America vs. Australia as a “Penal Colony”

What was Australia like as a penal colony?

The white European’s colonisation of Australia provides a very revealing chapter in Britain’s empire building history. Uncharacteristically for a British punishment, penal transportation involved mass exile, coerced labour, invasion, dispossession and genocide.

Was America used as a penal colony?

The British used parts of North America as a penal colony. Convicts would be transported by private companies and sold by auction to plantation owners. About 50,000 British convicts were sent to colonial America. This was about one quarter of British settlers during the 1700s.

Did Australia have a penal colony?

From 1788 – 1823 the New South Wales colony is officially a penal colony. The population consists of mostly convicts, marines and their wives. Early 1800s: Convicts begin to be sent to Norfolk Island, Van Diemen’s Land, Port Macquarie and Moreton Bay, as well as Botany Bay.

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