Convict labour: Cuba and Australia in a comparative perspective

Convict labour is a widespread phenomenon in human history that appeared in almost every civilisation and epoch. The aim of this work is to analyze penal labour, transportation, exile and penal relocations in the Spanish and British Empires. Starting from the early manifestation of forced labour and penal servitude in Imperial Rome to the galleys of the fourteenth century, then the birth of the workhouses in Northern Europe in the early modern era, with a look at the shift in philosophical thinking and the centralized role of the early modern state, and the consequent birth of the penitentiary in the nineteenth century, this work focuses on the history and development of the practice of convict transportation. Moreover, it focuses on penal relocations in Australia by retracing the history and the role of colonial Australia in the Atlantic capitalist market, considering the labour commodification practices that originated from the New World colonies’ economy. It builds on the claim that settler colonialism still has legacies in today’s Australian society and legal system. Furthermore, it analyzes the Spanish Empire’s use of penal transportation and in particular, the Cuban case. Finally, it compares the two cases regarding the employment of convict labour and transportation, addressing how and why convicts were a major agent in building and shaping the current socio-economic scenario of the two countries. ​