Talk:Devil's Island

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seuxal predators[edit]

I looked up the subject 'Devil's Island'due to a suggestion by a fellow poster on a message board who thought a prison island for sexual predators would be beneficial.It would be more accurate to say that she mused on this possibility in moments of exasperation in how the legal system handles or fails to handle such felons.

I suggested that the US bury the hatchet with France on a possible purchase of the island if they still own it-which is doubtful.The island for incarceration hasn't been used since 1946--but more intriguing to me is what does anyone who lays claim to this tropical island use it for now?I haven't heard of any tourists clamoring to go there to see a museum ,and learn of the island's dark past-but that's a possibility.

I'm still searching for information on whoever owns the infamous island now.

David Hulbert

It seems that there's now a space center there. David.Monniaux 11:08, 19 Feb 2005 (UTC)


What the hell are you people talking about ? French Guiana is one of France's overseas department. Hundreds of thousands live there and it is certainly not for sale. Ever heard of Ariane Space ? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.200.179.170 (talk) 14:36, 22 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I think he was just talking about the island. As far as I know it's still owned by the state, and there is indeed some tourist activity to visit the ruins of the prison. When rockets are launched from Kourou, the islands have to be evacuated as they're directly under the path of launches. Aesma (talk) 17:58, 2 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

1938[edit]

Hi! It is not exactly true that French government stopped sending prisoners after 1938 in this prison, as political opponents to the French collaborators of Nazis were sent there, like my grandfather Paul VALENTINO (1902 - 1988). He was tortured there and tried to escape unsuccessfully. He stayed about 2 years before being released. You may have a look to official website of French government about Valentino, former deputy of Guadeloupe: http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/histoire/biographies/IVRepublique/Valentino-Paul-09061902.asp

http://philippevalentino.org Felipu 03:52, 24 September 2007 (UTC) --Felipu (talk) 21:15, 27 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]


stufffffffff —Preceding unsigned comment added by 206.78.5.168 (talk) 17:04, 20 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

prisoners[edit]

I dispute the sentence "the inmates were everything from political prisoners (such as anarchist Clément Duval)". Clément Duval was condemned for theft, arson and for stabbing a policeman during his arrest, cf. http://www.biographie.net/Cl%C3%A9ment-Duval He was not condemned because of his ideas but because he committed criminal actions. potemkine 10.18, 25 Aug 2008 (CET) —Preceding undated comment was added at 08:20, 25 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

OK, but are you disputing that he was an anarchist? He didn't. Bogomir Kovacs (talk) 16:20, 16 July 2009 (UTC) this guy is so true they still went there.[reply]

smallpox[edit]

The Clement Duval article indicates that he contracted smallpox during the Franco-Prussian War but the Devil's Island article says that he got smallpox while a prisoner there. Now he either had really bad luck and got smallpox twice and had the good fortune not to die either time or only one of these articles is correct. I have put this comment in the talk page for each of those articles for someone to fix. 75.69.0.58 (talk) 12:28, 25 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Split?[edit]

This article strikes me as a bit of a mish-mash. It seems to be about both the island off the coast of French Guiana, which served as a political prison, and about the French penal colony in Fr. Guiana as a whole.
It would make more sense if this stuff was in separate articles, one dealing with the island and the other with the prison set-up.
If there are no objections I will split the island stuff into a separate article, and focus this one on the penal colony. Moonraker12 (talk) 16:47, 3 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]

OK, done. Moonraker12 (talk) 16:59, 20 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Far worse than imagined.[edit]

A 2014 TV programme on Devils'Island proved that there were many more prisons here than ever admitted to by the authorities. Maps showing the location of a score or more were discovered in the main prison camp. The French had a reputation for extreme cruelty when it came to sentencing, far worse than the British or other major European powers. Some convicts were little more than politicos. There is still much of interest to research on 19th and early 20th century justice but you will need a strong stomach to do it. (And don't forget the lepper colonies)!

File:Devil's Island
Far worse than imagined

— Preceding unsigned comment added by 201.241.241.246 (talk) 16:47, 30 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]

External links modified[edit]

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Assessment comment[edit]

The comment(s) below were originally left at Talk:Devil's Island/Comments, and are posted here for posterity. Following several discussions in past years, these subpages are now deprecated. The comments may be irrelevant or outdated; if so, please feel free to remove this section.

I recently seen a Documentary on Devils Island and they said there was another escapee who made his way to America and fought in the Civil War he was also a member of the 7th Calvary his name sounded like "Durodeo" does any body else know of him .I think his Autobiography would make an exciting movie.

Last edited at 09:28, 13 September 2009 (UTC). Substituted at 13:18, 29 April 2016 (UTC)

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Name[edit]

I don't think "Cayenne's Prison" sounds correct for the English name. That sounds a bit informal. "Cayenne Prison" or keeping the French "Bagne de Cayenne" would be more proper, I would think. 108.254.160.23 (talk) 15:30, 23 April 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Devil's Island[edit]

I'm not well versed enough in the subject to do this myself, but "Devil's Island" needs incorporating back into the lead section, as the article now only mentions the famous name a small handful of times. Mac Dreamstate (talk) 15:54, 23 April 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Whew, thank goodness for that. It should never have been moved. Mac Dreamstate (talk) 01:33, 6 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

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"Alleged escapes" section[edit]

Maybe it's understood that the section title applies to all the people listed, but only the first three subsections actually state that they "escaped;" the last three have no mention of escaping, only that they wrote about their time while imprisoned there - - - which leads one to think that they were there for a time limited sentence then released, not escaped.

As such, I think this section should be renamed - - - possibly as "Famous/infamous prisoners".

Thoughts? 2600:8800:786:A300:C23F:D5FF:FEC4:D51D (talk) 05:23, 12 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Merge Devil's Island (Kourou) into Devil's Island[edit]

Four years ago, user Moonraker12 created an article titled Devil's Island (Kourou). The fact is that both articles cover the same subject. The island itself and the penal colony contained on it identify too strongly each other. Thus, I suggest to merge Devil's Island (Kourou) into Devil's Island. Does everybody agree? Kintaro (talk) 15:39, 12 September 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Well I would disagree, obviously, for the reasons I gave for splitting the article in the first place.
First, the island is more than its history as a prison; and as a geographical feature it is inherently notable, as are all the Salut islands.
Second, this article is about more than just the prison on Devil's Island itself, it covers the whole Cayenne penal colony: "Devil's Island" is just a metonym for the whole. In fact it would make more sense to rename this article "Cayenne penitentiary", or "Cayenne penal colony".
Third, the current layout reflects the layout on the French WP (who ought to know): "Devil's Island (Kourou)" matches "Ile Diable" (fr) while this article matches "Bagne de Cayenne" (fr). So the proposed merger would put us out of step. IMO. Moonraker12 (talk) 21:40, 13 September 2018 (UTC)[reply]
I disagree as well. This article is about the penal colony. The prison on Devils Island was the smallest part of the colony. -- Work permit (talk) 04:33, 14 September 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Interwiki link, page move[edit]

This has drawn my attention to some unfinished business: The interwiki link here goes to the French WP article on the island (which should be linked from Devil's Island (Kourou)), while this one (on the whole penal colony) should link to the fr article on the whole colony (here). Depending on how the merge discussion goes that may need doing. Also (again, depending on the outcome above) this page probably ought to be moved to "Cayenne penitentiary", or "Cayenne penal colony". Something for when the matter is resolved. Moonraker12 (talk) 21:46, 13 September 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Dear @Work permit: thank you for the above explanations and, dear @Moonraker12:, thank you for the present clarification. It turns out that Moonraker12 pointed out some important facts. Please gentlemen, proceed at your best, I'm sure you'll do well. Kintaro (talk) 10:34, 14 September 2018 (UTC)[reply]
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