Great Coco Island

Coco Islands

Native name: ကိုကိုးကျွန်း
Coco Islands Location of Coco Islands in Bay of Bengal
Geography
Location	Bay of Bengal
Coordinates	14°03′N 93°21′E / 14.05°N 93.35°E / 14.05; 93.35Coordinates: 14°03′N 93°21′E / 14.05°N 93.35°E / 14.05; 93.35
Archipelago	Coco Islands
Adjacent bodies of water	Andaman Sea
Total islands	7
Major islands	Great Coco Little Coco
Area	20.54 km2 (7.93 sq mi)
Highest elevation	112 m (367 ft)
Administration
Myanmar
Region	Yangon
District	South Yangon
Township	Cocokyun
Ward	Coco Islands
Largest settlement	Great Coco (population 10)
Demographics
Demonym	Myanma
Population	950 (2014)
Pop. density	46.25 /km2 (119.79 /sq mi)
Ethnic groups	Bamar people, non-Myanmari
Additional information
Time zone	MMT (UTC+6:30)
ISO Code = MM-06

The Coco Islands (Burmese: ကိုကိုးကျွန်း) are a small group of islands in the northeastern Indian Ocean. They are part of the Yangon Region of Myanmar. The islands are located 414 km (257 mi) south of the city of Yangon.

The islands took their current name from Portuguese sailors in the 16th century, "coco" being the Portuguese word for "coconut". The Andaman Islands were taken over by the English East India Company in the 18th century. In the 19th century, the British government in India established a penal colony in the Andamans, and the Coco Islands were a source of food for it (mainly coconuts). The British government had leased out the islands to Jadwet family of Burma. The Jadwet family was one of the respected business families of Rangoon with their presence in Moulmein and Mergui.

Due to the isolation of the Coco Islands, they were not properly governed, and the British transferred their control to the government of Lower Burma in Rangoon. In 1882 they officially became part of British Burma. When Burma separated from India in 1937 and became a self-governing Crown Colony, they remained a Burmese territory. In 1942, along with the rest of the Andaman and Nicobar chain, they were occupied by Japan. When Burma regained its independence from Britain in 1948, the Coco Islands passed to the new Union of Burma.

In 1959, General Ne Win’s interim military administration established a penal colony on Great Coco Island. After Ne Win’s coup d’etat in 1962, and the installation of a military government, the prison gained the reputation of being a Burmese "Devil’s Island". In 1969, it was enlarged to house an increased number of political prisoners. After a strike, all prisoners on the island were transferred to Rangoon’s Insein Prison in 1971. After the closing of the penal colony, the facilities on Great Coco Island were transferred to the Burmese Navy. Burmese writer Mya Than Tint was among the people incarcerated at the Great Coco Island penal colony.