The Famous Alcatraz

The history of Alcatraz is quiet old. It takes us way back to 1774 when Spanish found this island in the San Francisco bay. Ayala as he was called named it as La isle de Los Alcatraces which meant island of pelicans. This was at first considered as a fort which was meant for protecting the San Francisco bay. However it ended in becoming a prison from where it was virtually impossible to escape.

This was given to the Julian Workman by the Mexican Governor in order to make a light house. But the light house was never built and this place turned out into prison. 

1. Alcatraz is not far from San Francisco. It is few kilometers far from San Francisco in the San Francisco bay. You can even see the Alcatraz from the beaches of the San Francisco. Hundreds of years ago this place was made the prison and the prisoners who used to live here. At first the prisoners here used to have good life. They were free to move on the island for sometime during the day. However you should know that earlier when the prisoners used to live here were not so dangerous but the prisoners who came afterwards were quiet dangerous. 
   
2. Actually there is a long story behind it. The government in early 20's and 30's saw the formation of various gangs. These gangs used to frustrate the common people and were always involved in destroying the peace of the country. Hence the government decided to remove such guys from the society a nothing was a better option than the Alcatraz. 
   
3. The government decided that all such prisoners would be sent to Alcatraz away from the society. The jailor of the prison was very strict and even the government made some very strict laws for the prisoners. However there was one provision that if any prisoner would work properly for long then his sentence will be shortened. 
   
4. Many prisoners tried to escape from the prison but found it virtually impossible. Those who tried to escape were either killed or returned back to the prison.
   
5. You should know that this prison has also been the military prison for long time. In fact during the Spanish American war as well as the civil war, this prison was used as a military prison. However after wards it became the federal prison.
   
6. In 1906 an earth quake struck the horizon of the San Francisco and most of the prisoners were sent to the Alcatraz in order to make sure that all the prisoners are moved to the safer place. Soon the prison was full to its capacity.
   
7. Many have tried to escape this prison but no one escaped and now it has been abandoned and is just as good as a tourist place.