The
Transportation Act 1717 was an
Act of the
Parliament of Great Britain (4 Geo. I cap. XI)
long title An Act for the further preventing Robbery, Burglary, and other Felonies, and for the more effectual Transportation of Felons, and unlawful Exporters of Wool; and for declaring the Law upon some Points relating to Pirates.) that established a seven-year convict bond service in the form of
penal transportation to
North America as a possible punishment for those convicted of lesser felonies. For more serious crimes, a fourteen-years of convict bond service was meted out as a possible sentence in lieu of
capital punishment, and gained through commutation of sentence via royal
pardon. An estimated 50,000 convicts (women, men and children) were transported to the British American colonies.