Word: guianas
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Reserved for political prisoners, the little island which gave the whole colony its name was actually only a small part of the sprawling penal community-two other rocky islands and two mainland settlements along the banks of French Guiana's Maroni River. But the name sticks: only the Devil himself could have designed such hellish discomfort for his prisoners as those that abounded in the steaming jungles of Guiana, or hired jailers as efficient as the shark-infested seas and fever-ridden swamps that stood guard on all sides of the Cayenne colony. The world got its first full...
Freedom to Starve. Most were not so lucky. French law provided that anyone serving under eight years had to stay in Guiana as a libéré, or freed prisoner, for another period equal at least to that of his sentence; anyone sentenced for more than eight years had to remain in the colony for life. About all that differentiated the libérés from the prisoners was the fact that the freed men had to scratch and beg for their living, while the prisoners at least got fed. Money or influence might buy a man special...
Other prisoners spent their days, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., working on Guiana's roads, forests and plantations, their nights locked in fetid barracks. For those who rebelled, there were solitary cells on St. Joseph Island, cement pits whose only opening was an iron grille. Few inmates long survived St. Joseph. One who did was the locally famed Paul Roussenq, an ex-soldier serving 20 years for attempted arson. Paul's reputation as the ace of all incorrigibles earned him a more or less permanent home on St. Joseph. He wrote frequent obscene letters to the prison...
CHARLES R. JACOB JR. Georgetown, British Guiana...
When the Communist-led People's Progressive Party won British Guiana's elections last month (TIME, May 11), it was the first time that Reds reached power in the British Empire. Last week, the P.P.P.s went right on setting precedents. For the formal opening of the new colonial Assembly, in which they hold 18 of 24 seats, party members agreed to wear what may turn out to be a sort of new Communist uniform for the tropics-white suits and red ties. The party's three women members were scheduled to appear in white dresses, with...