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Beyond Papillon

The French Overseas Penal Colonies, 1854-1952

By: Stephen A. Toth

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Paperback | 1 September 2006

At a Glance

Paperback
240 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.8

Paperback

$34.75

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For French criminologists and colonialists of the mid-nineteenth century, the penal colonies of Guiana and New Caledonia seemed to satisfy two needs, namely, to incarcerate a growing number of criminals and to supply manpower for these developing colonies. But were these two goals not self-contradictory? Was the primary purpose of the penal colonies to punish or to colonize? In the prisons, inmates found means of subversion, guards resisted militaristic discipline, and camp commanders fought physicians for authority. Back in the metropole, journalistic exposes catered to the public's fascination with the penal colonies' horror and exoticism. An understanding of modern France is not complete without an examination of this institution, which existed for more than a century and imprisoned more than one hundred thousand people. Stephen A. Toth invites readers to experience the prisons firsthand. Through a careful analysis of criminal case files, administrative records, and prisoner biographies, Toth reconstructs life in the penal colonies and examines how the social sciences, tropical medicine, and sensational journalism evaluated and exploited the inmates' experiences.In exploring the disjuncture between the real and the imagined, he moves beyond mythic characterizations of the penal colonies and reveals how power, discipline, and punishment were construed and enforced in these prison outposts.

Industry Reviews

"Stephen A. Toth adds to the growing literature on colonial police forces and prisons with this sophisticated, archivally grounded history of French penal colonies in French Guiana and New Caledonia from their creation in 1854 to their final closure in 1952... [T]his is a very satisfying piece of work, a welcome addition to new colonial history." American Historical Review "...the appearance of Toth's book is welcome indeed...Toth's chapter about internal life, especially the perspective from below, offers fascinating reading...the entire chapter 7 again offers fascinating reading" Pieter Spierenburg Crime, History & Societies 2009, Vol. 13, No. 1

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