Long ago, there was a prison.
It was on a small island. Life there was very hard. Many people got sick from bugs. A man named Alfred Dreyfus lived there too.
Today, the prison is closed. Do you want to learn more?
Long ago, France had a prison in a far land.
This prison was on a group of islands. Life was very hard for the people there. Many people got sick from bugs in the hot air.
A man named Alfred Dreyfus was sent there by mistake. He was a soldier who was wrongly accused. Some people even tried to escape by boat. The prisons finally closed a long time ago. Now, some of the islands are museums for visitors to see.
Long ago, France sent many prisoners to a place called Devil's Island. This was part of a prison system in French Guiana. It lasted for 100 years, from 1852 to 1952.
Life there was very hard. Many people got sick from diseases. Mosquitoes in the hot air also made people ill. At its worst, 75 percent of people died there.
There were different prisons on different islands. Saint-Joseph Island was for punishment. It was dark and silent there. Devil's Island was for political prisoners. These were people who had different ideas than the leaders. One famous man was Captain Alfred Dreyfus. He was sent there after being wrongly accused of spying.
Some prisoners tried to escape by boat. One man named Henri Charrière wrote a book about escaping on coconut rafts. The prisons finally closed in 1953. Today, some of the islands are museums for visitors to see.
Devil's Island was part of a famous prison system in French Guiana. This system lasted for 100 years from 1852 to 1952. It was located in the Salvation Islands near Cayenne. The French government used these places to hold many different types of prisoners. Some were criminals, while others were political prisoners. A political prisoner is someone sent to jail for their ideas or actions against leaders.
This system became known for being very harsh. It is still remembered today because of the difficult lives of the people there.
The prison system was spread across many different locations. Some prisons were on the mainland in places like Kourou and St. Laurent. Others were on the offshore Salvation Islands. Each island had a specific purpose for the prisoners. Île Royale was a center for the general population of prisoners. Saint-Joseph Island was used for punishment through silence and darkness. This was called solitary confinement.
Devil's Island itself was kept for political prisoners. The small facility on that island usually held no more than 12 people at a time.
Before these islands were used, France had a different way of holding prisoners. In the 1600s, some prisoners worked as galley slaves on ships. Later, the government kept prisoners on large, old ships called hulks. These ships stayed moored in harbors until they sank. By the 1800s, the population in French cities grew very fast. This led to more crime and more prisoners.
Emperor Napoleon III decided to close the ships. He ordered that convicts be sent overseas to colonies instead.
Life in the penal colony was very difficult for the 80,000 prisoners sent there. Many people died because of the tropical climate and diseases. Mosquitoes were everywhere and spread illnesses to the inmates. At the worst times, the death rate was 75 percent.
One famous prisoner was Captain Alfred Dreyfus. He was a French officer sent to the island in 1895. He had been wrongly accused of spying for Germany.
His story helped the public learn about the hard conditions in the colony.
Some prisoners tried to escape the islands to find freedom. One man named Charles DeRudio escaped with twelve others. Another man named Clément Duval escaped to New York City in 1901. A man named Henri Charrière wrote a famous book called Papillon about his escape. He said he used coconut sacks as rafts to reach the mainland.
People often debated if his story was entirely true. The prisons finally closed completely in 1953. Today, some of the islands are museums where people can visit.
The Devil's Island penal colony was a notorious French prison system located in French Guiana. It operated for exactly 100 years, from 1852 to 1952. The system was located in the Salvation Islands, which are off the coast of Cayenne. This colony was used to house different types of convicts. Some were civil-law prisoners, known as transportés. Others were political prisoners, known as déportés, who were convicted of crimes like conspiracy.
The prison system was divided into several distinct locations. On the mainland, there were facilities in Kourou, Cayenne, and St. Laurent. In the Salvation Islands group, each island served a specific role. Île Royale acted as the reception center for the general population. Saint-Joseph Island was used for reclusion, which meant solitary confinement in silence and darkness. Devil's Island was reserved for political prisoners. This facility was very small and usually held fewer than 12 people at a time.
Before this system began, France used different methods to manage prisoners. During the 16th and 17th centuries, many were forced to be galley slaves in the French Navy. After the navy stopped using galleys in 1666, prisoners were kept on large, old ships called hulks. These ships were moored in harbors and often rotted or sank. By the early 19th century, France's urban population grew from under 6 million to over 16 million. This growth led to more crime and more prisoners in the cities.
Emperor Napoleon III changed how the state handled these prisoners. Following his coup in 1851, he ordered the closure of the prison hulks. He decided that civil-law convicts should be transferred to overseas colonies. After debating many locations, the government chose French Guiana. This was a difficult choice because colonization efforts there had failed many times before. In 1763, for example, 75 percent of the 12,000 colonists died in their first year from tropical diseases.
Life in the penal colony was extremely dangerous for the inmates. More than 80,000 prisoners were sent to the system, but most never returned to France. The tropical climate and endemic diseases caused many deaths. Mosquitoes in the region transmitted various illnesses to the prisoners. At its worst, the mortality rate reached 75 percent. The prison environment was also known for being brutal and often involved inter-prisoner violence.
Some prisoners became famous due to their time in the colony. Captain Alfred Dreyfus was a French officer sent to Devil's Island in 1895. He had been wrongly accused of spying for Imperial Germany. His case, known as the Dreyfus Affair, brought public attention to the harsh conditions. Other prisoners attempted to escape the islands. Charles DeRudio escaped with twelve others to reach British Guiana. Clément Duval, an anarchist, escaped in 1901 and lived in New York City.
The system eventually faced criticism and began to close. In 1938, René Belbenoît published a book called Dry Guillotine. This book described the horrible conditions and caused public outrage. Although World War II delayed the process, the French government began closing the prisons in 1946. The Devil's Island facility was the very last one to close in 1953. Today, some of the larger islands in the group serve as museums for tourists.
Where will your curiosity go next?
🖼️ Images & Media (4)
More to explore
✨ What else?
Related topics you might enjoy
🪜 Step back
Simpler topics to build understanding
What is Nepedia?
A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.