Why You Wouldn't Survive a Thames Prison Hulk (1776)

It's 1776 and you've been chained aboard a prison hulk on the Thames at Woolwich, with the hatch about to lock for the night. The court spared your neck for theft, but not your health. A 1778 report to Parliament counted about 632 convicts held on the hulks since 1776, and about 176 of them had died. Why did a punishment meant to be temporary kill more than one in four? 0:00 The Hatch Slams Shut 0:12 Chained at Woolwich 17:26 Below the Hatch 22:35 Gravel, Irons and the Lash 25:00 The Long Dark Aeon History: live one night in another century. Subscribe for the next one:    / @historyaeon   For further reading: Robert Hughes, The Fatal Shore (1987) A. G. L. Shaw, Convicts and the Colonies (1966) Anthony Babington, The English Bastille (1971) #AeonHistory #Woolwich #PrisonHulks #History #WhatLifeWasLike