A Natural Hulk: Australia’s Carceral Islands in the Colonial Period, 1788–1901

During Australia's colonial period (1788–1901), at least eleven offshore islands served as sites of punitive relocation for European convicts and Indigenous Australians, playing three critical roles: expanding territorial and commercial control through forced labor; disciplining misbehaving convicts to maintain colonial order; and expelling Indigenous populations resisting colonization. These 'colonial peripheries' functioned within a broader system of punishment that relied on mobility and distance, mirroring the flow of convicts between Britain and its Australian colonies. The study reconstructs this history through an analysis of official correspondence, revealing how carceral islands were instrumental in both governance and economic expansion.

Roscoe, K. (2018). A Natural Hulk: Australia’s Carceral Islands in the Colonial Period, 1788–1901. International Review of Social History, 63(S26), 45–63. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0020859018000214