The worst penal colonies worldwide, namely America.... 101 History
http://suite101.com/article/worldwid...olonies-a46419
Tracing the history of penal colonies throughout the world is difficult, as they seem to have developed rather recently in the civilized world. Prior to the eighteenth century, in fact, throughout much of the world, a person would have simply been executed or imprisoned for the crimes that would later have them sent to penal colonies. In this sense, one might argue that these colonies arose out of a combination of greed and ambiguous humanitarianism.
The prisoners sent to these colonies, at the same time, should not be confused with either slaves or indentured servents, as slaves were bought and sold as property based not on their own wrongdoings, but on the view of others regarding their position in society; and indentured servents acted as a form of cheap labor, but to pay off personal debt rather than to serve a sentence for crimes.
British Penal Colonies
The most notable penal colonies belonged to Great Britain during the eighteenth century, beginning with North America. The British sent many prisoners to what is now the modern state of Georgia (originally intended founded as a penal colony for British debtors, as well as a sort of military protectorate). These prisoners would be transferred to the colony from Britain and then auctioned off as indentured servants to plantation owners.
