Penal colony established in French Guiana

Background. Following his coup in 1851, Emperor Napoleon III ordered the permanent closure of the hulks and the transfer of civil law convicts to overseas colonies. After considering various locations, the government chose its own colony of French Guiana, which had seen repeated colonization failures since 1604. In 1852, Napoleon called for volunteer prisoners to transfer to the new Bagne de Cayenne, attracting 3,000 applicants.

Establishment. The penal colony of Cayenne, commonly known as Devil's Island, opened in 1852 in French Guiana. The system received convicts from the Prison of St-Laurent-du-Maroni, who had been deported from all parts of the Second French Empire. The prison system encompassed several locations, both on the mainland and in the off-shore Salvation Islands, with Île Royale serving as the reception centre for the general population of the penal colony.

Conditions. The penal colony developed a reputation for harshness and brutality, generating periodic calls for reform. It was notorious for the staff's harsh treatment of prisoners and the tropical climate and diseases that contributed to high mortality, with a death rate of 75 percent at its worst. The vast majority of the more than 80,000 prisoners sent to the system never returned to France.