El President of the USA, Donald Trumpordered the reopening of the legendary prison of maximum security of Alcatrazclosed since 1963 and converted in historical site since 1973. located in front of the coasts of San Francisco, Californiathe island was for decades a symbol of the strictest confinement of the federal prison system.
Among its walls is still the cell that occupied To the Caponeone of the most notorious criminals of the twentieth century. In this context, interest in the history of the island resurfaces, and then ten well -known data about Alcatraz are presented that allow us to understand its complexity beyond myth.
Before becoming synonym for extreme confinement, the island of Alcatraz It was a military enclave of vital importance for USA. Its history as a strategic position dates back to the mid -nineteenth century, shortly after California It will pass to American hands after the war with Mexico in 1848. The island, sighted and baptized in 1775 by the Spanish explorer Juan Manuel de Ayala as Islands Islandit was one of the first areas of the bay to be cartographed by Europeans.
During the 1850s, with gold fever attracting crowds to San Francisco and the possibility of increasing international conflicts, the US government decided to fortify the island. The site was transformed into a military citadel equipped with more than 100 cannons, conceived to protect the entrance to the bay and protect one of the main access points to the west coast. This defensive network sought to dissuade possible foreign invaders interested in taking advantage of the economic boom in the region.
Once Alcatraz stopped fulfilling his role as a strategic military position, his transformation began into a formal prison installation. This transition was made at the beginning of the 20th century, when the United States Army He decided to disassemble much of the structure of the old fortress. Only the foundations of the basement were preserved, on which a new penitentiary complex would be lifted.
Between 1909 and 1911, the construction of the building was carried out by military inmateswho worked directly in the building of the property that still remains standing. This effort marked the passage of Alcatraz of military fortification to disciplinary jail for the west coast. During that period, the prisoners housed there were not civilian criminals, but soldiers convicted of crimes within the military.
Known as “La Roca”the penitentiary was conceived as a final destination for internal considered unrecoverable, those who had generated conflicts in other prisons. There, the regime was strict and the rigid rules. In some times, prisoners were even prohibited from speaking with each other. However, compared to other institutions, The level of violence within Alcatraz was low. This peculiarity made some inmates request to be transferred there, in search of a more predictable and safe routine.
Each prisoner had an individual cellwhich reduced the risk of aggressions among inmates. The system was based on a minimum rights structure, limited to four aspects: food, accommodation, clothing and medical care. Everything else had to win or was directly forbidden.
A striking curiosity was the provision of showers with hot water. This decision, which might seem a comfort gesture, really had a strategic purpose. It was thought that, if the prisoners got used to warm water, the extreme cold of the San Francisco Bay – where the temperature is around 12 ° C – would act as a psychological and physical brake before any attempt to escape.
-One of the most persistent myths about Alcatraz revolves around its escape attemptswidely portrayed in books, movies and reports. The isolated location of the island in the middle of the bay of San Franciscosurrounded by cold waters and intense currents, made it a naturally reinforced prison against any attempt to evasion.
During the 29 years in which it worked as federal penitentiary – from 1934 to 1963—, 36 escape attempts starring a total of 36 inmates were recorded. The statistics are overwhelming: 23 were recaptured, six were killed by the guards during the escape and two drowned before reaching the coast. The remaining five, including Frank Morris and the brothers John and Clarence Anglin, managed to get out of prison in 1962 using an impromptu raft made with waterproof. Once in the water, they disappeared without a trace.
Until today, there is no official confirmation about its destiny, and the case remains open as one of the great enigmas of US prison history. What is clear is that, even for the most ingenious, Alcatraz offered minimal chances of success in any attempt to escape.
Although Alcatraz would never be confused with a field club, inmates still had options to perform physical activities. Softball was the most popular hobby, and inmates used a diamond in the recreational area. Organized teams played with shorter tickets; The balls that passed over the barricades were eliminated, not homers. But not all parties were without setbacks. The teams were integrated, which sometimes generated racial tensions. During a match on May 20, 1956, the spirits were heated and improvised knives were used before the guards could restore order.
Life in Alcatraz was not isolated only for prisoners. The guards and other prison employees lived on the island, in separate homes that were formerly barracks of the Civil War. Their children fished in the bay and spent time in social salons with billiards and bowling. Families used to make boat excursions on weekends to near Marin to stock up on food and other essential items. Although they were prohibited from contact with inmates, some had fun seeing the newcomers with shackles.
The definitive closure of Alcatraz As a federal prison in 1963 he did not respond to humanitarian considerations or judicial reforms, but to an eminently economic issue. The location of the island, in the middle of the San Francisco Bay, which for years had worked as a tactical advantage against leaks, ended up becoming its financial conviction.
Six years after the closing of the prison, Alcatraz He occupied a central place in the public debate, this time as an epicenter of an indigenous protest of great symbolic scope. In 1969, a group of indigenous university students broke into the abandoned island with the aim of making visible government policy promoted by the dissolution of tribal structures and the forced relocation of native peoples in urban areas.
The island of Alcatraz It became a park and became part of the National Parks System of USA In 1972. If a guided tour is desired, a ferry can be reserved in advance. Once there, an audio guide takes you along the land, including the cells of figures such as the Capone where more than 1.5 million people visit it annually.
Without permanent human presence for decades, The island of Alcatraz has been gradually recovered by nature, particularly by sea birds. One of the first images that visitors receive when disembarking is the abundance of Western seagulls, which nest in abandoned roofs, trails and structures, occupying virtually all available surfaces.
