Devil's Island

The Devil's Island prison complex was located in French Guiana off the Atlantic coast. It consisted of a three island cluster, the Iles du Salut (Islands of Salvation), plus some sections of mainland French Guiana. Its reputation as the world's toughest prison was such that it was sometimes called “The Island of No Return.”

French Guiana was first used as a penal colony during the French Revolution. Napoleon III (1808–1873) eventually made the settlement permanent and the facility was in operation from 1852 and 1953. Devil's Island itself, known as “Ile du Diable” in French, was the most remote of the islands in the penal colony. Henri Charrière (1906–1973), a former convict, described the island as follows: “After a flat coastal area it rises rapidly to a high plateau where there was the guardhouse and one lone barracks for the bagnards [prisoners], who numbered about ten. Officially, Diable was not supposed to receive ordinary criminals, only those condemned and deported for political reasons.” (Charrière, 1970).

In addition to political prisoners, violent criminals were sent to the Devil's Island colony. Originally, sentencing rules in France required that all prisoners serve some time at Devil's Island, but this was changed in 1885, when only those with more than eight-year sentences were sent there. Freed prisoners typically continued to work at the prison to earn passage back to France. Administration of Devil's Island, as well as the entire penal colony, was based at St. Laurent du Maroni. One of the best-known residents of Devil's Island was Alfred Dreyfus (1859–1935). Dreyfus was a Jewish captain in the French Army, wrongly accused of writing treasonous documents. He was found guilty by court-martial in 1894 and transported to Devil's Island. In 1899, after new evidence proved his innocence, Dreyfus was pardoned and released. [Page 521]

This 1934 photo shows part of the main detention house and courtyard. The cells have heavy steel doors with small openings above to allow air to circulate.

© Bettmann/Corbis; used with permission.

Devil's Island was known as the “Dry Guillotine” for the numerous convict deaths. Some died violently, but diseases such as malaria were common. Most deadly was working in the timber camps. Here convicts were charged with meeting daily quotas. Failure to do so was punished by withholding food. One estimate is that of the 80,000 prisoners sentenced to Devil's Island, about 50,000 died.

The colony underwent reforms in 1930s, fueled in part by Dry Guillotine, written by former prisoner Rene Belbenoit (1899–1959) in 1938. Conditions improved somewhat in the 1930s through assistance from the French Salvation Army. Penal servitude in French Guiana was abolished in 1938. The prison closed in 1953, with Salvation Army personnel attending to those who did not want to be repatriated to France.

Devil's Island assumed an infamous place in popular culture. Its name alone conjured up all sorts of evil associations. Several films have revolved around fictional characters who fled the colony, such as We're No Angels, a 1959 film about a trio of convicts who escape. Papillon, the book Charrière wrote to chronicle his experiences as a prisoner, was later made into a film starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman.

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