Annamite Prison42 photos

The Bagne des Annamites was established in June 1930 and consisted of seven wood buildings with the house of the camp leaders, dungeons and a dining hall. The purpose of this camp was to develop the region of the Inini, at that time completely covered with forests. The first roads were traced in 1934. From 1939 on, the prisoners were gradually released at the end of their sentence. At the end of the war in 1940, the Senegalese riflemen who officiate as guards were replaced by militaries of French Guiana. The camp was finally closed in 1945. The Indo-Chinese still in prison were pardoned and settled in the city of Cayenne where they founded what is known today as Chinatown.