MapTapTime
October 19th, 2026
Daily puzzle · Hard · Topographic map
Theme: Islands Born as Prison Colonies
Long before they became places people visit for their beauty or history, these islands were chosen for the opposite reason: isolation. Robben Island held Nelson Mandela for 18 years off the shores of Cape Town, while Gorée's holding cells tell a darker story of the transatlantic slave trade. France exiled dissidents to Île Royale in the Salvation Islands, Italy once banished political prisoners to Santo Stefano's panopticon, and Tasmania's Maria Island confined convicts transported from Britain to the edge of the known world.
1
Robben Island, South AfricaA small island off Cape Town once used to isolate political prisoners, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
2
Gorée Island, SenegalAn island off Dakar known for its role in the Atlantic slave trade and now a memorial site.
3
Île Royale, French GuianaThe largest of the Salvation Islands, once home to a French penal colony off the coast of South America.
4
Santo Stefano, ItalyA tiny volcanic island near Ventotene that once held a notable 18th-century panopticon prison.
5
Maria Island, AustraliaAn island off Tasmania that served as a convict settlement in the early 19th century and is now a national park.