The main objective of this article is to investigate the creation of a penitentiary establishment called "Colônia Correcional de Dois Rios", at Ilha Grande, Rio de Janeiro, during the first years of the Brazilian Republic system. Although the disciplinary proposal and measures were related to ongoing practices that have been developed in European countries and in the United States, they assumed a very particular aspect in Brazil, since the followed objectives, values and beliefs that were present amongst those who were responsible for the direct administration of the prisons and the interns.
First Brazilian Republic; Rio de Janeiro; Ilha Grande; prisons; penitentiary; violence; torture; crime