Îlet la Mère is the biggest island of the 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 ...

. It is part of the commune of

Cayenne Cayenne (; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and 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 Caye ...

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 ...

. The island is located 11 kilometres off the coast. Îlet la Mère was the location of a

penal colony A penal colony or exile colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general population by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory. Although the term can be used to refer ...

from 1852 until 1875. Between 1981 and 2001, it was home to a monkey farm operated by the

Pasteur Institute The Pasteur Institute (, ) is a French non-profit private foundation dedicated to the study of biology, micro-organisms, diseases, and vaccines. It is named after Louis Pasteur, who invented pasteurization and vaccines for anthrax and rabies. Th ...

. Since 28 December 2000, the island is a

protected area 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. firewood ...

and managed by

Conservatoire du littoral The ''Conservatoire du littoral'' ("Coastal protection agency") (official name: ''Conservatoire de l'espace littoral et des rivages lacustres'') is a French public organisation created in 1975 to ensure the protection of outstanding natural areas o ...

History

Îlet la Mère was originally inhabited by

Amerindian In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...

s. In 1643,

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

s settled on the island. In 1776, they left the island, and it became a

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a Chronic condition, long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the Peripheral nervous system, nerves, respir ...

colony. A hospital was built on the island to treat the lepers. In 1786, the site was abandoned. In 1852, Îlet la Mère became a

for

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although ...

s, and is one of the oldest prisons of the ''bagne''. 70 buildings were constructed to house the prisoners, and up to 600 prisoners were put to work on the island. In 1875, yellow fever ravaged the island, and the penal colony was closed. The ruins are still visible. In 1923, Îlet la Mère was rented from the French Government by the wife of Duez, a former prisoner. She built a farm with her husband. The island was used for

animal husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, animal fiber, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, management, production, nutrition, selective breeding, and the raising ...

and producing fruit. A workforce of about 20 prisoners was employed to work the land. The farm closed in 1933. In 1981, the

began using the island as a research facility. They set out to build a monkey farm with

squirrel monkey Squirrel monkeys are New World monkeys of the genus ''Saimiri''. ''Saimiri'' is the only genus in the subfamily Saimiriinae. The name of the genus is of Tupi origin (''sai-mirím'' or ''çai-mbirín'', with ''sai'' meaning 'monkey' and ''mirím' ...

s. The monkeys were used to create an

antiserum In immunology, antiserum is a blood serum containing antibodies (either monoclonal or polyclonal) that is used to spread passive immunity to many diseases via blood donation ( plasmapheresis). For example, convalescent serum, or passive ant ...

to treat

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

. On 28 December 2000, Îlet la Mère became a

managed by

. The island was opened to the public in 2007, and a 3.5 kilometre path has been constructed to see the sites on the island. The monkeys are still present, and are not shy of human visitors. The island can be reached from Wayki village, Remire-Montjoly. The boat trip will take about one hour.

References

External links

Ilet-la-Mere.com
(in French) * {{DEFAULTSORT:La Mere Atlantic islands of French Guiana Cayenne Defunct prisons in French Guiana Former populated places in French Guiana Protected areas of French Guiana