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Okay so how many of you clicked in here thinking you’re in for a meeting
with the great mellow yellow liquid? Sorry about that, but the other options –
“just jails”, “prickly prisons”… didn’t quite make the cut.
This section is dedicated to some of the best-known shrines to captivity.
They’re all, equally, representatives of crime but there is a major difference
between them; while some have, as prisons are wont to do, incarcerated criminals, others
have been the sites of criminal incarceration. While some are gentle reminders of that
pretty pithy sentiment: my right to swing my arm ends where your nose begins, others are
legacies of the craziest colonialism. While some are now basically museums, the others
are… well… jails.
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| In
the deep blue pond that is the Atlantic Ocean, just a short distance from the southwestern
coast of Africa lies one of the most abiding symbols of colonial repression. Dutch sailors on their
way to the East Indies (India) had been using the Cape as a refreshment stopover, buying
fresh livestock that could be converted into meat dishes further along the journey. Robben
Island was discovered in 1488 by a sailor named Bartolomeu Dias. |
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It soon came to be used by the Portuguese, the Dutch and the British as a
trading outpost and a prison. The island held its first political prisoner in 1658, a
Khoikhoi tribesman called Autshumato who had the cheek to take back the cattle for which
he believed he was being given a raw deal. Eventually he escaped but was to be one of very
few people to have done so. The British ousted the Dutch from the Cape at the end of the
18th century and got into a protracted war with the local Xhosa people of
southern Africa. On gaining control of Robben the Brits used the island as social circular
file. Whoever wasn’t healthy and fit enough to contribute to the great colonial
enterprise was literally marginalized – sent off the mainland to live under the most
gruesome conditions imaginable. Robben Island became the home of the dying, the destitute,
those afflicted with leprosy, STDs, those diagnosed with mental health problems.
Around the time of World War II, the apartheid act was passed in South
Africa. Those who rebelled would become the newest category of residents on Robben Island,
which had since ceased to be a leper colony. In 1964 the island received its most famous
resident ever. Nelson Mandela, leader of the African National Congress, then an
underground movement was sentenced to life imprisonment. It wasn’t until 27 years had
lapsed that Mandela walked out of prison, behind him an entire nation walked to freedom
too. Today Robben Island, ironically enough, is a symbol of freedom and the struggle that
has marked its achievement in many, many lands in the world.
How
To
Get there by ferry from the Victoria and Albert Waterfront in Cape Town. Make your way to
the spanking new Nelson Mandela Gateway where you can look at exhibits at the museum or
chow down at the Docks Restaurant. Ferries leave between 9 am and 2 pm and the Gateway is
open from 7:30 am to 6 pm daily.
Tours include a round trip by boat, a bus trip around the island where you
can see local fauna at the bird sanctuary, and a tour of the maximum-security prison. Get
an idea of the history of the prison from the tour guide – invariably someone who has
been a political prisoner.
The entire tour lasts 3 ½ hours and costs R 100 for adults, R 50 for
children.
For more information on Cape Town, click here.
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The
Andamans are a beautiful set of islands in the Bay of Bengal. Lying to the east of
mainland India, the Andamans today attract visitors to their clean beaches, coconut palm
fringed shoreline and snorkelling and scuba diving opportunities. It was not so long ago
though that these islands, more commonly known to Indians as kalapani (literally
‘black waters’) were anything but a vacation centre. They were where freedom
fighters were sent off so that the British could carry on the business of empire building,
without distraction. |
The Andamans were first used to hold regular criminals, thugs and looters.
But, in the aftermath of the 1857 rebellion, the prisoners here came to be those accused
of political crimes. The mutineers were shunted off the mainland and kept in the faraway
Viper Island from where there was no escape. It wasn’t until 1906 however, that the
Cellular Jail was constructed. A mammoth structure of single cells so that inmates could
be kept in solitary confinement, it came to represent the worst of colonial oppression.
The whole idea behind the bleak solitary confinement of these prisoners was that it would
give the inmate the time to reflect and repent, and keep him from getting together with
others and spreading the corruption.
The who’s who of the Indian freedom movement spent time at the prison.
Notably, these were by and large the revolutionaries rather than members of the Congress
party, which, under the leadership of Gandhi espoused non-violence. After independence in
1947, Cellular Jail was begun to be demolished. However, former inmates stepped in to
prevent the destruction of the building. It is now a national memorial.
Originally, the Cellular Jail had seven wings emanating from a central
section that was the fulcrum of the prison. All but three were destroyed in the post
Independence demolition drive.
How to
The simplest way to get to Port Blair, the administrative capital of the
Andamans and the city in which the Jail is located, is by air. Catch your flight from
Calcutta, Chennai or Vishakhapatnam. Going by ship takes a lot of advance planning.
It’s a three-day journey, and connections are available from Calcutta, Chennai and
Vishakhapatnam.
Non-Indians need to get a Restricted Area permit to visit the Andamans. This
can be got on arrival at Port Blair from the immigration authority at the School Line
Airport or the Deputy Superintendent of Police (if you’ve come in by ship). It’s
also issued by immigration offices in Delhi, Chennai, Calcutta and Mumbai and by Indian
overseas missions.
The best time to visit the Andamans is between October and May because
that’s when the weather and the waters are just right for swimming and snorkelling.
The Cellular Jail is one of the most important attractions on the island of
Port Blair. It has been converted into a museum and in the evenings there is a light &
sound show to educate visitors on the history of the jail.
For more information on the Andaman Islands, click here.
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| The
Rock! Think big prison, think mean looking always sneering hardened criminals, think Sean
Connery if you must, and you’ll think Alcatraz. This fortification of a
maximum-security prison served as a temporary residence for such big time baddies as Al
Capone, ‘Doc’ Barker who robbed more than anybody’s fair share of banks,
George “machine gun” Kelly and Stroud – the Birdman. |
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Situated on a small island in San Francisco bay, the massive fortress of
Alcatraz is actually a museum now. But its history is long and chequered, going back to
the mid 19th century when it was a military fortification. It housed, in its
early days, the POWs from the Spanish American War and was turned into a federal
maximum-security prison only in 1934, the last phase lasting until 1963. In 1969 American
Indian activists seized the island and held on to it till 1971. They were protesting
against the Bureau of Indian Affairs and won their cause.
How to
You’d be surprised at the popularity of the Alcatraz tour. Tickets are
often sold out a week in advance so it’s a good idea to book ahead. Alcatraz is now a
part of what’s called the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Take a ferry to the
island from Fisherman’s Wharf. Time was when the Warden Johnston was the only boat
that went up and down between mainland San Francisco and Alcatraz Island, ferrying
prisoners for their court appointments and prison wardens and their families for a
day’s outing. Time is now when Alcatraz is the day’s outing. Go out
there, check out the lighthouse, do some birdwatching, make your way around the prison
museum and come back on a return ferry. It’s pretty good fun.
For more information on San Francisco, click here.
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What do you get when you mix a thousand years, royal intrigue, Anne Boleyn,
the Crown Jewels and more than a few ex-palaces? You get one of London’s most popular
tourist attractions – the Tower of London cocktail.
The sprawling Tower of London complex located on the banks of the Thames,
believe it or not, actually began life in the first century of the second millennium as a
simple wood and mud enclosure on the outskirts of the old Roman town of Londinium Augusta.
Then, along came William the Conqueror with his penchant for upsetting the applecart,
seized London, captured England and became the first Norman to rule Britannia. He took
over this humble building by which the Thames flowed, added a healthy dose of good sturdy
stone and built The Great Tower. |
We now know this structure as The White Tower. In the many centuries since
this development more structures were added by a variety of rulers, and the complex
evolved as an all-in-one bastion of stupefying imperial grandeur.
Castles, palaces, towers and walkways connecting the various buildings were
constructed, as was a prison that could fill even the most stubborn and committed
mischief-maker with dread. And no effort was spared to fill this jail with deserving
individuals. If the king decreed it, his will was taken as God’s command. So William
Fitzosbert was handed his comeuppance by Richard the I, six hundred Jews were held for
“clipping and adulterating the King’s coin” in 1282, and a certain Brother
John Shettisham was booked for the terrible crime of “trespass of venison” nine
years thereafter. William Wallace graced the prison in 1305 before being quartered,
disembowelled and beheaded, the Knights Templar were booked for their “shocking
habits” before being sent off to mend their ways at sundry monasteries, Anne Boleyn
was done in by Henry the VIII, and between all these, and afterwards, many famous and
infamous personalities found their way to this royal prison. Some never found their way
out. Their remains are interred at the Scaffold Site, situated in front of the Chapel
Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula.
How to
Take the Tower Hill tube or take a riverboat till the Tower Pier. Or just
take the bus. Guided tours last an hour and begin every half hour. The Tower is open from
March to October, Monday to Saturday, 9 am to 5 pm; Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm. From November
to February, it’s open Tuesday to Saturday 9 am to 4 pm, Sunday, 10 am to 4 pm. Last
entry is an hour before closing time. Admission costs £11. Between those hours and for
that price you may check out the Crown Jewels, the Medieval Palace and the White Tower and
the Tower’s Ravens who live near the Wakefield Tower, besides much else. The
Beefeaters, those gentle souls who wear spiffy outfits and are formally called the Yeoman
Warders, take it upon themselves to conduct guided tours. After your walks through the
Tower grounds, consider a meal at the Café on the Wharf.
For more information on London,click
here.
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| Heidelberg
in the Black Forest area of Germany is kissed by the River Neckar and surrounded by
densely wooded hills. This city is home to the country’s oldest university, a premier
institution that has churned out huge amounts of worthwhile work in the fields of biotech,
information tech, genetic engineering and environmental protection. Tourists to Germany
make their way to Heidelberg for its majestic castles and magical countryside, the beauty
of the town endorsed by none less than Mark Twain, Schumann, Brahms and the painter
Turner. Mark Twain perhaps would have also given a big thumbs up to the awesome Heidelberg
University but he was already on record protesting, “I never let my schooling
interfere with my education”. |
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But he would have been happy to know that certain young men from
distinguished families enrolled at the prestigious university were living by that
wonderful credo, so much so that Heidelberg University needed to have its own little
prison!
The Students Prison is way at the back in the Old University in the
“Augustinergasse”, and was operational from 1778 to 1914. During this period the
university was given powers of autonomous jurisdiction and so was within its rights to
detain its mischief-makers. Young frat brats were ‘imprisoned’ for such crimes
as disturbing the calm, particularly if the disturbance could be attributed to alcohol
induced euphoria, for being rude to the authorities or playing tricks on them (yes,
sometimes Malory Towers meets Doctors), or for being part of a duel. Depending on how bad
the guy had been, his time in the slammer could range from three days to four weeks. But
since this was a university facility, and all roads must eventually lead to class, inmates
were allowed to attend lectures.
The Students Prison was always and still is quite a cheerful place. There is
graffiti on the walls and the many creative works have been preserved for the visitor
today.
How to
The Old University is at 2 Augustinergasse in Heidelberg. It’s open
between April and October, from 10 am to 4 pm Mondays through Saturdays. In the winter,
from November to March, it’s open from Tuesday to Friday from 10 am to 2 pm. Closed
on Sunday and public holidays. Admission fees are € 2.50 for adults and € 2 for
kids.
For more information on Heidelberg, click
here.
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In
1755 Giacomo Casanova was incarcerated here for repeatedly flouting the 7th
commandment; it’s another thing that he managed to dig his way out, presumably he
didn’t go back home! Byron romanticised the melancholic walk down the Ponte de
Sospin to the deathly prison; it’s another thing that by the 19th
century, when he was writing ‘Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage’, the Bridge of
Sighs that links the Doge’s Palace and the Leads Prison was a path to brief
incarceration for only minor crimes. You’re not really allowed to wander through this
old jail all by yourself; it’s another thing that in the off-season you can coax and
cajole the friendly Italian authorities into letting you through! That’s the Leads
Prison nitty-gritty – it’s all so deliciously romantic and so totally Italian
that you simply cannot miss it. |
The Leads Prison stands across the Rio di Palazzo canal from the magnificent
Doge’s Palace or Palazzo Ducale. The subject of Lord Byron’s famous poem,
the Bridge of Sighs is the narrow low enclosed bridge that connects the prignioni (or
prison) with the inquisitor’s rooms in the palace. It is locally known as Ponte de
Sospin. The Palazzo Ducale is home to one of the finest museums in Venice; minimalists
beware, the Doge’s Palace, once the highest seat of the magistracy, has such a
superbly embellished exterior that it warrants the honour of being called the finest
example of Venetian Gothic. Inside there are masterpieces by Bellini, Veronese, Tintorreto
and Tiziano. Across the narrow canal from the palace is the prison. When still in service
the prison was the site of summary executions and inquisitions. Today, it’s open to
visitors who’ve signed up for the Itinerari Segreti or the Secret Itinerary
tour. In its heyday the prison could strike terror into the most nonchalant heart. The
Venetian laws were draconian to say the least, and one could land in the clapper for such
deadly crimes as fornication (Casanova kaput), something as well defined as ‘indecent
behaviour’, and even wearing the wrong clothes. Citizens were encouraged to snitch:
to get your back at someone all you needed to do was leave a complaint chit in one of the
niches in the palace walls.
How to
The palace and the prison are just south of St. Mark’s Basilica in the
area called San Marco. The glorious pink and white building is an important tourist site
and landmark, and anybody in Venice will be able to direct you to it. The Itinerari
Segreti is a 90-minute tour conducted in Italian that takes the visitor through the
majestic rooms of the Doge’s quarters, across the Bridge of Sighs and to the prison
where one can see the cells and the torture chambers. The tour is open from June to
September; the first round begins at 10 am and the second at noon. In season it’s
conducted everyday except Wednesday. You’re required to book in advance. Admission
fees are around € 5 for adults and around € 3 for children between 6 and 14.
Off-season if you’re really persuasive or very pleasant, you might be allowed in to
have a wander on your own. Be very polite to the ticket window people.
For more information on Venice, click
here.
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