Editing Forced labour (section)

====Prison labour====

[[File:Modern chain gang.jpg|right|thumb|American prisoner "[[chain gang]]" labourers, 2006. Notice the shackles on the feet of the prisoners.]]
[[Convict]] or prison labour is another classic form of unfree labour. The forced labour of convicts has often been regarded with lack of sympathy, because of the [[social stigma]] attached to people regarded as common criminals.

Three [[British Empire|British colonies]] in Australia –  [[New South Wales]], [[Van Diemen's Land]] and [[Western Australia]] – are examples of the state use of convict labour. Australia received thousands of convict labourers in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries who were given sentences for crimes ranging from those now considered to be minor misdemeanours to such serious offences as murder, rape and incest. A considerable number of Irish convicts were sentenced to transportation for [[treason]] while fighting against [[British rule in Ireland]].{{citation needed|date=June 2021}}

More than 165,000 convicts were transported to Australian colonies from 1788 to 1868.<ref>[http://landing.ancestry.co.uk/intl/au/convict/ Convict Records] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090527025021/http://landing.ancestry.co.uk/intl/au/convict/ |date=2009-05-27 }}, Ancestry.co.uk</ref> Most British or Irish convicts who were sentenced to transportation, however, completed their sentences in British jails and were not transported at all.

It is estimated that in the last 50 years more than 50 million people have been sent to Chinese {{lang|zh-Latn|[[laogai]]}} camps.<ref>Lewis, Aaron (October 5, 2005). "[http://news.sbs.com.au/dateline/inside_the_lao_gai_130581 Inside the Lao Gai]{{dead link|date=September 2018|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}". [http://news.sbs.com.au/dateline Special Broadcasting Service] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080913041920/http://news.sbs.com.au/dateline |date=2008-09-13 }}. Retrieved on 2008-10-16.</ref>