Bagne (penal establishment)

In French history, bagne [baɲ] is a term used to describe a penal establishment where forced labor was enforced. These establishments were typically in penal colonies or galleys where there were the port bagnes (or maritime bagnes). Not all convicts in the penal system were sentenced to forced labor.

The word "bagne" comes from the Italian bagno, name of a prison in Livorno built on the site of a therma, an ancient Roman Bathhouse.

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