1-527-296 - Art Media/Heritage Images

Embarkation of convicts for French Guiana, 1904. France began transporting convicts to its colony of French Guiana in 1852. Amongst the more famous prisoners sent there were Alfred Dreyfus and Henri Charriere, who wrote Papillon, a famous account of his incarceration on, and escape attempts from, the notorious prison of Devil's Island. The transportation of convicts was ended in 1951. An illustration from Le Petit Journal, 3rd January 1904.