A 20 minute boat ride from Santa Pola just outside Alicante is a small, flat island that has been both a haven for pirates and a prison for dangerous prisoners. For hundreds of years, African pirates used the good harbor on the north side of the island as a base for attacks both on merchant ships and on the coastal population of the Alican region. Already in 1427 it was proposed to make a fort on the island to prevent pirates occupying the island which they used as a base for