Editing Penal colonies

Penal Colonies were a type of exile forced upon criminals when the British Empire was settling in America and later Australia, although this was vital for the foundation of future colonies the Penal Colonies themselves were brutal regimes, especially in the early days, and prisoners were faced with torture and regular beatings - until they served their sentence (usually a minimum of seven years): at which point they became completely free and were allowed to leave the colony.