Devil's Island
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The penal colony of Cayenne, commonly known as Devil's Island, was a French penal colony that operated for 100 years, from 1852 to 1952, and officially closed in 1953, in the Salvation Islands of Fren
The Dreyfus Tower on the Pointe des Roches, Kourou
A French prison hulk in Toulon harbour, 1850
Sleeping quarters/dormitory in the penal colony
Alfred Dreyfus in his room on Devil's Island, 1898. Stereoscopy sold by F. Hamel, Altona-Hamburg...; collection Fritz Lachmund
Henri Charrière
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Henri Charrière was a French writer who was convicted of murder in 1931 by the French courts and pardoned in 1970. He wrote the 1969 novel Papillon, a memoir of his incarceration in and escape from a
Devil's Island
…native boat was nearly wrecked on the reef and the convicts were initially entertained as guests and treated for injuries at the Municipal Hospital. Henri Charrière's bestselling book Papillon (1969) describes his successful escape from Devil's Island, with a companion, Sylvain. They used two sacks filled with…
Charrière in 1971