Breaking the Shackles Trivia Quiz

Answer: Oscar Wilde

Guy Fawkes is one of the better known prisoners of the Tower of London, though he was only held briefly following the arrest for his involvement in the plot to blow up parliament in 1605. A confession was quickly obtained from Fawkes under torture. In 1606, Fawkes watched as three of his fellow conspirators were hanged and quartered. When it came to him, he leapt from the gallows and broke his neck, thus speeding up his demise.

William Penn (the founder of Pennsylvania) and Robert Walpole (whom many regard as the first Prime Minister of Great Britain) are perhaps less well known for their time as prisoners in the tower. Penn was arrested for pamphleteering and Walpole for corruption.

Oscar Wilde was held in several prisons, including HM Prison Reading (or Reading Gaol, as it was known during Wilde's imprisonment).

Answer: The French Revolution

The Storming of the Bastille was of huge significance in the French Revolution as this fortress was seen by many as a symbol of royal repression. The French Revolution was a social and political revolution which eventually overthrew the French monarchy and curbed the power of the Roman Catholic Church in France, and left in its place a secular republic.

The struggle was supported by Thomas Paine, who saw no reason why the people of a nation should be treated as the subjects of an individual who claimed to have been put in their privileged position by God (as he laid out in his 1776 work, "Common Sense", which aimed to encourage revolutionaries in America). Paine also published "The Rights of Man" in 1791 in support of the French Revolution, though some (such as Edmund Burke) viewed this revolution as inexcusably violent.

Answer: Tasmania

Between 1833 and 1853, those seen as the worst British prisoners were sent to the prison complex on Port Arthur, Tasmania. Many of these prisoners were re-offenders who (so the British government believed) were hardened, rather than rehabilitated, by corporal punishment. Port Arthur aimed to administer psychological punishment, such as providing the absolute minimum amount of food and water, as well as keeping prisoners in darkness and silence for extended periods of time.

The result was the development of mental illness among many of the inmates.

Answer: Elizabeth Fry

Elizabeth Fry's visit to the Newgate Prison women's section in the early 19th century exposed her to the overcrowded and unhygienic conditions there. Her work began by bringing the prisoners food and clean clothes, but she knew that wider action was needed.

She did this by starting the British Ladies' Society for Promoting the Reformation of Female Prisoners, which worked to improve conditions for female prisoners across the nation. Fry's humanitarian work continued when she started a training school for nurses, which eventually facilitated the work of Florence Nightingale. From 2001 her portrait has featured on the British £5 note (E Series).

Answer: Devil's Island

Devil's Island lies off the coast of French Guiana in South America. Devil's Island is only one of a group of islands known as the Iles de Salut which the French government used as a penal colony between 1852 and 1953. Devil's Island (or Ile du Diable) was specifically used to hold political prisoners, the most famous of which was Alfred Dreyfus, who was convicted for treason.

The other two islands of this group are Ile Royale (which held common law criminals) and Ile Saint-Joseph (which was a centre of punishment for prisoners, such as those who attempted to escape).

Answer: The Andaman Islands

The Andaman Islands (also known as the Andaman and Nicobar Islands) now belong to India, but once belonged to the British Empire. An instrumental institution of British rule over India was the East India Company. Indian soldiers (called "sepoys") who worked for the East India Company mutinied in 1857 over an accumulation of factors, including general ill-treatment and financial grievances, and the rebellion quickly spread to other parts of the country.

There had been ideas to transform the Andaman Islands into a penal colony, but the amount of prisoners taken following this rebellion made such a colony essential in the eyes of the British.

The failure of the British forces to maintain adequate conditions in the prison built in Port Blair is said to have led to the deaths of thousands.

Answer: Michel Foucault

Foucault was a vocal figure in several movements, such as against racism and capital punishment. As well as his 1975 book "Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison", which looks at the development of the modern prison system, Foucault also co-founded the Group d'Information sur les Prisons (GIP), in the hope of exposing the poor conditions in prisons.

Answer: Hanoi Hilton

The prison was constructed in the late 1800s during the period of French colonialism and was largely used for holding political prisoners. The name given to it by the natives, Hoa Lo, meant "fiery furnace" or "stove" and was indicative of the inhumane conditions to which the inmates were exposed. During the Vietnam War, prisoners of war were kept there, and it was sarcastically called the Hanoi Hilton. Former inmates included Pete Peterson, the first U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam when relations between the countries were re-established in the 1990s, and U.S. Senator and presidential candidate John McCain.

The prison was largely demolished in the 1990s but a few sections remain as a museum.

Answer: Robben Island

Prison facilities operated on Robben Island since the Dutch East India Company first occupied the area. In the mid-1800s, the facilities were mainly converted to a hospital, although prisoners were still kept there. In the 1930s, there were plans to turn the island into a resort, but instead, it became a military base during World War II, before once again being used as a prison. Nelson Mandela was imprisoned on Robben Island for twenty years.

After his release, he won the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize jointly with then South African President F.W. de Klerk before becoming the President of South Africa himself.

The prison was closed in the 1990s and converted into a museum. It was declared a World Heritage site in 1999.

Answer: The slave trade

The Portuguese arrived in what is now Ghana in the early 15th century, and Elmina Castle was erected in 1482. This region was a key point in the slave trade, where captured slaves would be brought and traded for various commodities. The territory was taken by Dutch colonists in the 17th century, under which the slave trade continued. Elmina Castle acted as a temporary prison for these slaves before they were transported to the Americas and other regions.