Convict Work Camp at María, Coiba Island
ID: SIA2009-4283 and Wetmore Negative Number 6092
Creator: Wetmore, Alexander 1886-
Form/Genre: Photographic print
Date: January 24, 1956
Citation: Smithsonian Institution Archives, Alexander Wetmore Papers, Record Unit 7006, Box: 183, Folder Album: Panama and Coiba, 1956
Usage Conditions Apply
The Smithsonian Institution Archives welcomes personal and educational use of its collections unless otherwise noted. For commercial uses, please contact photos@si.edu.Summary
Convict work camp at María, Coiba Island, Panama. Several guards are in a group and buildings are to the right.
Subject
Guard Force
Category
Historic Images of the Smithsonian
Notes
- The image was taken by Smithsonian Secretary and ornithologist Alexander Wetmore while on a scientific expedition to Panama to Coiba Island.
- From 1919 to 1991, Coiba Island was a penal colony. Fear of the prison and its inmates deterred visitors from the island. As such, about 80% of the natural areas on the island remain undisturbed. The island is also host to many endemic species. Both of these factors made the island ideal for Wetmore's scientific expedition. The officers and convicts pictured in Wetmore's images from the expedition were part of the penal colony. Some even worked as laborers for the expedition. Today, the island is no longer a penal colony. Instead, it is one of 38 islands composing Coiba National Park, a World Heritage Site.
Contained within
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Alexander Wetmore Papers, Record Unit 7006, Box: 183, Folder Album: Panama and Coiba, 1956
Contact information
Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu
Date
January 24, 1956
Restrictions & Rights
No restrictions
Topic
- Landscapes
- Architecture
- Convict labor
- Islands
- Penal colonies
- Prisoners
- Buildings--Panama
- Panamanians
Place
- Panama
- Coiba Island (Panama)
Form/Genre
- Photographic print
- Landscape
- Group
ID Number
SIA2009-4283 and Wetmore Negative Number 6092
Physical description
Number of Images: 1; Color: Black and white; Size: 4.75w x 4.5h Type of Image: Landscape; Group Medium: Photographic print