Abolitionism, settler violence and the case against flogging: a reassessment of Sir William Molesworth's contribution to the transportation debate

As chairman of the Select Committee on Transportation (1837–38), Sir William Molesworth played a key role in compiling the case against transportation. This article explores his role in fostering the view that settler violence was a pervasive aspect of colonial life, a claim directly borrowed from the anti-slavery movement. Focusing on his concerns about flogging, the article examines the way Molesworth’s use of the rhetoric of settler violence affected his relationship with the penal colonies. In doing so, it seeks to reconcile two counterposed images of Molesworth in the historiography: as an agent of metropolitan prejudice on the one hand and as a champion of colonial interests on the other.