Côn Đảo

The Côn Đảo ("Côn Island") are an archipelago of Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu province, in the Southeast region of Vietnam, and also a district (Huyện Côn Đảo) of this province.

Geography
Situated about 185 km from Vũng Tàu and 230 km from Ho Chi Minh City, the group includes 16 mountainous islands and islets. The total land area reaches 75.15 km2 and the local population is about 5,000. The islands are composed of magmatic rocks of different ages. Hòn Bảy Cạnh, Hòn Cau and Hòn Bông Lang are composed of Cretaceous microgranite rocks]. The northern part of Côn Đảo Island is composed of quartz diorite and granite - granodiorite of late Mesozoic- early Cenozoic age, and is partially covered by Quaternary marine sediments. The southern part of this island and Hòn Bà island are composed of the rhyolite and intrusive formations of unknown age. On the western slope of Côn Đảo Island, there exist groups of outcrops of diorite and microgranite penetrated by big quartz bands.

The island group is served by Con Dao Airport situated on the largest island in the archipelago, Côn Sơn Island. Total size of Côn Đảo Airport is 3792 m2, with one runway 1830 m long. It can handle 400,000 passengers per year. Currently, Vietnam Airlines (Operated by VASCO), Bamboo Airways and Vietnam Helicopters are three airlines operating flights to the island.

History
On June 16, 1702, the East India Company from English  founded a settlement on Côn Sơn Island, which they named Pulo Condore as an entrepôt for ships plying between India and China. Three years later, on 2 March 1705, the Bugis mercenaries hired by the English mutinied, murdered the agents, destroyed the factory, and expelled the remaining settlers.

During the internecine wars for the Court of Huế, the Nguyễn prince, Gia Long, born Nguyễn Phúc Ánh, ceded the islands to France as part of the 1787 Treaty of Versailles 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. Côn Sơn Island became infamous during the French colonial era because of Côn Đảo Prison and the notorious "tiger cages". Vietnamese and Cambodian nationalists and revolutionaries 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 (pulau meaning "island" and kundur meaning "wax gourd"). The islands can be identified with Ptolemy's Satyrorum insulae (Isles of the Satyrs), a name probably drawn from the monkeys endemic to the islands, the Con Song long-tailed macaque, (Macaca fascicularis ssp. condorensis). Ptolemy refers to the three islands inhabited by people, 'said to have tails such as they depict satyrs having'.

In 2020, the United States Navy sent ships on freedom of navigation exercises around the islands to challenge what they deemed to be Vietnam's "excessive maritime claims."

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 sea turtle, the green sea turtle, dolphins, and the dugong. Ecosystems represented in the park include seagrass meadow, mangrove and coral reefs.

Côn Đảo National Park is working with the World Wide Fund for Nature, formerly 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.

Ferry
A hydrofoil service from Vũng Tàu to Côn Đảo was started in February 2019. The service is a daily return and boasts that the ferry will operate year-round, regardless of the weather. Travel time is 4–5 hours, departing Vũng Tàu at 8am and returning from Côn Đảo at around 2pm.

Two ferries operate between Côn Đảo and the mainland. There is a daily overnight hour ferry service from Vũng Tàu which, in addition to bringing passengers, serves as the main source of importing goods to the islands. The ferry operates on a daily basis, however in winter months the service depends largely on weather conditions as the seas between Côn Đảo and the mainland can be rough.

In 2016, a ferry service primarily for passengers opened up between Sóc Trăng and Côn Đảo, shortening the length of the journey to three hours. With the addition of a fast ferry to the islands, the islands have experienced an increase in tourism fueled mostly by domestic tourists who view Côn Đảo as a sacred place due to its history.

List of islands
Côn Đảo Islands include 16 islands, with a total area of 76 km2


 * Côn Lôn Island or Côn Sơn Island (French: 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

Thứ phi Hoàng Phi Yến
Thứ phi Hoàng Phi Yến, or Imperial Concubine Phi Yến, is a controversial local legend from the Côn Đảo archipelago. According to the legend she was the concubine of Lord Gia Long (Nguyễn Phúc Ánh) and gave birth to a son known as Prince Cải, she advised Lord Ánh not to ask foreigners for help as that would make their victory less glorious and might cause issues in future, these comments caused Lord Ánh to be suspicious of her motives and to lock her up in a cave. Later when their toddler asked where his mother was he killed him. She grieved their son and later committed suicide as she was touched by a butcher during a vegetarian festival seeing it as "harming her honour as a concubine". This caused the villagers of Côn Đảo to hold a festival in her honour every year.