Each of the ships held between 200 and 300 inmates. Mortality rates were high, with about one in three prisoners dying on board, as there was no way to separate the diseased from the healthy in the cramped conditions.
"They detail the rather bleak conditions that those who fell foul of the law would have found themselves in."
Prison ship records from 19th Century published
Each of the prison hulks held up to 300 inmates in cramped conditions
A picture of life on board Britain's 19th Century prison ships has emerged with the publication online of details of some of the 200,000 inmates.
The records outline the disease-ridden conditions on the "prison hulks", created to ease overcrowding elsewhere.
The prisoners included eight-year-old Francis Creed, who was jailed for seven years on HMS Bellerophon for stealing three shillings worth of copper.
The records, held by National Archives, are published online at Ancestry.co.uk.
The Prison Hulk Registers and Letter Books 1802-1849 include character reports written by the "gaoler".
Read more at www.bbc.co.uk
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