Devil’s Island

E89342

Devil’s Island is a notorious former French penal colony off the coast of French Guiana, infamous for its harsh conditions and for imprisoning Captain Alfred Dreyfus during the Dreyfus affair.

Aliases (1)

Statements (46)
Predicate Object
instanceOf former penal colony
island
administrativeTerritory overseas department of French Guiana
alsoKnownAs Île du Diable
associatedWith French Third Republic
French military justice system
French penal colonies in Guiana
antisemitism in late 19th-century France
wrongful conviction of Alfred Dreyfus
country France
currentUse historical site
tourist attraction
distanceFromCoast about 14 kilometers from Kourou
endTime 1953
formerFunction labor camp
place of deportation
governingBody French Ministry of Colonies
hasClimate tropical
hasFeature dense vegetation
rocky coastline
shark-infested waters
heritageStatus site of historical memory of the Dreyfus affair
historicalPeriod 19th century
20th century
inPopularCulture symbol of brutal penal colonies
inspiredWork Papillon
jurisdiction French Guiana
knownFor harsh prison conditions
high mortality rate
political prisoners
tropical diseases
languageUsedHistorically French
locatedIn Atlantic Ocean
French Guiana
notableEvent Dreyfus affair
notablePrisoner Alfred Dreyfus
operatedBy French government
partOf French colonial penal system
Îles du Salut
region northeastern South America
securityFeature isolation by sea
startTime 1852
status uninhabited by permanent civilian population
usedAs penal colony
usedFor exile of prisoners
imprisonment of political dissidents

Referenced by (2)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Dreyfus affair
location
Alfred Dreyfus ("Devil's Island")
placeOfDetention

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