17至18世纪,英国运送犯人到澳洲,按上船时犯人的人头给私营船主付费。私营船主为了牟取暴利,便不顾犯人的死活。每船运送人数过多,生存环境恶劣,加之船主克扣犯人的食物,囤积起来以便到达目的地后卖钱,使得大部分犯人在中途死去。更残忍的是,有的船主有时一出海就把犯人活活扔进海里。英国政府极欲降 From the 17th to the 18th centuries Britain sent prisoners to Australia and paid private owners according to the heads of prisoners on board. In order to reap huge profits, private shipowners disregarded the life and death of prisoners. Too many per-ship deliveries, poor living conditions, coupled with the ship’s owner’s intimidation of prisoners’ food, hoarding to reach the destination after selling money, most of the prisoners died in the middle. Even more cruel is that some shipowners sometimes throw prisoners into the sea as soon as they go to sea. The British government desperately wants to drop