Argentina, El Presidio Militar Ushuaia

 

 

Imagine it is 1896 and you have been convicted of a major crime in Argentina, you might just find yourself here, El Presidio Militiar in Ushuaia.

 

 

 

 

Prisoner’s View

 

 

Although the merger of the military prison and the jail in Ushuaia did not occur until 1911 by Presidential decree, most of the country's hardened criminals were shipped to this part of Argentina. The first group of convicts arrived by naval ship in January 1896.

Housed near the coal burning engine room, the prisoners endured miserably hot conditions often breathing in toxic coal dust on their journey south. Some would say it was inhumane conditions while others believed it was just a part of their punishment.

 

One benefit of the prison here was that it lead to the construction of the world's most southern railway in 1911.

 

 

 

In 1947 the prison was closed and the property transferred to Navy. El Presido Militiar an interesting part of the the history of “El Fin del Mundo.”

 

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