The Salvation Islands (french: Îles du Salut, so called because the missionaries went there to escape plague on the mainland; sometimes mistakenly called Safety Islands) are a group of small islands of volcanic origin about off the coast of French Guiana, north of Kourou, in the Atlantic Ocean. Although closer to Kourou, the islands are part of

Cayenne Cayenne (; ; gcr, Kayenn) is the capital city of French Guiana, an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic Oc ...

( municipality), specifically .

Geography

Islands

There are three islands, from north to south:

Devil's Island The penal colony of Cayenne ( French: ''Bagne de Cayenne''), commonly known as Devil's Island (''Île du Diable''), was a French penal colony that operated for 100 years, from 1852 to 1952, and officially closed in 1953 in the Salvation Islands ...

, the most famous due to the political imprisonment there of Captain

Alfred Dreyfus Alfred Dreyfus ( , also , ; 9 October 1859 – 12 July 1935) was a French artillery officer of Jewish ancestry whose trial and conviction in 1894 on charges of treason became one of the most polarizing political dramas in modern French history. ...

, is better known to French speakers as . The total area is . Devil's Island and Île Royale are separated by , Île Royale and Saint-Joseph Island by .

Climate

The climate of Salvation Islands focuses on the characteristics of Royale Island. Royale Island (french: Île-Royale) has a tropical savanna climate ( Köppen climate classification ''Aw''). The average annual temperature in Royale Island is . The average annual rainfall is with May as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in October, at around , and lowest in January, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Royale Island was on 10 November 2008; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 10 July 1979.

History

Between 1852 and 1953, the islands were part of a notorious penal colony for the worst criminals of France. The penal colony stretched along the border with

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

Île Royale The Salvation Islands (french: Îles du Salut, so called because the missionaries went there to escape plague on the mainland; sometimes mistakenly called Safety Islands) are a group of small islands of volcanic origin about off the coast of Fre ...

was the reception centre for the general population of the penal colony; they were housed in moderate freedom due to the difficulty of escape from the island. Saint-Joseph Island was the ''Reclusion'', where inmates were sent to be punished by

solitary confinement Solitary confinement is a form of imprisonment in which the inmate lives in a single cell with little or no meaningful contact with other people. A prison may enforce stricter measures to control contraband on a solitary prisoner and use additi ...

in silence and darkness for escapes or offences committed in the penal colony. Devil's Island was for political prisoners. In the 19th century, the most famous such prisoner was Captain Alfred Dreyfus, held there from 1895 to 1899 after his conviction in mainland France for treason. This penal colony was controversial given its reputation for harshness and brutality. Prisoner upon prisoner violence was common, tropical diseases killed many, and a small core of broken survivors returned to France to tell how horrible it was and scare other potential criminals. This system was gradually phased out and ended completely in 1953. Nowadays the islands are a popular tourist destination. The islands were featured in the autobiography '' Papillon'', by Henri Charrière, who was imprisoned there for 9 years.

Joseph Conrad Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, ; 3 December 1857 – 3 August 1924) was a Poles in the United Kingdom#19th century, Polish-British novelist and short story writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in t ...

's short story ''An Anarchist'' (1906) is largely set in Salvation Islands. As of 1979, the Salvation Islands are protected areas managed by Conservatoire du littoral.

Gallery

File:Panorama depuis l'île Royale.jpg, Royal Island. File:Iles du salut1.JPG, The arrival on the Royal Island. File:LE PHARE DES ILES DU SALUT - GUYANE.jpg, The Salvation Islands’s Lighthouse. File:Joseph island beach 1.jpg, Saint Joseph Island’s beach. File:Ile du Diable - Iles du Salut - Guyane Française.jpg, Devil Island. File:Hutte von Dreyfus.jpg, Alfred Dreyfus’s House.

References

External links

Map

Photos des Îles du Salut

Photos de Île Royale

Photos de Île Saint-Joseph
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iles Du Salut Salut Cayenne Salut Protected areas of French Guiana Tourist attractions in French Guiana