Visiting Papillon’s Devil’s island - French Guiana 2018

Papillon’s world famous Devil’s island at ”Îles du Salut” - in French Guiana (South America). Known in English as the Salvation Islands, these little Islands were anything but ”salvation” for the prisoners sent here from the French mainland by Emperor Napoleon III and the subsequent French governments. This was the French smaller version of other more famous death camps. From 1852 to 1947, some 80,000 prisoners died from disease, inhumane conditions and the guillotine on these sad isles. So much for égalité, liberté and fraternité.

The three tiny former prison islands consist of Île du Diable, Île Royale and Île St Joseph and thanks to shark infested waters they were considered escape proof and extra appropriate for political prisoners: including the French/Jewish Alfred Dreyfus - wrongly convicted of treason in 1894.

The most famous prisoner though was Henry Charrière, who became known for his epic tale of nine remarkable escapes from French Guiana’s infamous prison camps. Nicknamed Papillon (Butterfly) for a tattoo on his chest, Charrière claims that after being wrongly convicted of murder he escaped from Îles du Salut by floating toward the mainland on a sack full of coconuts and cut his way through harsh malarial jungles to flee towards freedom eastward. Papillon is portrayed by Steve McQueen in a 1973 Hollywood version of his life also starring a young Dustin Hoffman in thick glasses

[CalvinTennessee]

it’s amazing to me that i’m 41 and still discovering these fascinating places on this small earth we share. Thank you for this video. it’s the best i’ve seen about the island.

[andiestewart]

I am obsessed with going there. Thank you so much for sharing

[douglaslucas]

I lived on devil's island for 6 MTHS in 1974 and again in 1980 for a year. After the movie I left, no more privacy and the French legionaires wouldn't allow it. I'm just glad I was able to experience it like pappy did

[Paulbrummy]

Charlie Hunnam brought me here. Something crazy about looking in each cell and the realization that many lives and minds were tortured in their own silence on that very ground. I can only imagine how it must have felt to stand on that ground.

[SuiGenerisMan]

What a fanatstic travel cahnnel theme - visiting famous historical places that are impossible for me to ever see. I love it. It would also be fascinating to see just how difficult it was for you to charter a trip to get there, the process of finding someone willing to take you out there would be interesting to see too. Thanks for sharing!

[zerofox]

The warning sign "Do not cut ant trees back" shows you how much the french want this to disappear! Usually old historical prisons like Alcatraz and the one in Anglesey UK are kept as monuments to our progress.

[brendancoburn]

Excellent video! Cheers for going to all the trouble of making it. Greatly appreciated. French records (and an awful lot of critics) though, claim HenrI Charrière was never on Devils Island, although he was on I'ile St Joseph, and that he gathered other prisoners stories and claimed them for himself. Charles Brunier at the age of 104, claimed that he was the inspiration for 'Papillon' and circumstantial evidence seemed to support his claim.

[scotlan]

Anyone wishing to go to devil's island after the covid... Give me a call... And although devil's island is out of bounds... Let's find a way on the island...I'm desperate to experience living on the island and sitting on the Captain's bench... An unbelievable experience and the closest I got to was British Guyana in 1978

[YinYeung]

Thank you so so much for shooted this video. Not easy to reached That far . I cried for Henri Charriere.

[Atlaspower]

All these graves for guards, while prisoners would be fed to the sharks. As if they weren't people in life

[amitv]

Great video Martin, must have to see dark cell when papillon said" how I look"

[abrahamcabrera]

I was working on this island as and electrician in 1985.The french foreign legion were there also. They have very good fish.

[thehernandezfamily]

Great video barly last night i watch the movie and sad but its a great movie

[CriticalEatsJapan]

This is pretty cool. Thanks for taking us there

[GeneRogers-dicl]

I read the first book and then Papillon’s second book “ Banco” as I remember. Great read!

[goingfreenow]

Like that of the nature in the movie, it is breathtaking. So colorful.

[dpswets]

From what I've read the 80.000 prisoners were sent to the Guyana penal colony as a whole, not just these 3 islands. Still, great video! :)

[elflamingo]

why did movie papillon added jumping of the cliff. when there is no really cliff on the devil island?

[mariobianchi]

Sadly all this was true. Those ruins exude inhumanity. Very impressive!

[Philbs]

In 2001 in my early 20s I lived in French Guiana and went to devils and royal island we spent the night and lit huge fire sticks and drunk rum n snorted coke all night and ran around the jail cells it was super spooky n next day we were all glad to get boat back to kourou I got smashed by mosquitos and spewed guts up on way home but great adventure