bread and water diet

the alcatraz island, or simply "alcatraz",is one of the world's most infamous prison sites were the united states most notoriouscriminals were kept. the place as also known as "the rock", as it measures a mere 22 acreand isn't much more than a large rock. originally there wasn't even any soil on the island;it was all transported to the island in the early 20th century.however, the history of this island dates

another few hundred years. the first one todocument the small island was the spanish naval officer juan manuel de ayala, in 1775.he named the island "isla de los alcatraces", meaning "island of gannets", due to the manyseabirds living on the rocks. due to the island strategically importantposition, it later became the site of a military

fort in the 1850ies. it not only defendedthe bay against hostile attacks, but also guided friendly ships with its lighthouse. however, the island was not only strategicallylocated from a pure military perspective. as it was surrounded by freezing waters andhazardous currents, alcatraz was quickly discovered to be the ideal location for holding captives.the island severed as a small prison for the first time during the civil war. later towardsthe end of the 19th century during the spanish-american war, the number of prisoners increased dramatically.in the early 20th century, the fort was officially converted into a prison. the prison quicklybecame known for its harsh condition and ironhanded discipline. the prisoners were divided intothree classes, depending on the crimes they

had committed. each class has different levelsof privileges, but they all had one thing in common. anyone violating the rules wouldface strict disciplinary measures. this could include working on hard labor details, wearinga heavy ankle chain and enduring solitary lock-downs with a small bread and water diet. despite its harsh conditions, alcatraz mainlyfunctioned as a minimum-security prison. the majority of the prisoners were given rathergenerous privileges. some were given special assignments, such as cleaning, cooking anddoing chores. the majority were allowed to do some kind of recreational activity.however, due to increasing operational costs, the us army sold the prison to the departmentof justice in the early 1930ies. during the

same period, the great depression became thestart of a new era of organized crime. the gangsters had come to town. this created aneed for a new high security prison, where breakouts and escapes would be impossible.the federal agencies recognized alcatraz potential as a maximum security prison and it soon becamethe storehouse for the country's most dangerous criminals. alcatraz became a perfect solution,as it not only imprisoned public enemies. it also stood as a visible icon in the sanfrancisco bay, sending a warning to the criminals with a message hard to miss. in 1934, work began to upgrade the prisonto meet its new requirements. new modernized tool-proof bars and iron windows were installedand utility tunnels closed of access. they

also installed special teargas canisters inthe ceiling of the dining hall which could be remotely triggered from several observationpoints. guard towers were strategically constructed around the perimeter and electromagnetic metaldetectors were added in multiply sections. they made sure than none of the 600 prisonercells were adjacent to any perimeter wall, so even if a prisoner managed to escape acell, they would still be locked inside the cell house. even if someone -- against allodds -- managed to escape the prison, they would still be stuck on an island surroundedby chilling water with deadly currents. over the years, 14 escape attempts have beencarried out, but the official records claim no one have made it. the vast majority ofthe escapees were either caught or shot and

killed. the most violent escape is known asthe battle of alcatraz. during this escape, a group of intakes acquired fire arms in whichgunfights between intakes and guards took place. this resulted inhowever, three men successfully carried out an escape in one of the most intricate escapesever devised. over a long period of time, they carved their way through their concretecell with spoons and other stolen tools. they continued through several ventilation shaftswhile leaving papier-mã¢chã© dummies in their cells to fool the guards. they managed toescape the prison and took on the san francisco bay with a small inflatable raft made of stolenraincoats. articles belonging to the prisoners, includingplywood paddles and parts of the raincoat

raft, were later located on nearby angel island.the official report on the escape says the prisoners drowned in the cold waters of thebay while trying to reach the mainland. the prison was closed in year 1963. the reasonwas not only the high operative costs, but a half century of salt water had severelyeroded the buildings. by this time, alcatraz had housed some of the most famous inmatesin the world, including al capone and bill "machine gun" kelly.even after its closure, the island has been the center of attention on several occasions.one of these times is when the island got occupied by an american indian protestantmovement. they stayed on the island for more

bread and water diet,than 19 months, demanding that their nativeland would be given back to them. when they

left the island, several buildings had beendamaged by fires. traces of the occupation can still be seen today. today, alcatraz island is one of the mostpopular tourist attractions in san francisco.