The Con Dao Islands (Vietnamese: C鬾 ?o) are an archipelago of B?R?a-Vung T鄒 Province; in southeastern Vietnam; and are a district of this province. Situated at about 185 km (115 mi) from Vung T鄒 and 230 km (143 mi) from H? Ch?Minh City (Saigon); the group includes 16 mountainous islands and islets. The total land area is 75 sq km; and the local population is about 5;000. The island group is served by C? ?ng Airport.

The archipelago was formerly known as Poulo Condore; and it is mentioned under a variant of this Malay name by Marco Polo in the early 14th century. On June 16; 1702; the English East India Company founded a settlement on the island of 'Pulo Condor' off the south coast of southern Vietnam; and on March 2; 1705; but the garrison and settlement were later destroyed during a mutiny by the Malay mercenaries employed by the English.

The largest island is C鬾 Son Island (also known as Con Lon Island); infamous for its numerous prisons - eleven in all - built by the French colonial government. It was also used as a prison island after independence in 1954; by the pro-Western Republic of Vietnam regime; acquiring a fearsome reputation for isolation and brutality as well as - conversely - functiong as a de facto insurgent 'university'; where many leading nationalist and communist Vietnamese were imprisoned.

In 1984; the archipelago became a protected area; C鬾 ?o National Park; which was subsequently enlarged in 1998. Endangered species protected within the park include the hawksbill turtle; the green turtle and the dugong. Ecosystems represented in the park include seagrass meadow; mangrove and coral reefs.