Devil’s Island in French Guiana was perhaps the most brutal, feared and horrific penal colony in the history of incarceration. Made famous in Henri Charrière’s ‘Papillon’ it was built under orders of the government of Emperor Napoleon III in 1852 in Île de Salut, a trio of islands. Some 80,000 of France’s worst criminals sent to Devil’s Island and many of them died of disease, starvation and absolute brutality during their time in the prison. Those who did manage to complete their sentences were still banished from France and forced to stay on the island for the rest of their lives. Today, tours to the islands are available by boat although Île du Diable itself remains closed to the public (but visible from the boats). The prison buildings on the other islands have been converted into museums and attract thousands of tourists each year.
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