Fort of San Diego

Last updated
Fort San Diego
Fuerte de San Diego
Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico
San Diego Fort in Acapulco, Mexico.jpg
View of the Fort of San Diego
Coordinates 16°51′0″N99°54′8.6″W / 16.85000°N 99.902389°W / 16.85000; -99.902389
Type Star fort
Site information
Controlled by Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia
Open to
the public
Yes
ConditionIntact
Website Official website
Site history
Built1616–1617 (first fort)
1778–1783 (second fort)
Built by Spanish Empire
MaterialsStone
Battles/wars Mexican War of Independence
French intervention in Mexico
Mexican Revolution
Garrison information
Past
commanders
Pedro Antonio Vélez (1813)

The Fort of San Diego (Spanish : Fuerte de San Diego), formerly also known as the Fort of San Carlos (Spanish : Fuerte de San Carlos) is a star fort in Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico. It was built by the Spanish Empire, and it was one of the most important Spanish fortifications along the Pacific coast. The fort was first built in the 17th century, but was completely rebuilt in the 18th century. Today, it is an important landmark in Acapulco, and it is open to the public as the Acapulco Historic Museum (Spanish : Museo Histórico de Acapulco).

Contents

History

The fort's gate Fuerte de San Diego, Acapulco Mexico.JPG
The fort's gate

The Fort of San Diego was built by the Spanish Empire to protect Acapulco from attacks by pirates, since the city was an important trading port, being the point of departure for the Manila galleons. The fort was first built by Viceroy Diego Fernández de Córdoba, Marquis of Guadalcázar, and was completed in 1617 to designs of the Dutch military engineer Adrián Boot. [1]

The fort was extensively damaged in an earthquake in 1776, and it was demolished and rebuilt to designs of Ramón Panón. Construction of the new fort began in 1778, and it was completed in 1783. The new fort was given the name Fuerte de San Carlos in honour of the reigning monarch, King Carlos III, but it was still called Fuerte de San Diego by most people, and the new name eventually fell out of use. [1]

The fort saw use during the Mexican War of Independence, and its Spanish garrison under the command of Pedro Antonio Vélez resisted insurgent attacks for several months until it fell to the Mexicans under José María Morelos on 19 August 1813. The fort remained an active military installation of the Mexican Army, serving the Secretariat of War and Navy in the late 19th century. [1] The fort also saw use during the French intervention in Mexico and the Mexican Revolution.[ citation needed ]

Recent history

Exhibits of the Acapulco Historic Museum in the fort KitchenSanDiegoFort.JPG
Exhibits of the Acapulco Historic Museum in the fort

It was handed to the Secretaría de Bienes Nacionales e Inspección Administrativa in 1949 in order to be converted into a military museum. It was administered by the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH) until 1964, when it was handed to the Secretariat of Public Education to be used by the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura . In 1970, it was handed to the Junta de Mejoras Materiales del Puerto de Acapulco and it was used for cultural and artistic purposes. [1]

The fort was handed back to INAH in 1980, and it was opened to the public as a museum in 1986. [1] The museum is dedicated to the history of Acapulco, and its exhibits include archaeological remains from the Mezcala culture and artifacts relating to the Manila galleons, piracy, the Mexican War of Independence as well as exhibits about the fort itself.

The museum is open to the public on Tuesdays through Sundays. Admission on Sunday is free. [2]

Layout

First fort

The original fort as designed by Adrián Boot had an irregular pentagonal shape, and its five bastions were called: [1]

Second fort

Model of the Fort of San Diego showing its layout ModelSanDiegoFort.JPG
Model of the Fort of San Diego showing its layout

The present fort as designed by Ramón Panón is in the shape of a regular pentagon, and its five bastions are called: [1]

Each bastion had a guerite on its salient, but these were demolished in the 1970s.[ citation needed ]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acapulco</span> City in the Mexican state of Guerrero

Acapulco de Juárez, commonly called Acapulco, is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, 380 kilometres (240 mi) south of Mexico City. Located on a deep, semicircular bay, Acapulco has been a port since the early colonial period of Mexico's history. It is a port of call for shipping and cruise lines running between Panama and San Francisco, California, United States. The city of Acapulco is the largest in the state, far larger than the state capital Chilpancingo. Acapulco is also Mexico's largest beach and balneario resort city. Acapulco de Juárez, Guerrero is the municipal seat of the municipality of Acapulco, Guerrero.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Juan de Ulúa</span> Historic fortress off the coast of Veracruz, Mexico

San Juan de Ulúa, now known as Castle of San Juan de Ulúa, is a large complex of fortresses, prisons and one former palace on an island of the same name in the Gulf of Mexico overlooking the seaport of Veracruz, Mexico. Juan de Grijalva's 1518 expedition named the island. On March 30, 1519, Hernan Cortés met with Tendile and Pitalpitoque, emissaries from Moctezuma II's Aztec Empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intramuros</span> Historic walled city and district of Manila, Philippines

Intramuros is the 0.67-square-kilometer (0.26 sq mi) historic walled area within the city of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. It is administered by the Intramuros Administration with the help of the city government of Manila.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Santiago</span> 16th-century citadel in Manila, Philippines

Fort Santiago, built in 1571, is a citadel or castle built by Spanish navigator and governor Miguel López de Legazpi for the newly established city of Manila in the Philippines. The defense fortress is located in Intramuros, the walled city of Manila.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diego Fernández de Córdoba, 1st Marquess of Guadalcázar</span> Mexican politician (1578–1630)

Diego Fernández de Córdoba y López de las Roelas, 1st Marquess of Guadalcázar, was Viceroy of Mexico from October 18, 1612, to March 14, 1621, and Viceroy of Peru from July 25, 1622, to January 14, 1629.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Blas, Nayarit</span> Municipality in Nayarit, Mexico

San Blas is both a municipality and municipal seat located on the Pacific coast of Mexico in Nayarit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ciudad Colonial (Santo Domingo)</span> Historic district in Dominican Republic

Ciudad Colonial is the historic central neighborhood of the Dominican Republic's capital Santo Domingo. It is the oldest continuously inhabited European-established settlement in the Americas. The area has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It is also known as Zona Colonial or more colloquially as "La Zona".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spanish colonial fortifications in the Philippines</span>

The Spanish fortifications of the Philippines, or fuerzas, are strongholds constructed by Filipinos and Spaniards primarily for protection against local and foreign aggressors during the Spanish colonial period, and during the subsequent American and Japanese occupations. Structures built included fortresses, watchtowers, and bastions. Many are badly damaged, either due to old age or past conflicts. Currently, there are initiatives for restorations of all forts, beginning when the Baluarte Luna of La Union and the Intramuros of Manila were restored in the 2010s. In 2013, a typhoon and earthquake hit Central Visayas and damaged numerous Spanish fortifications, leading to the largest restoration activity for fortifications in Philippine history.

Pablo de Hita y Salazar was a Spanish military officer who served as governor of Spanish Florida from 1675 to 1680. The territory at the time stretched from current-day Florida west to Texas and north to South Carolina. He was best known for his work devoted to construction of the Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine, the capital of La Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Puerta del Conde</span> UNESCO World Heritage Site in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

La Puerta del Conde was the main entrance to the fortified city of Santo Domingo, named to honor Governor Captain-General Bernardino de Meneses Bracamonte y Zapata, 1st Count of Peñalva, who during his tenure saved the city from a siege in 1655 by Englishmen General Robert Venables and Admiral William Penn amid the Third Anglo-Spanish War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fuerte San Miguel (Uruguay)</span>

Fuerte de San Miguel is a military fortification in the small town of Dieciocho de Julio in the Rocha Department of eastern Uruguay. It was erected in 1737 by the Portuguese, having abandoned the attempt at building a fort in Maldonado. It was constructed of large, heavy stones to create the tall towers, thick walls and sturdy ramparts to withstand the onslaught of wars fought against the Spanish invaders which was instrumental in Uruguay evolving as an independent nation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fortaleza de Santa Teresa</span> Military museum in Uruguay

The Fortaleza de Santa Teresa, or Fortaleza Santa Tereza is a military fortification located 36 km (22 mi) south of Chuy and 305 km (190 mi) northeast of Montevideo on Route 9, in the Rocha Department of eastern Uruguay. It lies about 800 m (2,600 ft) from the coast at Playa la Moza, almost halfway between Angostura and La Coronilla , north of Punta del Diablo and roughly 4 km (2.5 mi) northeast of the northeast bank of the Laguna Negra. It lies within the Santa Teresa National Park. It was erected from October 1762 by the Portuguese, having abandoned the attempt at building a fort in Maldonado and leaving the Fuerte San Miguel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baluarte de Santiago</span> Fortification in Veracruz, Mexico

The Baluarte de Santiago, also known as the Bastion of Gunpowder, is located on Street Francisco Canal S/N, between Avenues Gómez Farías and 16 Septiembre, in the port city of Veracruz, Veracruz, Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baluarte de San Diego</span> Fortification in Manila, Philippines

The Baluarte de San Diego is a bastion in Intramuros, part of the Spanish colonial fortification in the walled city of Manila in the Philippines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plaza Mexico (Manila)</span>

Plaza Mexico is a historic riverside square in Manila, Philippines, located at the west end of Magallanes Drive and Riverside Drive in Intramuros, bordering the Pasig River in the north. It is surrounded by the Aduana Building on the south, the Bureau of Immigration Building on the east and the ruins of the Bastión de Maestranza and Puerta de Almacenes on the west. The Pasig River Ferry has a station named Plaza Mexico located northeast of the square behind the Immigration building. The square was renamed Plaza Mexico in 1964 to commemorate the 4th centenary of the expedition of Miguel López de Legazpi and Andres de Urdaneta from New Spain (Mexico) and the historic Manila-Acapulco galleon trade relations between the two nations that lasted 250 years.

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Acapulco de Juárez, Guerrero, Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Real Cittadella</span> Fort in Messina, Sicily

The Real Cittadella was a fort in Messina, Sicily. The Cittadella was built between 1680 and 1686 by the Spanish Empire, and it was considered to be one of the most important fortifications in the Mediterranean. Most of the fort was demolished in the 20th century, but some parts can still be seen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Badajoz bastioned enclosure</span> Bastioned system on Badajoz, Spain

The bastioned system of the Spanish city of Badajoz consists of a military fortification formed by a set of defensive walls, city gates, bridges, forts, towers, bastions, hornworks, moats, tunnels, and ravelins, among other defensive elements. It was built between the 17th and 18th centuries, following the defensive construction theories popularized by the French military engineer Sébastien Le Prestre, better known as the Marquis de Vauban, as an extension of a previous defensive enclosure that protected this border town.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Acerca del Fuerte". fuertedesandiego.inah.gob.mx (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 19 January 2012.
  2. "Acapulco Historic Museum – San Diego Fort". acapulco.com. Archived from the original on 17 May 2015.