Petworth Emigration Scheme
Encyclopedia
The Petworth Emigration Scheme, sponsored by the Earl of Egremont
and promoted by Thomas Sockett, anglican Rector of Petworth
, sent around 1800 working-class people from the south of England
to Upper Canada
between 1832 and 1837. The Scheme was part of a larger initiative in Britain during the 1830s, in which churches, charitable organisations and private individuals were active in promoting emigration
as a solution to overcrowded urban slums, unemployment and rural poverty in Britain.
predictions of overpopulation seemed to be true in Europe
. The disappearance of bubonic plague
after the seventeenth century and the introduction of smallpox vaccine
in the later eighteenth century had allowed birth rates to exceed death rates in the young, giving population growth. There was no possibility of importing food from outside of Europe at that time, so food prices had risen, and with the decline in military employment after the Napoleonic wars
unemployment and hunger were widespread in the countryside. Shelter and food for the destitute was provided locally by committees of landowners and clerics and varied from one area to another. Funding for this cames from the Rates, a local property tax, which became higher with increasing poverty. In 1830 an outbreak of civil unrest by desperate agricultural workers, the Swing Riots
, occurred in southern England, prompting the wealthy to look for a way of losing some of the surplus population, especially the more troublesome members, through emigration. Upper Canada
was seen as somewhere with unfarmed land to settle and not too costly to reach, but far enough that people would not easily come back.
, a naval surgeon who had been at the Battle of Trafalgar
. The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834
increasingly interfered with local freedom of action, bringing a harsher regíme, as the Poor Law Commission
said that other agencies could transport the emigrants more cheaply, and no more ships were chartered after 1837.
because the migrants were providing a return cargo for ships bringing timber to England. Ships would be towed up the St. Lawrence River to Montreal
by wood fired steam tugs where the passengers had to transfer to barges known as Durham boats to ascend the St. Lawrence Rapids to Prescott
before catching a steamer to Kingston, Ontario
and Toronto
, then still called York. When the Rideau Canal
was open the rapids could be avoided by using the Ottawa River
and the canal.
s could look forward to new opportunities in a freer more equal country. Former soldiers often did not settle easily into life back home and had the incentive of being entitled to claim 100 acres (40 hectares) of uncleared land, while other migrants were given five acres (2 hectares).
George Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont
George O'Brien Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont was a British peer. A direct descendant of Sir John Wyndham, he succeeded to his father's titles in 1763 at the age of 12, inheriting estates at Petworth, Egremont, Leconfield and land in Wiltshire and Somerset. He later inherited the lands of the Earl...
and promoted by Thomas Sockett, anglican Rector of Petworth
Petworth
Petworth is a small town and civil parish in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. It is located at the junction of the A272 east-west road from Heathfield to Winchester and the A283 Milford to Shoreham-by-Sea road. Some twelve miles to the south west of Petworth along the A285 road...
, sent around 1800 working-class people from the south of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to Upper Canada
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
between 1832 and 1837. The Scheme was part of a larger initiative in Britain during the 1830s, in which churches, charitable organisations and private individuals were active in promoting emigration
Immigration to Canada
Immigration to Canada is the process by which people migrate to Canada to reside permanently in the country. The majority of these individuals become Canadian citizens. After 1947, domestic immigration law and policy went through major changes, most notably with the Immigration Act, 1976, and the...
as a solution to overcrowded urban slums, unemployment and rural poverty in Britain.
Background
In the early nineteenth century malthusianThomas Malthus
The Reverend Thomas Robert Malthus FRS was an English scholar, influential in political economy and demography. Malthus popularized the economic theory of rent....
predictions of overpopulation seemed to be true in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. The disappearance of bubonic plague
Bubonic plague
Plague is a deadly infectious disease that is caused by the enterobacteria Yersinia pestis, named after the French-Swiss bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin. Primarily carried by rodents and spread to humans via fleas, the disease is notorious throughout history, due to the unrivaled scale of death...
after the seventeenth century and the introduction of smallpox vaccine
Smallpox vaccine
The smallpox vaccine was the first successful vaccine to be developed. The process of vaccination was discovered by Edward Jenner in 1796, who acted upon his observation that milkmaids who caught the cowpox virus did not catch smallpox...
in the later eighteenth century had allowed birth rates to exceed death rates in the young, giving population growth. There was no possibility of importing food from outside of Europe at that time, so food prices had risen, and with the decline in military employment after the Napoleonic wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
unemployment and hunger were widespread in the countryside. Shelter and food for the destitute was provided locally by committees of landowners and clerics and varied from one area to another. Funding for this cames from the Rates, a local property tax, which became higher with increasing poverty. In 1830 an outbreak of civil unrest by desperate agricultural workers, the Swing Riots
Swing Riots
The Swing Riots were a widespread uprising by agricultural workers; it began with the destruction of threshing machines in the Elham Valley area of East Kent in the summer of 1830, and by early December had spread throughout the whole of southern England and East Anglia.As well as the attacks on...
, occurred in southern England, prompting the wealthy to look for a way of losing some of the surplus population, especially the more troublesome members, through emigration. Upper Canada
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
was seen as somewhere with unfarmed land to settle and not too costly to reach, but far enough that people would not easily come back.
The Petworth Emigration Committee
Thomas Sockett was a moving force behind the scheme. From humble beginnings he had been tutor to the more important of the Earl of Egremont's many children, all illegitimate, and secretary to the earl. Encouraged by the earl he had graduated at Oxford University so that he could be ordained into the anglican church and become Rector of Petworth to give him an independent living. He formed a committee of three, with Thomas Chrippes and William Knight. The earl was willing to pay the £10 per person cost of the voyage for those on his land, while the parish funds gave a further £10 for warm winter clothing, blankets and other supplies and equipment. Sockett used his network of wealthy contacts to recruit potential emigrants from across the southern counties of England, chartered ships and appointed supervisors to maintain discipline on the voyage and see the immigrants settled in Canada. To encourage further migration it was important that the scheme had a good reputation, so only good quality ships were hired. There were problems with the early supervisors and from 1834 to 1837 this task was undertaken by James Marr BrydoneJames Marr Brydone
James Marr Brydone , born in Selkirk, Scotland, was a Scottish surgeon who served in the British fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar.He is best remembered for being the first person in the main British battle fleet to sight the Franco-Spanish fleet, and did so without the use of a glass...
, a naval surgeon who had been at the Battle of Trafalgar
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
. The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834
Poor Law Amendment Act 1834
The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, sometimes abbreviated to PLAA, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed by the Whig government of Lord Melbourne that reformed the country's poverty relief system . It was an Amendment Act that completely replaced earlier legislation based on the...
increasingly interfered with local freedom of action, bringing a harsher regíme, as the Poor Law Commission
Poor Law Commission
The Poor Law Commission was a body established to administrate poor relief after the passing of the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834. The commission was made up of three commissioners who became known as "The Bashaws of Somerset House", their secretary and nine clerks or assistant commissioners...
said that other agencies could transport the emigrants more cheaply, and no more ships were chartered after 1837.
The voyage
The crossing by sailing ship took about seven weeks to Quebec, with very cramped living conditions, a six foot square berth for three adults or six children. Cooking was done by the passengers using stoves on deck. Ships used included the England, the British Tar and the Diana (1837). The voyage was longer but cheaper than going to the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
because the migrants were providing a return cargo for ships bringing timber to England. Ships would be towed up the St. Lawrence River to Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
by wood fired steam tugs where the passengers had to transfer to barges known as Durham boats to ascend the St. Lawrence Rapids to Prescott
Prescott, Ontario
Prescott is a town of approximately 4,180 people on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Leeds and Grenville United Counties, Ontario, Canada. The Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge, 5 km east of Prescott in Johnstown, connects it with Ogdensburg, New York...
before catching a steamer to Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
and Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, then still called York. When the Rideau Canal
Rideau Canal
The Rideau Canal , also known as the Rideau Waterway, connects the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on the Ottawa River to the city of Kingston, Ontario on Lake Ontario. The canal was opened in 1832 as a precaution in case of war with the United States and is still in use today, with most of its...
was open the rapids could be avoided by using the Ottawa River
Ottawa River
The Ottawa River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. For most of its length, it now defines the border between these two provinces.-Geography:...
and the canal.
The people
About 1800 people were sent to Canada by the scheme mostly from 1832 to 1837, although 170 went from 1838 to 1850 on ships of other agents. Young single men often went because employers and relief committees gave priority to married men with families. Arable workers on farms were only employed seasonally and were more likely to go than stockmen. Skilled artisanArtisan
An artisan is a skilled manual worker who makes items that may be functional or strictly decorative, including furniture, clothing, jewellery, household items, and tools...
s could look forward to new opportunities in a freer more equal country. Former soldiers often did not settle easily into life back home and had the incentive of being entitled to claim 100 acres (40 hectares) of uncleared land, while other migrants were given five acres (2 hectares).