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The Galápagos as penal colony: Exile, peonage, and state control at the Hacienda El Progreso, 1878–1904

Abstract:

Transportation to remote islands has been a way that authorities have dealt with criminals since well before the birth of the modern state. What happens to those exiles once on the islands has varied greatly in different times and places. This paper explores the Galápagos plantation run from 1878 to 1904 by Manuel J. Cobos. His operation demonstrates that the patriarchal concept of the hacienda continued to play a key role in the disciplining of perceived criminality in Latin America in the late 19th century, outside of the roles of the military, the police, and penal institutions. The Galápagos example shows the overlaps and tensions between capitalist plantations and state penal colonies in their treatment of transported convicts in the 19th century.