CONVICT TRANSPORTATION AND THE METROPOLIS
The Letterbooks and Papers of Duncan Campbell (1726-1803)
from the State Library of New South Wales

"a magnificent set of six and more large volumes, in various original handwritings, well-preserved from the late eighteenth century... they are a goldmine for anyone interested in the history of convict transportation, ... also a goldmine for anyone interested in London, as a city, between 1775-1800!"
Dan Byrnes writing in his article on 'The Duncan Campbell Letterbooks - The Blackheath Connection'.

• These materials cover Duncan Campbell's involvement in convict transportation to Jamaica, Virginia and Australia.
• There is also a strong emphasis on his web of business contacts in London (the Metropolis), social life, social conditions and trade.
• The documents allow scholars to understand the links between Campbell and William Bligh as well as revealing more about the slave trade and the  movement for abolition.
• The papers include material on Jeremy Bentham's opposition to the transportation of convicts, Campbell's meeting with Thomas Jefferson,
  John Dixon and the embarkation of the Second Fleet to Botany Bay, and Campbell's meeting with Arthur Phillip, founder and first governor of
  New South Wales.
• This is an excellent resource for those studying maritime history, trade, the profits of London merchants, arguments about penal reform, prison hulks, the treatment of convicts and the political debate in Britain, America and Australia.