This article is the History of Cartagena, Colombia.
The Caribbean region, particularly in the area from the Sinú River delta to the Cartagena de Indias bay, appears to be the first documented human community in today's Colombia: the Puerto Hormiga Culture.
Until the period of Spanish colonization, many indigenous cultures derived from the Karib, Malibu and Arawak language families lived along the Caribbean Colombian coast. In the late pre-Columbian era, the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, was home to the Tayrona people, closely related with the Chibcha family language. [1] [2]
Archaeologists estimate that around 7000 BC, the settlement of the formative Puerto Hormiga Culture, located near the limits between the departments of Bolívar and Sucre was established. In this area archaeologists have found the most ancient ceramic objects in the Americas, dating from around 4000 BC. The primary reason for the proliferation of primitive societies in this area is the relative mildness of climate and the abundance of wildlife which through continuous hunting allowed the inhabitants a comfortable life. [3] [4] [5]
In today's villages of Maria La Baja, Sincerín, El Viso and Mahates and Rotinet, there have also been discoveries of the remains of culturally organized societies through the excavation of maloka-type buildings, which are directly related to the early Puerto Hormiga settlements. [5]
Archaeological investigations date the decline of the Puerto Hormiga culture and its related settlements to around 3000 BC. The rise of a much more developed culture, the Monsú, who lived at the end of the Dique Canal, near today's Cartagena neighborhoods Pasacaballos and Ciénaga Honda at the northernmost part of Barú Island. The Monsú culture inherited the Puerto Hormiga culture's use of the art of pottery but also developed a mixed economy of agriculture and basic manufacture. the Monsú people's diet was based mostly on seashells, sweet- and salt-water fish. [6]
The ethnologists who discovered Monsú, Gerardo Reichel-Dolmatoff and his wife Alicia Dussan, found an interesting artificial mound created by them consisting in vases and rests of skeletons. After the first excavations, the Monsú mound was found to be a communal hut that had strong wood logs around it and was built on different levels, each one from a different period of time. The most ancient of these is the Turbana [7] Period, from 3350 BC. This archaeological zone, less than 6 miles from Cartagena de Indias' downtown boasts the most complete collection of ceramic instruments in Colombia and the American continent. [3] The ceramic patterns found in Monsú, are a tour de force for students of archeology of the Caribbean sea basin and northern South America.
The Reichel-Dolmatoffs later found other artificial mounds, dating from 3200 to 1000 BC, thus making the suburbs of modern Cartagena the seat of the first organized society in Colombia, and one of the most ancient in the Americas.
The development of the Sinú society in today's department of Cordoba and Sucre, eclipsed these first developments around the Cartagena Bay area. Around 1500 the area was inhabited by different tribes of the Karib language family, more precisely the Mocanae sub-family. These were:
Some subsidiary tribes of the Kalamari lived in today's neighborhood of Pie de la Popa, and other subsidiaries from the Cospique lived in the Membrillal and Pasacaballos areas. Among these, according to the first chronicles the Kalamari Tribe had preeminence.
These tribes, though physically and administratively separated, shared common architecture, such as hut structures consisting of circular rooms with tall roofs inside wooden palisades. [8]
This article is missing information about the failures of San Sebastian de Urabá and Santa María la Antigua del Darién.(March 2014) |
Since the failed foundation of San Sebastian de Urabá in 1506 by Alonso de Ojeda, and the subsequent failed city of Santa María la Antigua del Darién in 1510 by Vasco Núñez de Balboa, the southern Caribbean coast became a bit unattractive to colonizers, which preferred the more known Hispaniola and Cuba. [9]
The Casa de Contratación gave permission to Rodrigo de Bastidas (1460–1527) to again conduct an expedition as adelantado to these areas. Bastidas explored the coast and discovered the Magdalena River delta in his first journey from Guajira to the south in 1527, trip that ended in the Urabá gulf, seat of the failed first settlements. De Nicuesa and De Ojeda noted the existence of a big bay on the way from Santo Domingo to Urabá and Panama isthmus, encouraging De Bastidas to investigate. [10] [11] [12] [13]
This article may contain an excessive amount of intricate detail that may interest only a particular audience.(March 2014) |
Cartagena de Indias was founded on 1 June 1533 by Spanish commander Pedro de Heredia, in the former seat of the indigenous Caribbean Calamarí village. Most of Heredia's sailors were from Cartagena, Spain, a city founded by the Phoenicians in 228 BC and also a seaport. As the site had some geographical affinities with the newly discovered bay, thus they decided to name it as for their native city. See Juan de la Cosa. [14]
Initially, life in the city was bucolic, with fewer than 2000 inhabitants and only one church. A few months after the disaster of the invasion of Cote (see below), a fire destroyed the city and forced the creation of a Firefighting Squad, the first in the Americas. [15]
The dramatically increasing fame and wealth of the prosperous city turned it an attractive plunder site for pirates and corsairs (French privateers, licensed by their king). Just 30 years after its founding, the city was pillaged by a French Huguenot nobleman Jean-François Roberval, (circa 1500 - killed in France by a mob, 1560), known as "Robert Baal". The city then set about strengthening its defences and surrounding itself with walled compounds and castles. [16] Martin Cote, a Basque from Biscay, soldier in Peru during the Peru Civil wars between the Spaniards, attacked years later.
Famous pirates who attacked Cartagena during the colonial era are listed below:
The political vision behind this invasion was shadowed by the governor of Saint-Domingue (today's Haiti) Jean Baptiste Ducasse who brought his soldiers just to steal, the original plan ending as pirates and thieves again destroying the city. In any case, the entry wasn't easy, because of the recently finished first stage of walls and forts which slowed and made costly the victory. While Desjean only asked for 250,000 Spanish reales in ransom, Jean du Casse stayed a few months later and dishonored the promise of the Baron of respecting the churches and holy places and left them with nothing. The city again, lost everything. The 18th century begins.
Other important events in the 16th and 17th centuries were:
16th century:
17th century:
It is said that the city was terribly distressed by the conflict, with daily fights in the streets taking place between citizens allying with opposing factions . The conflict finally ended not only with the Franciscans being deprived of financially tutoring the nuns but also with the Archbishop being banned.
The fame of this prosperous city turned it into the plunder site for pirates and thieves; the legions for the country's defence soon became insufficient, which is why the kings of Spain decided to approve the construction of castles, forts, and walls that surrounded the city.
During the 17th century, the Spanish Crown hired the services of prominent European military engineers to carry out the construction of fortresses, which are nowadays one of Cartagena's clearest signs of identity. Engineering works took well over 208 years, and ended with some eleven kilometres of walls surrounding the city, namely, the Castillo San Felipe de Barajas, named in honor of Spain's King Philip IV. It was built during the Governorship of Pedro Zapata de Mendoza, Marquis of Barajas, and was constructed to repel land attacks, equipped with sentry boxes, buildings for food and weapons storage, tunnels.
This powerful military complex was completed with:
Explanations are unnecessary. When the defenses were finished in 1756, the city was simply impossible to take over. There is a legend, that when reviewing the costs of the defenses of Spain in Havana and Cartagena de Indias, in an effort to reform the chronic spending of his predecessors, Charles III of Spain, in his famed ironic style said while in Madrid, Spain, after taking his spyglass: "This is outrageous! For this price those castles should be seen from here!"
Cartagena was a major trading port, especially for precious metals. Gold and silver from the mines in New Granada and Peru were loaded in Cartagena on the galleons bound for Spain via Havana. Cartagena was also a slave port; Cartagena and Veracruz (Mexico) were the only cities authorized to trade with black people. The first slaves arrived with Pedro de Heredia and they worked as cane cutters to open roads, in the desecration of tombs of the aboriginal population of Sinú, and in the construction of buildings and fortresses. The agents of the Portuguese company Cacheu distributed human 'cargos' from Cartagena for mine exploitation in Venezuela, the West Indies, the Nuevo Reino de Granada and the Viceroyalty of Perú.
On 5 February 1610, the Catholic Monarchs established from Spain the Inquisition Holy Office Court in Cartagena de Indias by a Royal Decree issued by King Philip II. The Inquisition Palace, finished in 1770, is still there with its original features of colonial times. When Cartagena declared its complete independence from Spain on November 11, 1811, the inquisitors were urged to leave the city. The Inquisition operated again after the Reconquest in 1815, but it disappeared definitely when Spain surrendered six years later before the patriotic troops led by Simón Bolívar.
Although the 18th century began very badly for the city, soon the downward tendency was curbed. The pro-trade economic policies of the new dynasty in Madrid bolstered the economic performance of Cartagena de Indias and the establishment of the Viceroyalty of the New Granada in 1717 had the city as the greatest beneficiary of the colony.
The reconstruction after the Raid on Cartagena (1697) was initially slow, but with the ending of the War of the Spanish Succession around 1711 and the competent administration of D. Juan Diaz de Torrezar Pimienta the walls were rebuilt, the forts reorganized and restored and the public services and buildings reopened. By 1710, the city was fully recovered. At the same time, the slow but steady reforms of the restricted trade policies in the Spanish Empire encouraged the establishment of new trade houses and private projects. During the reign of Philip V of Spain the city had many new public works starting or ending like the new fort of San Fernando, the Hospital of the Obra Pía and the full paving of all the streets and the opening of new roads.
In March 1741 the city endured a large-scale attack by British and American colonial troops led by Admiral Edward Vernon, (1684–1757), who arrived at Cartagena with a massive fleet of 186 ships and 23,600 men, including 12,000 infantry, against only 6 Spanish ships and less than 6,000 men, in an action known as the Battle of Cartagena de Indias. The siege was broken off due to the start of the tropical rainy season, after weeks of intense fighting in which the British landing party was successfully repelled by the Spanish forces led by commander General Blas de Lezo y Olavarrieta, (1689 - aftermaths of the Cartagena battle, 1741), a Basque from the Gipuzkoa lands, (Spain).
Heavy British casualties were compounded by diseases such as yellow fever. This victory prolonged Spain's control of the Caribbean waters, which helped secure its large Empire until the 19th century. Admiral Vernon was accompanied by American Colonial troops, including George Washington's brother, Lawrence Washington, who was so impressed with Vernon he named his Mount Vernon agricultural estate after him.
After Vernon began what is called the 'Silver Age' of the city (1750–1808). This time was of permanent expansion of the existing buildings, massive immigration from all the other cities of the Viceroyalty, the increase of the economic and political power of the city and a population spur that hasn't been seen yet again. For these events, the political power that was already shifting from Bogotá to the coast, definitely did and the Viceroys decided to reside in the city for good. The inhabitants of the city were the richest of the colony, the aristocracy formed noble houses with their land estates, libraries and prints were opened, and even the first café in New Granada was established. These good times of steady progress and advance of the second half of the 18th century came into an abrupt end in 1808, with the general crisis of the Spanish Empire, embodied in the Mutiny of Aranjuez, with all its consequences.
For more than 275 years, Cartagena was part of the Spanish Crown. On November 11, 1811, Cartagena declared its independence.
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2014) |
If there is a word to describe the Cartagena in the 19th century, is by far: decadence. Followed by instability, revolution, impoverishment and depopulation. The chaos brought by the Mutiny of Aranjuez to the Empire and the French invasion of the peninsula put the stability of the Spanish ancient regime in shambles. Although there were two years of grace for the city to prepare itself for what was coming.
In 1815, the city was besieged by the Spanish for 105 days and lost 6,000 inhabitants to famine and disease.
It remained under Spanish control for 6 years, until it was retaken by the Patriots on 10 October 1821.
Cartagena, known since the colonial era as Cartagena de Indias, is a city and one of the major ports on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region, along the Caribbean sea. Cartagena's past role as a link in the route to the West Indies provides it with important historical value for world exploration and preservation of heritage from the great commercial maritime routes. As a former Spanish colony, it was a key port for the export of Bolivian silver to Spain and for the import of enslaved Africans under the asiento system. It was defensible against pirate attacks in the Caribbean. The city's strategic location between the Magdalena and Sinú Rivers also gave it easy access to the interior of New Granada and made it a main port for trade between Spain and its overseas empire, establishing its importance by the early 1540s.
The Caribbean region of Colombia or Caribbean coast region is in the north of Colombia and is mainly composed of 8 departments located contiguous to the Caribbean. It's the second most populated region in the country after Andean Region with approximately 11 million residents according to the Colombian Census 2018. The area covers a total land area of 110,000 km2 (42,000 sq mi), including the Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina in the Caribbean Sea.
Pedro de Heredia was a Spanish conquistador, founder of the city of Cartagena de Indias and explorer of the northern coast and the interior of present-day Colombia.
Sebastián de Eslava y Lazaga was a Spanish general and colonial official. From April 24, 1740 to November 6, 1749 he was viceroy of the newly reestablished Viceroyalty of New Granada. He was governing the viceregal at the time of the defeat of British Admiral Edward Vernon at the Battle of Cartagena de Indias. After his death he was named marqués de la Real Defensa de Cartagena de Indias.
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The Castillo San Felipe de Barajas is a fortress in the city of Cartagena, Colombia. The castle was built in 1639 and is located on the Hill of San Lázaro in a strategic location, dominating approaches to the city by land or sea. It was originally known as the Castillo de San Lázaro. It was built by African slave labor under Spanish supervision during the colonial era. The fortress was involved in several battles between the late 17th to early 19th centuries between European powers.
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Alonso de Cáceres y Retes was a Spanish conquistador and governor-captain of Santa Marta, who traveled extensively throughout the Americas from Mexico, south through Central America, and as far as Peru. He was one of the most active soldiers in the 16th-century Spanish colonization of the Americas.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Cartagena de Indias, Colombia.
Don Sancho Jimeno de Orozco y Urnieta (1640–1707) was a Spanish military officer, nobleman, landowner and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Cartagena from 1693 to 1695. He was lord of the Castle of San Luis on the island of Tierra Bomba, a fort that he defended against French attackers during the raid on Cartagena de Indias in 1697. After the incumbent governor of Cartegena, Don Diego de los Rios, handed over the city to the French during the raid, Urnieta was called to govern Cartagena between 1698 and 1699.
The Castle of San Luis de Bocachica, also called Fort St. Louis, was a military fortress that defended Cartagena, Colombia. The Spanish built it in the 17th century. After it suffered war damage in the 18th century, they erected a new coastal fortification, the Castle of San Fernando on the same site.
The Villa de Santa Cruz de Mompox was founded by Don Juan Quintero de Heredia, Adelantado of the Gobernation of Cartagena and brother of the founder of that city, Pedro de Heredia, on May 3, 1537, after fighting battles against the Kimbay tribe and defeating the Chieftain Mompoj.
Martín Yañéz Tafur was a Spanish conquistador who participated in the foundation of Cartagena, the Spanish conquest of the Muisca and the conquest of the Panche.
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