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Devil's Island: Colony of the Damned
Traces the history of the French penal colony, describes the daily life of prisoners and guards, and includes profiles of notorious inmates
12 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1988
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 30, 2014
Papillon, Alfred Dreyfus. Many or most of us have heard of Devil's Island the French penal colony in French Guiana. What most of us don't know is that this is actually the name of one island in that colony; it became, however, the name referring to the entire colony.
The colony started pretty much as Australia did - as a dumping place for criminals. And, as in the case of Australia, it was thought that once criminals had served their sentences, they would stay in the colony and help populate and develop it. Wrong. What most prisoners wanted was to get out of Guiana as quickly as possible.
Most of the escapes we hear about in popular movies, such as Escape from Devil's Island, actually refer to escapes from the colony, not the island. Three small islands off the coast of Guiana were used as part of the "jail." The one actually called Devil's Island was originally occupied by a leper colony and afterwards mostly by political prisoners.
Alfred Dreyfus, a Jew accused of treason - wrongly as it turned out - was the sole occupant of the actual Devil's Island for five years. His dilapidated hut can still be seen.
Because of the tides, currents and sharks, only one successful escape from the offshore islands was ever documented. But many, many destroyed rafts and drowned bodies were washed up on the mainland beaches. No one can estimate the number of convicts killed by sharks in their attempts for freedom.
Nor were those who escaped very lucky. Guiana is a tropical jungle and only the prisons kept the jungle at bay. It's unhealthy climate meant that convicts were generally sentenced to life if they were transported to the colony. Malaria, snake bite, leprosy and other tropical diseases carried off quite a few before their sentences were completed. Surrounding countries such as Surinam and Brazil usually returned convicts - they were not model citizens.
The colony was started in the 1850s and the last transport was in 1938. It was in 1946 that the colony was finally liquidated.
The French established a space center, similar to Cape Kennedy on the mainland and some of the older buildings have been restored as historical monuments (in the face of opposition from those who felt, as most countries which skeletons in their closet feel, that the maltreatment and shame should be forgotten. Today, tourists are welcomed.
The colony started pretty much as Australia did - as a dumping place for criminals. And, as in the case of Australia, it was thought that once criminals had served their sentences, they would stay in the colony and help populate and develop it. Wrong. What most prisoners wanted was to get out of Guiana as quickly as possible.
Most of the escapes we hear about in popular movies, such as Escape from Devil's Island, actually refer to escapes from the colony, not the island. Three small islands off the coast of Guiana were used as part of the "jail." The one actually called Devil's Island was originally occupied by a leper colony and afterwards mostly by political prisoners.
Alfred Dreyfus, a Jew accused of treason - wrongly as it turned out - was the sole occupant of the actual Devil's Island for five years. His dilapidated hut can still be seen.
Because of the tides, currents and sharks, only one successful escape from the offshore islands was ever documented. But many, many destroyed rafts and drowned bodies were washed up on the mainland beaches. No one can estimate the number of convicts killed by sharks in their attempts for freedom.
Nor were those who escaped very lucky. Guiana is a tropical jungle and only the prisons kept the jungle at bay. It's unhealthy climate meant that convicts were generally sentenced to life if they were transported to the colony. Malaria, snake bite, leprosy and other tropical diseases carried off quite a few before their sentences were completed. Surrounding countries such as Surinam and Brazil usually returned convicts - they were not model citizens.
The colony was started in the 1850s and the last transport was in 1938. It was in 1946 that the colony was finally liquidated.
The French established a space center, similar to Cape Kennedy on the mainland and some of the older buildings have been restored as historical monuments (in the face of opposition from those who felt, as most countries which skeletons in their closet feel, that the maltreatment and shame should be forgotten. Today, tourists are welcomed.
November 28, 2009
very interesting book about french penal colonies in earlt 1900's and the constant ill fated escape attempts by prisoners.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews