Carceral Chains: Pathways through a Convict Labour Institution, 1690–1830

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article examines early modern convicts’ experiences of extramural penal labour institutions – known in their time as slaveries. It centres on Denmark’s main slaveries in Copenhagen and analyses data collected from the books keeping track of the inmates. On this basis, the article examines their experiences at connected moments: before entry, at entry, in the extraction of labour, and at exit. The article describes how these moments linked together to form patterns. Crucially, experiences during and at the termination of stays in these prisons were often predicated on former experiences in the labour market, how punitive labour was linked to forms of corporal violence, and the question of honour.