Bridgetown - Manaus

Ports

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• Devil's Island
  

  Devil's Island (French: Ile du Diable) is the smallest and northernmost island of the three Iles du Salut located off the coast of French Guiana. 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. The penitentiary was first opened by Emperor Napoleon III's government in 1852 and became one of the most infamous 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" in the English-speaking world, while they are known in France as the Bagne de Cayenne, Cayenne being the main city of French Guiana. Used by France from 1852 to 1946, the inmates were everything from "political" prisoners (for example, anarchist Clement 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 May 30, 1854 law provided that prisoners would then be forced to stay in French Guiana following their release for a time equal to their forced labor time, or, for sentences exceeding eight years, for the remainder of their life. They were to be provided with land to settle on. With time, a variety of penal regimes emerged, convicts, being divided into categories according to the severity of their crimes and their imprisonment or forced residence regime. In 1885, a law accelerated the process, since repeat offenders for minor crimes could also be sent. A limited number of convicted women were also sent to French Guiana, with the intent that they should marry the freed male inmates; however, the results were poor, and the government discontinued the practice in 1907.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. The SeaDream yacht will anchor off near Ile Royal and offer tender service for those guests wishing to explore the island. Ile Royale (Royal Island) is the largest and westernmost island of the three Iles du Salut. As the largest island, with an area of 28 hectares, it was used as the centre for the administration when the islands were used as a penal settlement. With an elevation of 66 meters, the island is the highest of the group. It contains a museum and a hotel (L'Auberge des Iles du Salut).