Îles de Los

Îles de Los

Location of the Îles de Los in the Atlantic Ocean

Map of Îles de Los (Los Islands), Guinea

Îles de Los (English: Loose Islands) are an island group lying off Conakry in Guinea. There are three main islands: Tamara (Fortoba), Kassa and Roume, while Coraille, Blanche and Cabris are smaller islands to the south.

History

The islands been inhabited for a long time and rose to prominence for their role in slave trade. In 1755 Miles Barber of the African Company of Liverpool established a factory there employing workers skilled in ship repair as well as pilots for the local rivers. This led to Kassa being known as "Factory Island".^[1]

The British took possession of them, then handed them to France in 1904 in exchange for France relinquishing fishing rights in Newfoundland and Labrador. Roume is said to have inspired the novel Treasure Island, while Tamara was used as a prison.

The islands are best known for their beaches and forested interiors and are popular with tourists. Ferries sail to the Los from Conakry.

References

↑ Mouser, Bruce (2002). A slaving voyage to Africa and Jamaica : the log of the Sandown, 1793 - 1794. Bloomington, Ind. [u.a.]: Indiana University Press. p. viii. ISBN 0253340772.

Barb Rayner (29 July 2003). "Grand Manan to twin with African Islands". The Saint Croix Courier. Retrieved 2009-04-16.

Coordinates: 9°28′37″N 13°47′08″W / 9.4769°N 13.7855°W / 9.4769; -13.7855

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, December 18, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.