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An analysis of mixed marriages in nineteenth-century Tasmania

Isabelle Cherkesly, Monash University

During the first 50 years of its existence (1803-1853), the portrait of migration in Tasmania was mainly linked to the convict Transportation System. Until 1840, these convicts were mainly English Protestant men, as a minority of convicts were women and all direct ships from Ireland were sent to New South Wales. In 1840, New South Wales closed as a penal colony, and Irish ships started landing in Tasmania. The lack of direct Irish convict ships from Ireland until 1840, meant that the colony was mainly comprised of English Protestants. Catholic churches were almost non-existent, and Irish convicts had to attend Sunday mass in Protestant churches. As more Irish ships arrived, Catholic churches and the pool of Irish Catholics increased significantly within the next 13 years. Using the lens of assortative mating, the following project looks at mixed marriages in Tasmania, within the greater context of the Irish Diaspora. For this purpose a database of 1,610 Irish female convicts who married in Tasmania has been created. Using both descriptive statistics and logistic regressions, the current project explores the lives of Irish female convicts in Tasmania, through the decisions they made on the marriage market.

Keywords: Migrant populations, Linked data sets, Historical demography/methods, Family demography

See extended abstract.

  Presented in Session P17.