Penal colony

A penal colony is a colony used to detain prisoners and generally use them for penal labor in an economically underdeveloped part of the state's (usually colonial) territories, and on a far larger scale than a prison farm. The British Empire's use of parts of Australia, a 'virgin' continent, provides the classic example.

Generalities

The prison regime was always harsh, often including severe physical punishment, so even if not sentenced for the rest of their natural lives, many died from hunger, disease, medical neglect and excessive efforts, or during an escape attempt.

In the penal Colony system, prisoners were deported far away to prevent escape and to discourage returning after their sentence expired. Penal Colonies were often located in frontier lands, especially the more inhospitable parts, where their unpaid labour could benefit the metropoles before immigration labor became available, or even afterwards where they are much cheaper; in fact sometimes people (especially the poor, following a similar social logic as could see them domestically 'employed' in a poorhouse) were sentenced for trivial or dubious offenses to generate cheap labor.

British Empire

The British used North America as a penal Colony through the system of indentured servants. Most notably, the Province of Georgia was originally designed as a penal colony. Convicts would be transported by private sector merchants and auctioned off to plantation owners upon arrival in the colonies. It is estimated that some 50,000 British convicts were banished to colonial America, representing perhaps one-quarter of all British emigrants during the eighteenth century.

When that avenue closed in the 1780s after the American Revolution, Britain began using parts of modern day Australia as penal Colonies. Some of these early colonies were Norfolk Island, Van Diemen's Land and New South Wales. Advocates of Irish Home Rule or of Trade Unionism (the Tolpuddle Martyrs) often received sentences of transportation (the harsh regime started during the long shipping) to these Australian colonies.

In colonial India, the British had made various penal colonies. Two of the most infamous ones are on the Andaman islands and at Hijli.

Elsewhere

France sent criminals to tropical penal colonies. Devil's Island in French Guiana, 1852 - 1939, received forgers and other criminals. New Caledonia in Melanesia (in the South Sea) received dissidents like the Communards, Kabyles rebels as well as convicted criminals.
In Ecuador, the Island of San Cristobál (in the Galapagos archipelago) was used as a penal colony 1869 - 1904.
Both Imperial Russia and the Soviet Union used Siberia as a penal colony for criminals and dissidents. Though geographically contiguous with heartland Russia, Siberia provided both remoteness and a harsh climate. The Gulag and its tsarist predecessor, the katorga system, provided penal labor to develop forestry, logging and mining industries, construction enterprises, as well as highways and railroads across Siberia.

Fiction

In the Penal Colony is a short story by Franz Kafka.
More than one of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series, including Desolation Island and The Nutmeg of Consolation include scenes set in and around New South Wales.
"penal colony" is also the English title of two movies: No Escape (1994) and Colonia penal, La (1970)
For the Term of His Natural Life by Marcus Clarke is a 19th Century novel dealing with the main characters deportation to the Australian penal colony in 1830. There are several movie versions, such as the 1983 TV movie starring Colin Friels
"Morgan's Run" by Colleen McCullough is a 20th Century novel dealing with the main characters deportation to the Australian penal colony.
"Papillon" is the title of Henri Charriere's 20th Century autobiographical novel concerning a Frenchman interned on a penal colony in French Guiana, and the 1973 movie directed by Franklin J. Schaffner.

The concept of remote and inhospitable prison planets has been employed by science fiction writers. Famous examples include:

Kessel, a prison planet which specialized in spice mining in the Star Wars universe.
Robert Sheckley's Omega,
Salusa Secundus in Frank Herbert's Dune,
The planet Fiorina 'Fury' 161 in Alien³,
The CoDominium series of Jerry Pournelle showed several planets, such as Tanith, Haven and Sparta, that were used as dumping grounds for criminals and dissidents,
Rura Penthe, a Klingon colony where prisoners mine dilithium in the Star Trek universe,
The Doctor Who serial Frontier in Space features a lunar penal colony in the 26th century; a lunar penal colony of the 2002nd century is also mentioned in the episode Bad Wolf,
In several episodes the TV series Stargate SG-1, whole planets are used as penal colonies, generally by the goa'uld, e.g. Hadante in episode 25 (season 2)
Crematoria is the sun scorched prison planet in The Chronicles of Riddick,
The Moon in Robert A. Heinlein's novel The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress
Shayol from Cordwainer Smith's future history; criminals are sent there to have their internal organs constantly harvested and regrown.

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