What is Penal colony?
A '''penal colony''' is a [[Human settlement|settlement]] used to hold [[prison]]ers and use them for working in part of the state's (usually [[colony|colonial]]) [[territory|territories]]. This is much bigger than a [[prison farm]]. A famous penal colony was [[Devil's Island]] in [[French Guiana]]. The [[British Empire]] used its colonies in [[North America]] as penal colonies for more than 150 years. The first [[British]] settlements in [[Australia]] were started as penal colonies. ==Common Features== [[Image:Convict labourers in Australia in the early 20th century.jpg|thumb|right|A [[convict]] ploughing team breaking up new ground at [[Port Arthur]], [[Tasmania]]]] Life in penal colony was often very hard, sometimes including severe physical [[punishment]]. Some prisoners were sentenced for the rest of their natural lives. Many died from hunger, disease, neglect, working too hard, or trying to escape. In the penal colony system, prisoners were sent far away to stop escapes and to make it hard to get home after their prison term finished. Penal colonies were often in unsettled lands, especially places where no else wanted to work or live. The prisoners' unpaid work would help the government develop new areas without spending a lot of money. ==British Empire== The British used parts of North America as a penal colony. [[Convict]]s 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dinsdoc.com/butler-1.htm|title=British Convicts Shipped to American Colonies |publisher=Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History|work=American Historical Review 2|date=October 1896|accessdate=2007-06-21}}</ref> After the [[American Revolutionary War|American Revolution]], Britain had to find somewhere else to send its prisoners. They established [[Sydney]], [[Norfolk Island]], [[Tasmania|Van Diemen's Land]] and [[Weste