On June 16 1702, the British East India Company founded a settlement on the island of Pulo Condor off the south coast of southern Vietnam, and on March 2 1705, the garrison and settlement were destroyed.

The largest island is Côn Sơn Island (also known as Con Lon Island), famous for its prison built by the French colonial government.

 The Con Dao Islands (Vietnamese Côn Đảo) are an archipelago of Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu Province, in southeastern Vietnam, and a district of this province. Situated at about 185 km from Vũng Tàu and 230 km from Hồ Chí 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.

Much of the islands was given protected status in 1984. In 1984, they became a national park, Côn Đảo National Park, which was subsequently enlarged in 1998. Endangered species protected include the hawksbill turtle, the green turtle and the dugong. Ecosystems represented in the park include seagrass meadow, mangrove and coral reefs.

Côn Đảo National Park is working with 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 management is strongly geared towards sustainable use, hoping to learn from previous experiences in Vietnam and the region to balance development with conservation.