A French Guyana Island where Squirrel Monkeys 🐒 are Kings

Îlet la Mère was originally inhabited by Amerindians. In 1643, Jesuits settled on the island. In 1776, they left the island, and it became a leprosy colony. In 1852, Îlet la Mère became a penal colony for political prisoners. In 1923, Îlet la Mère was rented from the French Government by the wife of Duez, a former prisoner. She built a farm with her husband. The island was used for animal husbandry and producing fruit. In 1981, the Pasteur Institute began using the island as a research facility. They set out to build a monkey farm with squirrel monkeys. The monkeys were used to create an antiserum to treat malaria. The island was opened to the public in 2007, and a 3.5 kilometre path has been constructed to see the sites on the island. #guyana #monkeys #island