Devils Island

Devils Island

In the Salvation Islands of French Guiana, the Penal Colony of Cayenne, also known as Devil's Island, is the site of a French penal colony that existed for 100 years, from 1852 to 1952. The colony was officially closed in 1953. The Devil's Island system, which opened in 1852, was home to convicts from the St-Laurent-du-Maroni prison who had been brought from all parts of the Second French Empire. The prison was infamous for both the brutal treatment of prisoners by the staff and the high mortality rate due to the tropical climate and diseases. At its worst, the prison system had a mortality rate of 75 percent, and was eventually closed in the middle of the 20th century. Devil's Island was also infamous for its role in the exile of French political prisoners, of which the most famous was Captain Alfred Dreyfus, accused of spying for Germany. The Dreyfus case was a multi-year long scandal in late 19th and early 20th century France, which revealed anti-Semitism and widespread corruption within the military of French. The French government gave the newly created Guiana Space Center authority over most of the islands in 1965. The islands are in the path of the space rockets launched from the center to the east, towards the sea. During each launch, they must be evacuated. The islands are home to a large number of measuring devices for space launches. The French Space Agency, in collaboration with other agencies, has renovated the buildings, which are considered to be historical monuments. The islands now receive more than 50,000 tourists a year.