In 1712 convicts on the Island were given a monthly ration of forty pounds of rice, and they were not allowed to fish, thus preventing them from supplementing their meagre rations. These ration quotas proved to be insufficient, and unable to sustain them for an entire month and they petitioned for an increase. In 1721, the convicts who went into the veld and slaughtered the Island’s sheep to supplement their food supply were punished with the suspension of their meat, rice and meal rations.
