Certificate of Freedom
The Certificate of Freedom was a government document issued to a convict in the British penal colonies in Australia after serving the full term. It certified that the person again enjoyed "all the rights and privileges of a free subject" and was allowed to look for work or leave the colony.
The Certificates of Freedom were introduced in 1810 and issued at the request of the convict by the governor after serving the 7, 10 or 14 year sentence.
After serving half the sentence, a ticket of leave could be issued, which meant some freedoms but still considerable restrictions. Those sentenced to life could receive a pardon with or without conditions, but no Certificate of Freedom .
The certificate usually included the date of issue, name, alternate names (if any), the ship the convict entered Australia on, the year of arrival, the date of conviction and the length of the sentence in years. From 1827 to 1867 place of birth, occupation, year of birth, a description of the person and sometimes information about the ticket of leave were also included.
The certificate consisted of two parts, the actual certificate , which the released person had to carry with him at all times, and the butt . The latter was the official copy and was kept with the authorities. The certificates are seldom received due to constant use, the butts are still often found in archives.
A variant was the Colonial Certificate of Freedom , which referred to crimes that were committed in the colony itself.
Around 40,000 such certificates have been issued in the New South Wales colony alone. Then there were Tasmania and Western Australia .
Individual evidence
- ^ Index to Certificates of Freedom . NSW Government. Archived from the original on December 24, 2013. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- ^ Certificate of Freedom . NSW State Library. Archived from the original on December 24, 2013. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
- ^ Certificate Butt . NSW State Records Office. Archived from the original on December 24, 2013. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
- ^ Colonial Certificate of Freedom . church of Latter Day Saints. January 2, 2012. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
