ref>{{Cite web |title=Collection: Cape Town anti-convict petition {{!}} ArchiveSearch |url=https://archivesearch.lib.cam.ac.uk/repositories/2/resources/274 |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=archivesearch.lib.cam.ac.uk}}</ref> in a policy similar to the policy of [[Convicts in Australia|transporting convicts to Australia]] between 1788 and 1868.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Convict Crisis at the Cape – Secret History |url=https://secret-history.net/convict-crisis-in-the-cape/ |access-date=2024-04-28 |language=en}}</ref>
Stronger proposals were again proposed on 7th August 1847<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Royal Commonwealth Society : Cape Town anti-convict petition |url=https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-RCMS-00196 |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=Cambridge Digital Library}}</ref> with the then [[Home Secretary]], Sir [[Sir George Grey, 2nd Baronet|George Grey]], issuing a public dispatch to the Governor of the Cape Colony, Sir [[Sir Harry Smith, 1st Baronet|Harry Smith]] suggesting that the law on penal transport provisions be modified to include the Cape Colony as a destination for convicts;<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Uproar in the Cape - The Arrival of the Convict Ship Neptune in 1849 |url=https://www.theheritageportal.co.za/article/uproar-cape-arrival-convict-ship-neptune-1849 |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=www.theheritageportal.co.za |publisher=The Heritage Portal}}</ref> with added suggestion that ticket-of-leave convicts might be a useful addition to the colony given its shortage of labour at the time. Sir Grey also requested that Governor Smith local public opinion on the proposal.<ref name=":2" /> The proposal was made in the context of British efforts to alleviate the [[Great Famine (Ireland)|Great Famine of Ireland]] whilst also trying to subdue the [[Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848|Irish rebellion]] of 1848<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Why the Famine Irish didn’t emigrate to South Africa |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and...ish-didn-t-emigrate-to-south-africa-1.3397555 |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=The Irish Times |language=en}}</ref> and declining support for the practice in Australia.
The proposals caused widespread concern in the Cape Colony which at the time was regarded as relatively peaceful<ref name=":1" /> despite [[Xhosa Wars|frequent conflicts]] with the [[Xhosa people|amaXhosa]] on the colony's eastern frontier. It was made at a time when the [[responsible government]] movement was gaining momentum in the Cape. The presence of convicts was seen in the Cape as counterproductive to their efforts as advocating for responsible government for the colony in London.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> The hostile local reaction resulted in a number of petitions against the scheme being sent back to the Home Secretary in reply.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=Collection: Cape Town anti-convict petition {{!}} ArchiveSearch |url=https://archivesearch.lib.cam.ac.uk/repositories/2/resources/274 |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=archivesearch.lib.cam.ac.uk}}</ref>
However Grey did not wait for a responce on the proposal before sending The Neptune to land convicts in the Cape and Bermuda.<ref name=":5" />
== Demonstrations ==
In March 1849 the Cape Town newspaper ‘Commercial Advertizer’ published news of The Neptune's expected arrival and purpose, which was confirmed by Governor Smith after he had received official dispatches about the new scheme. This news greatly angered the local population who felt that their strong opposition to the proposal had been ignored. It triggered a second, more intense, wave of protest actions, civil disobedience and promises of boycotts.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Royal Commonwealth Society : Cape Town anti-convict petition |url=https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-RCMS-00196 |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=Cambridge Digital Library}}</ref>
The proposal resulted in the gathering of large multi-racial, multi-ethnic crowd outside the Commercial Exchange on 4 July 1849 that numbered over 5,000 Capetonians.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" /> Perhaps as much as a quarter of the city's roughly 20,000 strong population at the time. At the July 1849 demonstration petitions were widely signed against the proposal and sent to [[Queen Victoria]], a pledge was signed not to receive or employ any convicts, and an Anti-Convict Committee was formed. [[John Fairbairn (educator)|John Fairbairn]] was elected as the Anti-Convict Committee's secretary, he was later assaulted in his [[Green Point, Cape Town|Green Point]] home by government agents.<ref name=":3" />
When the ship arrived off the coast of Cape Town in September 1849 local officials refused to allow anyone to disembark from the vessel or for the vessel to receive any supplies, local government institutions were also ordered not to sell any provisions to the ship or convicts onboard.<ref name=":3" /> The Neptune then sailed to nearby [[Simon's Town|Simon’s Bay]]. The situation became desperate when Governor Smith ordered a local businessman and British army captain, Robert Stanford, to provide provisions to the ship causing a standoff. Although Stanford complied with the order it damaged the legitimacy of the local government whilst Captain Stanford was banned and boycotted by the general public. When Stanford's daughter fell ill no doctors would see her; upon her death from the illness Stanford left the Cape for Britain.<ref name=":3" />
In February 1850, after a 5 month long standoff, The Neptune sailed on to [[Van Diemen's Land|Van Diemen’s Land]] in Australia.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" /> This period severely tested the [[Cape Peninsula Urban Police]] as they had to deal with many incidents of public violence and unrest.<ref name="hfsad">Hattersley, A.F. (1960). ''The First South African Detectives''.</ref>
== Legacy ==
The issue was finally resolved when British MP [[Charles Adderley, 1st Baron Norton|Charles Adderley]] removed the possibility of the Cape becoming a penal colony in the British parliament. In recognition the street in front of the Commercial Exchange where the 4 July 1849 demonstration took place, Heerengracht Street, was renamed [[Adderley Street]].
The protests resulted in a decline in the popularity of the pro-British local publications such as the African Journal.<ref name=":0" />
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Cape Town}}
Okumaya devam et...
[[File:Cape Town - Speeches on the Convict Crisis by T Bowler1849 Cape Archives.jpg|thumb|Crowds gather in Cape Town to hear speeches and rally against the landing of convicts at the Cape (4 July 1849). ]]
The '''Convict crisis''', also known as the "'''Anti-convict demonstrations"''' or "'''Anti-convict agitation"''' or "'''Cape Town anti-convict petition"''' was a period of civil unrest and protesting, lasting from 4 July 1849 to 1850, in the [[Cape Colony]]. It was caused by the prospect of the British authorities making the Cape Colony a penal colony and was triggered by the arrival off the coast of Cape Town of the ship, The Neptune, which was carrying 288 [[Ticket of leave|ticket-of-leave]] convicts from Ireland.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Neptune 288 convicts board enters simons bay strong resistance cape inhabitants |url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/dated-...simons-bay-strong-resistance-cape-inhabitants |website=sahistory.org}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Holdridge |first=Christopher |date=2010-11 |title=Laughing with Sam Sly: the cultural politics of satire and colonial british identity in the Cape Colony, c. 1840-1850 |url=http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php...0259-01902010000100002&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en |journal=Kronos |volume=36 |issue=1 |pages=29–53 |issn=0259-0190 |archive-url=https://repository.uwc.ac.za/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10566/206/HoldridgeLaughing2010.pdf?sequence=1 |archive-date=2024}}</ref>
== Background ==
Starting in 1841 the British government began suggesting that the Cape Colony be used as a penal colony<ref>{{Cite web |title=Collection: Cape Town anti-convict petition {{!}} ArchiveSearch |url=https://archivesearch.lib.cam.ac.uk/repositories/2/resources/274 |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=archivesearch.lib.cam.ac.uk}}</ref> in a policy similar to the policy of [[Convicts in Australia|transporting convicts to Australia]] between 1788 and 1868.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Convict Crisis at the Cape – Secret History |url=https://secret-history.net/convict-crisis-in-the-cape/ |access-date=2024-04-28 |language=en}}</ref>
Stronger proposals were again proposed on 7th August 1847<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Royal Commonwealth Society : Cape Town anti-convict petition |url=https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-RCMS-00196 |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=Cambridge Digital Library}}</ref> with the then [[Home Secretary]], Sir [[Sir George Grey, 2nd Baronet|George Grey]], issuing a public dispatch to the Governor of the Cape Colony, Sir [[Sir Harry Smith, 1st Baronet|Harry Smith]] suggesting that the law on penal transport provisions be modified to include the Cape Colony as a destination for convicts;<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Uproar in the Cape - The Arrival of the Convict Ship Neptune in 1849 |url=https://www.theheritageportal.co.za/article/uproar-cape-arrival-convict-ship-neptune-1849 |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=www.theheritageportal.co.za |publisher=The Heritage Portal}}</ref> with added suggestion that ticket-of-leave convicts might be a useful addition to the colony given its shortage of labour at the time. Sir Grey also requested that Governor Smith local public opinion on the proposal.<ref name=":2" /> The proposal was made in the context of British efforts to alleviate the [[Great Famine (Ireland)|Great Famine of Ireland]] whilst also trying to subdue the [[Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848|Irish rebellion]] of 1848<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Why the Famine Irish didn’t emigrate to South Africa |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and...ish-didn-t-emigrate-to-south-africa-1.3397555 |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=The Irish Times |language=en}}</ref> and declining support for the practice in Australia.
The proposals caused widespread concern in the Cape Colony which at the time was regarded as relatively peaceful<ref name=":1" /> despite [[Xhosa Wars|frequent conflicts]] with the [[Xhosa people|amaXhosa]] on the colony's eastern frontier. It was made at a time when the [[responsible government]] movement was gaining momentum in the Cape. The presence of convicts was seen in the Cape as counterproductive to their efforts as advocating for responsible government for the colony in London.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> The hostile local reaction resulted in a number of petitions against the scheme being sent back to the Home Secretary in reply.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=Collection: Cape Town anti-convict petition {{!}} ArchiveSearch |url=https://archivesearch.lib.cam.ac.uk/repositories/2/resources/274 |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=archivesearch.lib.cam.ac.uk}}</ref>
However Grey did not wait for a responce on the proposal before sending The Neptune to land convicts in the Cape and Bermuda.<ref name=":5" />
== Demonstrations ==
In March 1849 the Cape Town newspaper ‘Commercial Advertizer’ published news of The Neptune's expected arrival and purpose, which was confirmed by Governor Smith after he had received official dispatches about the new scheme. This news greatly angered the local population who felt that their strong opposition to the proposal had been ignored. It triggered a second, more intense, wave of protest actions, civil disobedience and promises of boycotts.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Royal Commonwealth Society : Cape Town anti-convict petition |url=https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-RCMS-00196 |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=Cambridge Digital Library}}</ref>
The proposal resulted in the gathering of large multi-racial, multi-ethnic crowd outside the Commercial Exchange on 4 July 1849 that numbered over 5,000 Capetonians.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" /> Perhaps as much as a quarter of the city's roughly 20,000 strong population at the time. At the July 1849 demonstration petitions were widely signed against the proposal and sent to [[Queen Victoria]], a pledge was signed not to receive or employ any convicts, and an Anti-Convict Committee was formed. [[John Fairbairn (educator)|John Fairbairn]] was elected as the Anti-Convict Committee's secretary, he was later assaulted in his [[Green Point, Cape Town|Green Point]] home by government agents.<ref name=":3" />
When the ship arrived off the coast of Cape Town in September 1849 local officials refused to allow anyone to disembark from the vessel or for the vessel to receive any supplies, local government institutions were also ordered not to sell any provisions to the ship or convicts onboard.<ref name=":3" /> The Neptune then sailed to nearby [[Simon's Town|Simon’s Bay]]. The situation became desperate when Governor Smith ordered a local businessman and British army captain, Robert Stanford, to provide provisions to the ship causing a standoff. Although Stanford complied with the order it damaged the legitimacy of the local government whilst Captain Stanford was banned and boycotted by the general public. When Stanford's daughter fell ill no doctors would see her; upon her death from the illness Stanford left the Cape for Britain.<ref name=":3" />
In February 1850, after a 5 month long standoff, The Neptune sailed on to [[Van Diemen's Land|Van Diemen’s Land]] in Australia.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" /> This period severely tested the [[Cape Peninsula Urban Police]] as they had to deal with many incidents of public violence and unrest.<ref name="hfsad">Hattersley, A.F. (1960). ''The First South African Detectives''.</ref>
== Legacy ==
The issue was finally resolved when British MP [[Charles Adderley, 1st Baron Norton|Charles Adderley]] removed the possibility of the Cape becoming a penal colony in the British parliament. In recognition the street in front of the Commercial Exchange where the 4 July 1849 demonstration took place, Heerengracht Street, was renamed [[Adderley Street]].
The protests resulted in a decline in the popularity of the pro-British local publications such as the African Journal.<ref name=":0" />
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Cape Town}}
Okumaya devam et...