Devil's Island
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Devil's Island (French Île du Diable) is the smallest island of the three Îles du Salut located off the coast of French Guiana at . It has an area of 14 hectares (34.6 acres). It was a notorious French penal colony until 1946.
The rocky, palm-covered island is 40 meters (131 ft) high and is most famous for its former prison for political prisoners and for its brutality. First opened by Emperor Napoleon III, Devil's Island would become one of the most famous prisons in history. In addition to the prison on the island, prison facilities were located on the mainland at Kourou. Over time, they became known collectively as "Devil's Island".
Used by France from 1852 to 1946, its residents were everything from political prisoners (for example, anarchist Clément Duval) to the most hardened of thieves and murderers. A great many of the more than 80,000 prisoners sent to the harsh conditions at disease-infested Devil's Island were never seen again. Other than by boat, the only way out was through a dense jungle; accordingly, very few convicts ever managed to escape.
The horrors of the penal settlement became notorious in 1895 with the publicity surrounding the plight of the Jewish French army captain Alfred Dreyfus who had been wrongfully convicted of treason and was sent there on January 5.
Cultural references
Several movies, songs, a stage play, as well as a number of books feature Devil's Island. The most famous was a 1970 best-selling book by an ex-Devil's Island convict named Henri Charrière published under the title Papillon. The book told of his numerous alleged escape attempts, and in 1973 it was made into a movie starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman.
Before the bestseller Papillon, Rene Belbenoit's book, titled Dry Guillotine published in 1938, was instrumental in exposing the prison colony of Devil's Island. The novel "Plan de evasión" by Adolfo Bioy Casares contains many references to the island.
Devil's Island is the name of a song on Megadeth's 1986 release Peace Sells... But Who's Buying? The song is about a man who is about to be executed on Devil's Island, but is spared at the last second by God. However, the prisoner is forced to stay at Devil's Island forever. In Megadeth's Rude Awakening DVD, frontman Dave Mustaine says the following: "this is from a movie called 'Papillon'. See if you recognize this one", promptly playing "Devil's Island".
The end of Devil's Island
In 1938 the French government stopped sending prisoners to Devil's Island, and in 1946 the prison closed permanently. Most of the prisoners returned to European France, although some chose to remain in French Guiana.
Further reading
- Belbenoit, René. 1940. Hell on Trial. Translated from the Original French Manuscript by Preston Rambo. E. P Dutton & Co. Reprint by Blue Ribbon Books, New York, 1941.
- Belbenoit, René. 1938. Dry guillotine: Fifteen years among the living dead. Reprint: Berkley (1975). ISBN 0425029506. Reprint: Bantam Books, 1971.
- Charrière, Henri. Papillon. Reprints: Hart-Davis Macgibbon Ltd. 1970. ISBN 0246639873 (hbk); Perennial, 2001. ISBN 0060934794 (sbk).
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