Institutional Confinement In The 1600s

In Europe, institutional confinement did not become a major punishment for criminals until the 1600s and 1700s. (In the United States, institutional confinement was not used extensively as a punishment until the 1800s.) As a practice, though institutional confinement has existed since ancient times. Before the 1600s, however, it usually served functions other than punishment for criminal behavior. For example, confinement was used to:

1. Detain people before trial. 2. Hold prisoners awaiting other sanctions, such as death and corporal punishment. 3. Coerce payment of debts and fines. 4. Hold and punish slaves. 5. Achieve religious indoctrination and spiritual reformation (as during the Inquisition). 6. Quarantine disease (as during