A review by steve_angelkov
The Fatal Shore by Robert Hughes
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
5.0
I discovered this book, listening to Alistair Campbell’s answer (on the rest is politics podcast) to which book he would have liked to have written.
“The Fatal Shore” by Robert Hughes is a compelling exploration of the inhumane and barbaric practice of transporting convicts to Australia in the 18th and 19th centuries. Hughes skillfully captures the brutality and suffering endured by those subjected to this harsh system, shedding light on the historical injustices.
Drawing a haunting parallel to modern conservative policies of transporting illegal immigrants to Rwanda, one can’t ignore the continuance of inhumanity. The book invites readers to confront the disregard for human dignity that persists in certain immigration policies today. This connection is eerily resonant with the past, reminding us of the importance of compassion in policy-making.
One striking aspect in the book relating to the ‘transportation’ is that some of the crimes for which individuals were convicted in the past were indeed trivial in nature, exposing the arbitrary nature of the punishment.
A 17,000 mile journey by sea, convicts are generally not returning home, after they serve their sentence.
The level of brutality afflicted to the convicts with cat o’nine tails lashes and the brutality handed out the to indigenous aborigines is shocking.
This highlights the absurdity of subjecting people to life-altering sentences for minor offenses.
Paradoxically, the modern legislation transporting illegal immigrants to Rwanda can be seen as a form of the British Empire policy cannibalizing itself. It’s a stark reminder that the historical legacy of such policies can influence contemporary decisions, sometimes in ways that betray the principles the empire once claimed to uphold.
“The Fatal Shore” remains a thought-provoking book, urging us to learn from history and re-evaluate the moral dimensions of our current policies.
“The Fatal Shore” by Robert Hughes is a compelling exploration of the inhumane and barbaric practice of transporting convicts to Australia in the 18th and 19th centuries. Hughes skillfully captures the brutality and suffering endured by those subjected to this harsh system, shedding light on the historical injustices.
Drawing a haunting parallel to modern conservative policies of transporting illegal immigrants to Rwanda, one can’t ignore the continuance of inhumanity. The book invites readers to confront the disregard for human dignity that persists in certain immigration policies today. This connection is eerily resonant with the past, reminding us of the importance of compassion in policy-making.
One striking aspect in the book relating to the ‘transportation’ is that some of the crimes for which individuals were convicted in the past were indeed trivial in nature, exposing the arbitrary nature of the punishment.
A 17,000 mile journey by sea, convicts are generally not returning home, after they serve their sentence.
The level of brutality afflicted to the convicts with cat o’nine tails lashes and the brutality handed out the to indigenous aborigines is shocking.
This highlights the absurdity of subjecting people to life-altering sentences for minor offenses.
Paradoxically, the modern legislation transporting illegal immigrants to Rwanda can be seen as a form of the British Empire policy cannibalizing itself. It’s a stark reminder that the historical legacy of such policies can influence contemporary decisions, sometimes in ways that betray the principles the empire once claimed to uphold.
“The Fatal Shore” remains a thought-provoking book, urging us to learn from history and re-evaluate the moral dimensions of our current policies.