Clare Anderson is Professor of History at the University of Leicester.

1. Introduction: a British expedition to the Brazilian penal colony of Fernando de Noronha in 1887. Part I: 2. Empires and colonies; 3. Nations, borders, and islands; 4. Enslavement, banishment, and penal transportation; 5. Imperial governance; 6. Insurgency, politics, and religion; Part II: 7. Punishment and penal systems; 8. Encounters, exploration, and knowledge; 9. Medicine, criminality, and race; 10. The human sciences; 11. Escape and extradition; 12. Conclusion; Index.