The Unbelievable Tale of Alexander Pearce Recalled in Van Diemen's Land
September 24th 2009 05:24
A convict waits for the inevitable in Van Diemen's Land.
Convicts flee in the forest. Can you see them?
In the 1800s, what is now Tasmania used to be called Van Diemen's Land where thousands of convicts were transported to serve their sentences as laborers. One of these convicts was Alexander Pearce, a man who was convicted of the initial offense of stealing six pairs of shoes. After being a repeat offender even while incarcerated, he was transported to a secondary penal colony, Macquarie Harbor Penal Settlement where he escaped with several other convicts.
Pearce was recaptured and recounted a tale of how he and the other convicts survived the wilderness by eating the other convicts. His tale was too tall to be believed and the authorities thought he was lying thinking the other convicts were still alive in the wilderness. Pearce was sent back to prison but escaped again after a year with another convict named Thomas Cox. Recaptured again after a time, parts of Cox were found in his pockets, apparently for use as food. Then, it was no longer a question of whether Pearce had previously lied about eating his fellow escapees or not.
The movie Van Diemen's Land attempts to bring to life what may have transpired between the escaping convicts. We all know the story and how it will end, but what we don't know is the details and this movie dramatizes what could have happened. Were the victims of the act of cannibalism willing to have died and provide sustenance to the others, or were they just the unfortunate ones to be chosen to be eaten by Pearce and the others?
The subject of cannibalism has always been a popular choice of movie makers even it's a tacky one. Most deal with fiction but a few are based on true stories of survival where people are forced to make a choice between living by eating other people and dying. In Van Diemen's Land, it can be said that those who were eaten by Pearce were also possibly held against their will and murdered. There was only Pearce's testimony and he could have lied about what really happened. In the trailer of the movie, a scene is shown wherein one convict looks as if he is willing to be killed and eaten by the others. Who knows what the truth really is?
Get your cinema secrets here.
Pearce was recaptured and recounted a tale of how he and the other convicts survived the wilderness by eating the other convicts. His tale was too tall to be believed and the authorities thought he was lying thinking the other convicts were still alive in the wilderness. Pearce was sent back to prison but escaped again after a year with another convict named Thomas Cox. Recaptured again after a time, parts of Cox were found in his pockets, apparently for use as food. Then, it was no longer a question of whether Pearce had previously lied about eating his fellow escapees or not.
The movie Van Diemen's Land attempts to bring to life what may have transpired between the escaping convicts. We all know the story and how it will end, but what we don't know is the details and this movie dramatizes what could have happened. Were the victims of the act of cannibalism willing to have died and provide sustenance to the others, or were they just the unfortunate ones to be chosen to be eaten by Pearce and the others?
The subject of cannibalism has always been a popular choice of movie makers even it's a tacky one. Most deal with fiction but a few are based on true stories of survival where people are forced to make a choice between living by eating other people and dying. In Van Diemen's Land, it can be said that those who were eaten by Pearce were also possibly held against their will and murdered. There was only Pearce's testimony and he could have lied about what really happened. In the trailer of the movie, a scene is shown wherein one convict looks as if he is willing to be killed and eaten by the others. Who knows what the truth really is?
Get your cinema secrets here.
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