Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
10
Taller Portobelo
B2
History
Colombus named 'Puerto Bello,' the Beautiful Port, in 1502, when he stopped here on
his fourth New World voyage. Over time, the name shortened to 'Portobelo.'
Portobelo consisted of no more than 10 houses when the celebrated Italian engineer
Juan Bautista Antonelli arrived in 1586 on a mission to examine the defensibility of the
Caribbean. After noting how well Portobelo's bay lent itself to defensive works, King
Félipe II ordered that Nombre de Dios be abandoned and Portobelo colonized. However,
it wasn't until after Nombre de Dios was completely destroyed by Sir Francis Drake in
1596 that the transfer took place.
The city of San Felipe de Portobelo was founded in 1597 and its 200-year history was
riddled with numerous invasions at the hands of English privateers and the Royal Navy.
Portobelo was first attacked in 1602 by English pirate William Parker, but it was the in-
famous Sir Henry Morgan who sacked the city in 1671.
However, not all of the invasions were the product of superior tactics or numbers. In
1679 the crews of two English ships and one French vessel united in an attack on Porto-
belo. They landed 200 men at such a distance from the town that it took them three
nights of marching to reach it. As they neared Portobelo, they were seen by a farmer,
who ran ahead to sound the alarm, but the pirates followed so closely behind that the
town had no time to prepare. Unaware of how small the buccaneer force was, all the in-
habitants fled.
The pirates spent two days and nights in Portobelo, collecting plunder in constant ap-
prehension that the Spaniards would return in great numbers and attack them. However,
the buccaneers got back to their ships unmolested, then distributed 160 pieces of eight to
each man. At the time, one piece of eight would pay for a night's stay at the best inn in
Seville.
Attacks on Portobelo continued unabated until the city was destroyed in 1739 by an at-
tack led by Admiral Edward Vernon. Portobelo was rebuilt in 1751, but it never attained
its former prominence and in time became a virtual ruin. Later, much of the outermost
fortress was dismantled to build the Panama Canal and many of the larger stones were
used in the construction of the Gatún Locks. There are, however, still considerable parts
of the town and fortresses left, and today Portobelo is protected as a national park and a
Unesco World Heritage Site.
