Benjamin Lucas was born in Leeds in 1791, but an 1833 conviction for larceny and sentence to fourteen years transportation would change the course of his life for ever.  This talk follows Benjamin on a journey that starts with the nineteenth century criminal justice system in England, and ends up on the other side of the world.  It includes wider information about the history of transportation, an outline of official records personal to Benjamin’s story, and how information located in those documents can be expanded by memoirs and accounts written by others involved in the process. The presentation is of national relevance, and Leeds-specific details will be omitted if appropriate.

Duration of presentation 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Feedback for this talk:

“Completely absorbing, great story and super research.”

“I learned a great deal and gained in confidence.”

“Very interesting talk!”

“Talk, slides – wonderful! What a super talk!”

“Such hard work and research. Congrats on finding out an amazing story.”

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