Devil's Island (French: île du Diable) is the third largest island of the Îles du Salut island group in the Atlantic Ocean. It is located approximately 14 km (9 mi) off the coast of French Guiana in South America just north of the town of Kourou. It has an area of 14 ha (34.6 acres). The island was a part of the controversial French penal colony of French Guiana for 101 years, from 1852 to 1953, but in spite of its being the smallest part of the penal colony, it is the most famous due to its use for the internal exile of political prisoners. The most famous political prisoner on Devil's Island was Captain Alfred Dreyfus.
English speakers have come to use the island's name to refer to the entire former prison system of French Guyana; however, French speakers refer to it as the Bagne de Cayenne (Cayennes penal colony).
Read more about Devil's Island: Use As Penal Colony, Aftermath, Cultural References
Famous quotes containing the words devil and/or island:
“A witch is one who worketh by the Devil or by some curious art either healing or revealing things secret, or foretelling things to come which the Devil hath devised to ensnare men’s souls withal unto damnation. The conjurer, the enchanter, the sorcerer, the diviner, and whatever other sort there is encompassed within this circle.”
—George Gifford (16th century)
“The island dreams under the dawn
And great boughs drop tranquillity;
The peahens dance on a smooth lawn,
A parrot sways upon a tree,
Raging at his own image in the enamelled sea.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)