The Salvation Islands ( French: ''Îles du Salut'', so called because the missionaries went there to escape plague on the mainland), sometimes mistakenly called the Safety Islands, are a group of small islands of

volcanic A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often fo ...

origin about off the coast of

French Guiana French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...

, north of Kourou, in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. Although closer to Kourou, the islands are part of Cayenne (

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

), specifically .

Geography

Islands

There are three islands, from north to south: Devil's Island, the most famous due to the political imprisonment there of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, 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 () has a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

). 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, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

. Île Royale 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 (also shortened to solitary) is a form of imprisonment in which an incarcerated person lives in a single Prison cell, cell with little or no contact with other people. It is a punitive tool used within the prison system to ...

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 Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

. 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's short story ''An Anarchist'' (1906) is largely set in Salvation Islands. As of 1979, the Salvation Islands are

protected areas Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...

managed by Conservatoire du littoral.

Gallery

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

References

External links

Map
(archived 21 December 2006)
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