Prince of Wales carried 49 female convicts from Portsmouth and received two alleged mutiny leaders from Scarborough. Only nine cases of illness had been recorded by Tenerife, the lowest total among the First Fleet transports, although the ship had no resident surgeon and John White could visit from Sirius only when conditions allowed. Phillip objected that the women were still wearing prison clothing, while rain and humidity brought insects, rats, fleas, lice, and eventually scurvy below deck. Jane Bonner died after the longboat struck her, and John Hartley later died from an unidentified cause, yet the ship's two deaths still compared favorably with Alexander's losses. Relations among convicts, crew, Marines, wives, and children produced punishments, courts martial, drunken accidents, births, and one death among the Marine families. Sergeant James Scott's surviving journal preserves a Marine participant's account of the voyage.
Chapter · 2:08:19-2:14:59
Health, clothing, and discipline aboard Prince of Wales
Low overall mortality coexisted with inadequate clothing, vermin, scurvy, accidents, and discipline problems among convicts, crew, and Marine families.