About 700 miles off the coast of Mexico sits one of the strangest islands in the Pacific. Tiny, uninhabited, and almost completely forgotten, Clipperton Island is little more than a ring of coral surrounding a stagnant lagoon. There are no towns, no airports, no freshwater sources, and no permanent residents. Yet for more than a century, multiple nations fought over ownership of this lonely speck of land. France and Mexico both claimed Clipperton during the late 1800s, largely because of valuable guano deposits scattered across the island. The dispute dragged on for decades before an international arbitration decision awarded the island to France in 1931, a status it retains today. But geopolitics is only part of the story. What truly makes Clipperton infamous is the nightmare that unfolded there during the early 20th century. In 1906, Mexico established a small settlement on the island, complete with a military garrison and lighthouse keeper.…