Prisoners’ only escape was through shark-infested waters
Devil’s Island is located in the Salvation’s Islands of French Guiana and opened as a penal colony in 1852, where it quickly gained a reputation for its brutality.
After being transported on cramped barges containing more than 5,000 men, the inmates found little respite at their destination.
Prisoners were forbidden to talk to guards or each other, smoke, read or even sit during the day.
Wardens patrolled quietly – in slippers – to catch anyone breaking the strict rules for which the punishment would be a brutal beating.
The only escape was through shark-infested waters.