Place · island

Devil's Island

Also known as Île du Diable

Devil's Island is the smallest of the three Îles du Salut off the coast of French Guiana. From 1852 to 1953 it formed part of France's penal colony and was used especially for political prisoners, among them Alfred Dreyfus, held there from 1895 to 1899. Its harsh conditions made the name a byword for brutal imprisonment.

Devil's Island
Image: Arria Belli · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 state history

French Guiana

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Devil's Island. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/devils-island
MLA
“Devil's Island.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/devils-island. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Devil's Island.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/devils-island.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Devil's Island’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/devils-island (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻