6 Scenic Islands With Unexpectedly Dark Histories

The world’s oceans and seas are filled with hundreds of thousands of islands. While some of these islands are barren and unattractive outcrops, others feel like a picturesque paradise with their lush greenery and sandy beaches. But looks can be deceiving, as some of these scenic islands actually have an incredibly dark history. Here are six islands and atolls with a past filled with misery, death and destruction.

Aogashima // Japan

About 200 miles south of Tokyo lies Aogashima, a volcanic island with a small village. The island is undoubtedly beautiful. The southern half of the land mass consists of steep, slope-walled calderas with a secondary volcanic cone in its centre. But living on an active volcano comes with obvious risks. On May 18, 1785, the volcano erupted, spewing smoke and debris into the air. The 327 residents waited to see if the eruption would get worse, and by June 4, it was clear that everyone needed to evacuate. Unfortunately, it was too late, and about half of the island’s population died.

However, this tragedy did not end the village permanently, as some of the surviving residents returned several decades later, and the island has been inhabited ever since. Although the risk of another volcanic eruption is still ever-present, living in Aogashima has benefits. “I often travel to the mainland on business, but I feel afraid because of the crowding, there are too many people,” said Masanobu Yoshida, an island resident. Smithsonian. “(In Aogashima) we can feel the wonderful nature that you cannot experience in big cities.” The island is now also under monitoring by the Japan Meteorological Agency, so residents should have fair warning about another eruption.

Jeju Island // South Korea

Jeju Island, located in the Korea Strait, is known as “Jeju Island.”Hawaii in South Korea“, but it was not always a dreamy vacation destination. Back in the late 1940s, after Korea was liberated from Japanese occupation, there was a lot of political unrest on this island. Many people on Jeju were concerned that electing a president in the south would deepen the political division that already existed within the peninsula. Strikes, protests, and violence ensued, and the South Korean government cracked down on The backlash was brutal. Estimates indicate that approx 30,000 people (about 10% of Jeju’s population) were killed by government forces. Information about the devastation on the island was then suppressed, and it took five decades before the uprising was officially recognised, and another two decades before the surviving victims were found. I offered compensation.

Devil’s Island // French Guiana

From a distance, Devil’s Island looks like a postcard-perfect tropical paradise with its lush cover of palm trees. But the island’s ruined buildings and ominous name hint at its dark past. In 1852, French Emperor Napoleon III turned Devil’s Island into an island Penal colony. Thousands of prisoners were sent to the island and subjected to inhumane treatment. Living conditions were miserable and death was common from tropical diseases and violence by guards.

In 1895, French army officer Alfred Dreyfus was sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil’s Island after being wrongly convicted of treason. But then Dreyfus was acquitted in 1906, and the high-profile nature of his case meant drawing public attention to the brutal conditions on Devil’s Island. And this interest is largely why attempts to extradite Eddie Guerin – a bank robber who took refuge in the UK after escaping the island in a hollowed out tree trunk – failed. In Guerin Special wordsThey all agreed that “whatever I did, it wasn’t bad enough to condemn me to a poison pit where men rot and are never heard from forever.”

In 1953, a century after the colony opened, the French government finally closed the prison on Devil’s Island. Visitors can now explore the abandoned prison cells that still stand as a reminder of the island’s dark history.

Clipperton Island // Pacific Ocean

About 1,300 miles off the southwest coast of Mexico lies a small circular atoll known as Clipperton Island. The two-square-mile plot of land is surrounded by sand, contains a few coconut groves, and is home to many crabs and birds. Throughout the 19th century, the island was mined for guano (which makes an excellent fertiliser), but proper colonization was not attempted until the early 20th century. In 1910, ca 100 Men, women and children lived and worked on the island, relying on regular supplies from the mainland.

But when the Mexican Revolution began to escalate, the islanders were left to fend for themselves, and within a few years, most of the colonists had He died From scurvy, malnutrition, or drowning. Lighthouse keeper Victoriano Alvarez was the last man alive, and declared himself “King of Clipperton.” Alvarez He rules like a tyrant, He beat, raped and killed many of the few remaining women. But in July 1917, the tables turned: Tirza Randon Alvarez was killed, and almost immediately afterwards, the survivors were rescued by a US Navy ship. only Three women and eight children He managed to get off Clipperton Island, which has remained uninhabited ever since.

Poveglia // Italy

At the end of the eighteenth century, Bubonic plague The gun tore. In an attempt to prevent the disease from spreading further, the forest-covered island of Poveglia in the Venice lagoon has been turned into a quarantine area for those infected. Estimates indicate that approx 160,000 people died In Poveglia, many were buried in plague pits.

Then, in 1922, the island became home to a psychiatric hospital. Conditions in the hospital may have been bleak, however Scary story It’s sometimes said about a sadistic doctor throwing himself from a bell tower (or being pushed around by the ghosts of his victims) that it’s just a story. The island has been abandoned since 1968, but is currently being turned into a park for Venetians only. “Memories of the island are steeped in pain, but we will transform it into a place of joy,” said Massimo Pera, the project’s sponsor. CNN.

Gruinard Island // Scotland

Although Scotland’s Gruinard Island may not have the same tropical island charm, it has its own rugged beauty. But for half a century, this beauty has been deliberately tarnished. during world war ii, The British government launched Operation Veganism, which sought to achieve this Weaponizing anthrax Against the Germans. The plan was to attach linseed cakes to deadly bacteria and airdrop them onto cattle pastures, thus infecting Germany’s meat supply and poisoning the population. In 1942, the Army began testing the effectiveness of this plan on Gruinard Island; It was successful, leading to the death of many sheep there.

But the plan was abandoned when the war turned in the Allies’ favor. When the army left Grouinard, the soil was left contaminated with anthrax and the entire island had to be quarantined. It wasn’t until 1990 when decontamination efforts – undertaken due to pressure from the environmental group Dark Harvest Commandos – succeeded and the island was declared safe (although it remains uninhabited).