Côn Đảo
Coordinates: 8°41′35″N 106°36′34″E / 8.69306°N 106.60944°E
| Côn Đảo District Huyện Côn Đảo | |
|---|---|
| District | |
  Côn Đảo District | |
| Coordinates: 8°41′35″N 106°34′36″E / 8.69306°N 106.57667°E | |
| Country |
 Vietnam |
| Region | south-east |
| Province | Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu |
| Time zone | UTC + 7 (UTC+7) |
The Côn Đảo Islands are an archipelago of Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu Province, in the south-east region of Vietnam, and a district of this province.
Description
Situated about 185 km (115 mi) from Vũng Tàu and 230 km (143 mi) from Ho Chi Minh City, the group includes 16 mountainous islands and islets. The total land area reaches 75.15 km2 (29.02 sq mi) and the local population is about 5,000.
The islands are composed of magmatic rocks of different ages. Hon Bay Canh, Hon Cau, Hon Bong Lang composed of Cretaceous microgranit rocks. The Northern part of Con Dao Island composed of quartz diorite and granite - granodiorit of late Mesozoic- early Cenozoic age, and is partially covered by Quaternary marine sediments. The Southern part of this island and Hon Ba island are composed of the riolit and intrusive formations of unknown age. On the western slope of Con Dao Island, there exist of outcrops of diorite and microgranit penetrated by big quartz bands .
The island group is served by Côn Đảo Airport situated on the largest island in the Archipelago: Côn Sơn Island.
History
Formally a Khmer Empire territory known as Koh Tralach islands were settled by the Vietnamese by the 17th century.
On June 16, 1702, the English East India Company founded a settlement on Pulo Condore as an entrepôt for ships plying between India and China.[1] Three years later on March 2, 1705, the English agents were murdered, the factory destroyed, and the remaining settlers were expelled by the Vietnamese.[2]
During the internecine wars for the Court of Hue, the Nguyen Prince Nguyễn Phúc Ánh ceded the islands to France in the Treaty of Versailles (1787) in return for military assistance. The treaty however was abrogated as France failed to provide the aid.
It was only under conquest that the islands came under French control in 1861. During the French colonial era, the island was made infamous for its penal facilities and the notorious "tiger cages". Vietnamese nationalists were sent here to serve their sentence for anti-French activities. Many Vietnamese Communist leaders were "schooled" on Côn Đảo Island as well.
The French Indochinese government named the group of islands Poulo-Condore Islands, a name that derives from the islands' Malay name Pulo Condore[3] (pulo as a corruption of pulau, meaning "island").
Côn Đảo National Park
Many of the islands were given protected status in 1984 as part of Côn Đảo National Park. This natural preserve was subsequently enlarged in 1998. Endangered species protected within the park include the hawksbill turtle, the green turtle, dolphins,[4] and the dugong. Ecosystems represented in the park include seagrass meadow, mangrove and coral reefs.
Côn Đảo National Park is working with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Vietnam to further protection in the marine areas, with programs to establish a Marine Protected Area that protects coral reefs, seagrass beds and species, while also developing sustainable nature-based ecotourism. The island's management is strongly geared towards sustainable use, hoping to learn from previous experiences in Vietnam and the region to balance development with conservation.
List of islands
Côn Sơn Islands include 16 islands, with a total area of 76 km².
- Côn Lôn Island or Côn Sơn (Grande-Condore), Phú Hải, 51.52 km²
- Little Côn Lôn Island (Petite-Condore), or Hòn Bà, Phú Sơn, 5.45 km²
- Bảy Cạnh Island, or Bãi Cạnh Island, Phú Hòa, 5.5 km²
- Cau Island, or Phú Lệ 1.8 km²
- Bông Lan Island, or Bông Lang, Bông Lau, Phú Phong, 0.2 km²
- Vung Island, or Phú Vinh 0.15 km²
- Ngọc Island, or Trọc Island, hòn Trai, Phú Nghĩa, 0.4 km²
- Trứng Island, or Đá Bạc Island, Đá Trắng Island, Phú Thọ, 0.1 km²
- Tài Lớn Island, or Phú Bình 0.38 km²
- Tài Nhỏ Island, or Thỏ Island, Phú An, 0.1 km²
- Trác Lớn Island, or Phú Hưng 0.25 km²
- Trác Nhỏ Island, or Phú Thịnh 0.1 km²
- Tre Lớn Island, or Phú Hòa 0.75 km²
- Tre Nhỏ Island, or Phú Hội, 0.25 km²
- Anh Island, or Trứng Lớn Island
- Em Island, or Trứng Nhỏ Island
References
- ↑ Wong Tze-ken, Danny (September 2012). "The Destruction of the English East India Company Factory on Condore Island, 1702–1705". Modern Asian Studies 46 (5): 1097–1115. doi:10.1017/S0026749X11000424.
- ↑ Tegg, Thomas (1829). London Encyclopaedia. London. p. 318.
- ↑ "Pulo Condore Group, Vietnam". National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
- ↑ http://www.condaopark.com.vn/vn/gioi-thieu/gioi-thieu-vuon-quoc-gia-con-dao.html
External links
 |
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Côn Đảo. |
- Con Dao photos
- Vietnamese Sea and Islands – position Resources, and typical geological and ecological wonders. Publisher Science and Technology. Ha Noi, Editor: Nguyen Khoa Son, ISBN 978-604-913-063-2. In Vietnamese
Template:Districts of south-east Vietnam