Alcatraz Island as a Landmark of Immense Historical Relevance - Essay Example

Alcatraz of the History of the Concerned May 14, Alcatraz It is a fact that some places of historical importance, command such fame and importance in the popular culture and perception that they continue to entice and attract the succeeding generations. Even today, thousands of tourists visit Alcatraz every year, a clear testament to the fame and importance that this island commands in the American mindset and psyche. Alcatraz is an island placed about two and a half kilometers from San Francisco, in the San Francisco Bay area. Alcatraz Island is also popularly referred to as the ‘Rock’. This island that served as a lighthouse, a military fort and as an infamous penitentiary, does command an important place in the American history. Alcatraz has the honor of serving as a sight that foresaw many important historical events that had a deep impact on the nation as a whole. That is why it is considered to be a major landmark in the San Francisco Bay area. It is owing to the historical and folk importance and relevance of Alcatraz that this island featured in many important works of literature, motion pictures and news reports. The mystique appeal of Alcatraz is such that even today it continues to attract people from around the world. Though, notorious for being the abode of some of the most incorrigible prisoners in the American history, the relevance and historical appeal of this island extends much beyond being a high security prison. Today Alcatraz is known to be an abandoned, infamous high security prison. However, much before the feet of the white settlers were placed on the land at Alcatraz, it was inhabited by the Native Americans. It was the American Indians who were the first to arrive at Alcatraz. It is difficult to reconstruct the exact use of the island of Alcatraz by the Native Americans as much of the oral folklore regarding it has been lost over time. Though it is not exactly known as to what use the American Indians did put the island of Alcatraz to, yet on the basis of the available remnants of the Native American history, it is believed that the island of Alcatraz was infamous amongst the Native Americans also (McShane & Williams III, 1996, p. 20). The Native American tribes that settled around the San Francisco Bay considered the island of Alcatraz as a place to be avoided. It is said that the Native Americans believed that Alcatraz was a place haunted by evil and wicked spirits (McShane & Williams III, 1996, p. 21). The Native Americans did use to send the people who violated the tribal codes to Alcatraz. As per some traditions it is also believed that Alcatraz was also used as a camping site by the Native Americans. The Native Americans used to visit the island to gather food comprising of bird eggs and sea life (McShane & Williams III, 1996, p. 21). Before the advent of the Spanish explorers to Alcatraz, a significant population of the Native American tribes inhabited the area around Alcatraz in the San Francisco Bay Area (McShane & Williams III, 1996). The Spanish were the first Westerners to visit the island of Alcatraz. The Spanish arrived in the San Francisco Bay area in the year 1769 (McShane & Williams III, 1996, p. 21). When the Spanish arrived at Alcatraz, they came across this barren and rocky island which they named ‘La Isla de Los Alcatraces’ or Island of the Sea Birds, owing to the large population of sea birds residing in this area (McShane & Williams III, 1996, p. 21). With the passage of time the long Spanish name of this barren and rocky island got shortened to Alcatraz. It is said that when the Spanish came to establish many Christian missions in California, the Native American people used Alcatraz as a hiding place to escape their forced conversion to Christianity by the Spanish. At the culmination of the Mexican-American War in 1848, California along with the island of Alcatraz fell within the domain of America (Keve, 1995, p. 175). With the onset of the gold rush in California, the population of the white settlers around the San Francisco Bay area tremendously burgeoned over a short period of time. In the mean time the American army came to realize the strategic importance of this barren and waste island. The army engineers began cartography and surveying this area around 1853, following which the army began constructing a fort and a functional lighthouse on it (Keve, 1995, p. 175). With the onset of the gold rush, the fame of California spread across the world and this attracted hordes of settlers. Considering this, the American army regarded the island of Alcatraz to be a suitable strategic vantage point, which it could use to protect the mineral wealth of this area from the foreign powers (Keve, 1995). Large cannons were stationed by the army at Alcatraz and it became a symbol of the military might of the United States of America. However, with the advent of the more modern weapons, the island lost its established prestige as a strategic location. Yet the army did realize that it could put to use this isolated and barren island for holding captives (Keve, 1995). The inhospitable topography of Alcatraz guarded by potent and icy currents made it an ideal location for an army prison. The Civil War prisoners started arriving in Alcatraz by the year 1861 (Keve, 1995, p. 175). The island also accommodated the prisoners from the Spanish-American War (Keve, 1995, p. 175). Alcatraz was first used as a prison by the American army. Even in those days Alcatraz was known to be a formidable detention site where the inmates had to bear with inhospitable weather conditions and a very strict and stringent discipline. It was the military that planned the shipping of soil from the Angel Island to Alcatraz, to make it habitable and fertile (Keve, 1995, p. 179). However, with the passage of time the cost of maintaining this prison became too much for the military and the military decided to shut down this prison in the year 1934 (Keve, 1995). The ownership of the Alcatraz was eventually passed on to the Department of Justice. However, the onset of the Great Depression led to a surge in the organized crime in the United States of America in the late 20s (Keve, 1995). This led to an era when the criminal gangs reigned in America in connivance with the corrupt politicians and the compromised law and order personnel. The law enforcement agencies mostly fared an utter helplessness before the organized gangs that were mostly better armed and enjoyed good political connections. The public outcry against the organized crime led to the conversion of Alcatraz as a high security prison designed to incarcerate really notorious and incorrigible prisoners. Thereby Alcatraz was redesigned to house an escape proof and fool proof prison marked by massive up gradations and construction (Keve, 1995, p. 177). The thing that needs to be kept in mind is that the American government though intended to use Alcatraz as a high security prison, yet the symbolic relevance of Alcatraz far exceeded its practical use (Keve, 1995, p. 177). Alcatraz stood as a potent warning to all the lawless criminals, a standing symbol of the power of the American justice and law. In that context Alcatraz had the honor of housing some of the most notorious criminals of that era. However, the civilian government also had to close down the prison facility at Alcatraz in the year 1963 owing to the surmounting costs of operating this facility (Keve, 1995, p. 185). The Alcatraz prison was abandoned, however it continued to stand as a potent symbol of law enforcement and justice. Even today Alcatraz continues to command an immense appeal amongst the tourists for its historical significance and notoriety. This abandoned island shot to prominence once again in 1969 when it was occupied by the Indian tribes (Johnson, 2008). This forlorn and abandoned prison site was reclaimed by the Indian tribes as the Indian land. This occupation soon turned into an internationally publicized protest intended to gather public attention towards the sorry state of the American Indian tribes. Thereby in those days this barren island once again emerged to be a hub of Indian unity and resurgence. The Indian families occupied this island for almost 18 months. However, with the passage of time and the dilution of the Indian leadership, the public interest in this movement began to wane (Johnson, 2008). Still, even today the American Indians continue to cherish Alcatraz occupation as a milestone in the contemporary Indian history, marked by a resurgence of the Indian culture, history and values. (Johnson, 2008) The American Indians commemorate Alcatraz occupation every year as a symbol of the American Indian assertion and resurgence. Thereby, it would not be wrong to say that Alcatraz happens to be a landmark of immense historical relevance and importance. From being an abode of the banished Indians to being a vantage point of strategic importance, designed to be a bulwark of the America defense against the foreign powers, Alcatraz saw it all. The island accrued much of its notoriety and infamy owing to its use as a formidable military and civilian prison, which contributed to its popularity as a tourist destination. The island also happens to be an important landmark in the modern day Native American history. References Johnson, T.R. (2008). The American Indian Occupation of Alcatraz Island. Lincoln, N.E.: University of Nebraska Press. Keve, P.W. Prisons and the American Conscience. (1995). Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press. McShane, M. D., & Williams III, F. P. (1996). Encyclopedia of American Prisons. New York: Garland. Read More