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Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology

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01-09-2018 | Lessons from the Museum

Cannibalism amongst penitentiary escapees from Sarah Island in nineteenth century Van Diemen’s Land

Authors: Roger W. Byard, Hamish Maxwell-Stewart

Published in: Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology | Issue 3/2018

Abstract

Alexander Pearce was an Irish convict incarcerated on Sarah Island on the west coast of Van Diemen’s Land (modern day Tasmania, Australia) in 1822, following his transportation to the colony from the United Kingdom for seven years in 1819. On two occasions he escaped from the island, in September 1822 and again in November 1823, and was only able to survive the harsh conditions by killing and consuming his fellow escapees. Given that Pearce utilized the only sustenance that was at hand (i.e. his five companions), and that there was a temporal separation between the two episodes, this may represent a separate category of anthropophagy, that of serial opportunistic cannibalism.

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Title: Cannibalism amongst penitentiary escapees from Sarah Island in nineteenth century Van Diemen’s Land
Authors: Roger W. Byard
Hamish Maxwell-Stewart
Publication date: 01-09-2018
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology / Issue 3/2018
Print ISSN: 1547-769X
Electronic ISSN: 1556-2891
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12024-017-9938-6

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Cannibalism amongst penitentiary escapees from Sarah Island in nineteenth century Van Diemen’s Land

Abstract

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