The 'Condemned Criminals': sexual violence, race, and manliness in colonial Australia
Author(s)
Kaladelfos, Andy
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2012
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
In 1879, the New South Wales government took the unusual step of recommending the execution of three men-two white and one black-for two separate crimes of rape. The government's decision provoked outcry from capital punishment abolitionists who inundated the parliament and press with appeals for mercy, and held sensational public rallies decrying the use of the death penalty. Politicians' varied responses to the crimes show their preoccupations in ensuring ideals of colonial manliness and colonial honour remained intact no matter what the cost. This case offers an important example of the complex relationship between gender, ...
View more >In 1879, the New South Wales government took the unusual step of recommending the execution of three men-two white and one black-for two separate crimes of rape. The government's decision provoked outcry from capital punishment abolitionists who inundated the parliament and press with appeals for mercy, and held sensational public rallies decrying the use of the death penalty. Politicians' varied responses to the crimes show their preoccupations in ensuring ideals of colonial manliness and colonial honour remained intact no matter what the cost. This case offers an important example of the complex relationship between gender, race, sexuality and colonial politics.
View less >
View more >In 1879, the New South Wales government took the unusual step of recommending the execution of three men-two white and one black-for two separate crimes of rape. The government's decision provoked outcry from capital punishment abolitionists who inundated the parliament and press with appeals for mercy, and held sensational public rallies decrying the use of the death penalty. Politicians' varied responses to the crimes show their preoccupations in ensuring ideals of colonial manliness and colonial honour remained intact no matter what the cost. This case offers an important example of the complex relationship between gender, race, sexuality and colonial politics.
View less >
Journal Title
Women's History Review
Volume
21
Issue
5
Subject
Australian History (excl. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander History)
Courts and Sentencing
Cultural Studies
Historical Studies