Alcatraz may be the most infamous prison island (unless you count
Australia… OK, I'm kidding!), but it's hardly the only one. Smithsonian
lists ten "islands of exile," some of which were true penal colonies
while others were just unfortunate destinations for banished
individuals. Included are the likes of Patmos, Greece, Robinson Crusoe
Island, Chile, and Robben Island, South Africa. From Smithsonian:
Île Sainte-Marguerite, France
Just off the coast of Cannes in the Mediterranean Sea, the small,
forested island of Sainte-Marguerite—about two miles long and a
half-mile wide—was home to one of history’s most enigmatic prisoners.
The convict, whose identity was concealed behind what was most likely a
black velvet mask, was brought to the island in 1687, during the reign
of Louis XIV, and locked up in the Royal Fort, then a state prison. (His
barren cell can still be seen.) Later, he was moved to the Bastille,
where he died in 1703 at around age 45.
The prisoner’s identity and the reason for his incarceration are still
not known. But over the centuries, they have been the subjects of much
speculation. One popular theory, that he was an older brother of Louis
XIV, became the basis for Alexander Dumas’ classic tale The Man in the
Iron Mask.
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