penal colonies

A penal colony is a remote location where government authorities send prisoners to serve their sentences outside of regular prisons. Historically, they were used to isolate inmates, often in distant territories or colonies, aiming to both punish and remove offenders from society. These colonies typically involved labor and hard living conditions. Notable examples include Australia in the 18th and 19th centuries. Penal colonies were part of broader criminal justice strategies, especially when overcrowding and resource management became concerns. Today, the concept has largely been replaced by modern prison systems, but they remain significant in historical discussions of punishment and colonialism.