Ceux qui sont restés : les anciens forçats en Guyane après l’abolition du bagne

Abstract

Started in 1938, the process of abolishing the penal colony of French Guiana was completed in August 1953 with the organization of the last convoy of convicts under sentence and released convicts to the metropolis. However, some former convicts made the choice on that date to stay put and not to return. This article examines the trajectories of these men and the living conditions they encountered in Guyanese civil society from the 1950s to the early 1980s. It also examines the traces they left in the contemporary local memory.

Keywords

• French Guiana
• penal colony
• convicts
• released convicts
• abolition