Sunday Jan 17, 2016
Anchored off Devil's Island: Hot, very humid, and sunny
Three islands, located off the coast of French Guiana, became part of the French penal system from 1852-1952. Emperor Napoleon III's government wanted a jail for criminals and a place to send people who opposed Napoleon.
France had tried to colonize French Guiana but everyone kept dying so what better place to get rid of one's problems than on the three tropical islands! Royale was for the criminals, Saint Joseph for the mentally ill, and Devil's Island for the political prisoners--all lumped together today as "Devil's Island."
Estimates are that more than 80,000 prisoners made the 15 day voyage to Devil's Island and starvation, extremely difficult working conditions, diseases, and brutal heat killed the vast majority. "Work" was cutting a cubic metre of hard wood daily or working on a road to no-where.
To make matters even worse, a 1854 French law provided that convicts, who had served their sentences, would be required to stay on the island for a time equal to that served, but if the original sentence was for more than 8 years, the prisoner would be required to spend the rest of his life on the island. Some records indicate that about 2000 eventually returned to France.
Reclusion disciplinaire: When the men tried to escape and were caught they were put in solitary confinement for 2 years, the second attempt was for 5 years. Often solitary meant being bricked up with only a small slot into which food was periodically shoved.
The men were forbidden to talk to each other or their jailers and many of the men became insane from the lack of human contact. Often they were chained to their beds which was a couple of wooden planks and slowly went mad. Others were kept in deep concrete pits with iron bars over their heads which were open to all of the elements.
Some did manage to escape. Escapee Henri "Papillon"Charriere, spent 13 years on Royale. His best seller Papillon, published in 1970 became a very well-known film starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman. Much of Papillon was fiction, however, the accounts of daily life of the prisoners were accurate.
Dry Guillotine was written by another escaped convict Rene Belbenoit and became a publishing hit in 1938 and began to sway public opinion towards closing the prisons.
Not until after WWII did the French finally close the penal colonies. Today, much of the prison has returned to the jungle but tourists coming ashore at Royale can still see the pits, the solitary confinement cells, the church, and many of the other buildings. There is an ongoing restoration program and some of the buildings are being recovered.
Anchored off Devil's Island: Hot, very humid, and sunny
First time using tenders to go ashore 
Three islands, located off the coast of French Guiana, became part of the French penal system from 1852-1952. Emperor Napoleon III's government wanted a jail for criminals and a place to send people who opposed Napoleon.
France had tried to colonize French Guiana but everyone kept dying so what better place to get rid of one's problems than on the three tropical islands! Royale was for the criminals, Saint Joseph for the mentally ill, and Devil's Island for the political prisoners--all lumped together today as "Devil's Island."
Estimates are that more than 80,000 prisoners made the 15 day voyage to Devil's Island and starvation, extremely difficult working conditions, diseases, and brutal heat killed the vast majority. "Work" was cutting a cubic metre of hard wood daily or working on a road to no-where.
Agouti on the island
Church
To make matters even worse, a 1854 French law provided that convicts, who had served their sentences, would be required to stay on the island for a time equal to that served, but if the original sentence was for more than 8 years, the prisoner would be required to spend the rest of his life on the island. Some records indicate that about 2000 eventually returned to France.
Reclusion disciplinaire: When the men tried to escape and were caught they were put in solitary confinement for 2 years, the second attempt was for 5 years. Often solitary meant being bricked up with only a small slot into which food was periodically shoved.
The men were forbidden to talk to each other or their jailers and many of the men became insane from the lack of human contact. Often they were chained to their beds which was a couple of wooden planks and slowly went mad. Others were kept in deep concrete pits with iron bars over their heads which were open to all of the elements.
Solitary cells
Infant cemetery
Guillotine site
Some did manage to escape. Escapee Henri "Papillon"Charriere, spent 13 years on Royale. His best seller Papillon, published in 1970 became a very well-known film starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman. Much of Papillon was fiction, however, the accounts of daily life of the prisoners were accurate.
Dry Guillotine was written by another escaped convict Rene Belbenoit and became a publishing hit in 1938 and began to sway public opinion towards closing the prisons.
Not until after WWII did the French finally close the penal colonies. Today, much of the prison has returned to the jungle but tourists coming ashore at Royale can still see the pits, the solitary confinement cells, the church, and many of the other buildings. There is an ongoing restoration program and some of the buildings are being recovered.
2 comments:
Great update - pink flower pic is awesome. Hope Dave did ok on the tender.
Papillon's name came up when we were touring in Belize a few days ago. Friends who visited Devil's Island in 2014 mentioned that after escaping, he came to Belize.
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