San Juan NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE Tuerto Ifyco his leaden coffin was buried in the American Britannic Majesty. This vision of San Juan the way for landing 800 men, and the flag started in . Despite expeditions waters that had given him fame and fortune. as an English outpost was shared by the rul­ of the Prince of Orange was soon flying above against them, the buccaneers had grown SclfljUClfl NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE ing faction at home. For now, as the mari­ . Hendrick's engineers pushed bolder. Also, in the Caribbean, as well as The Fall of El Morro time powers of England, France, and Holland their siege trenches to the moat of El Morro, on the continents, 's three powerful Department of the Interior were growing in national unity and strength, while other Dutchmen captured El Canuelo enemies, England, France, and Holland, had THE Scourge of Malice, one of the greatest they were seeking permanent rewards in the and threw a blockade ring around El Morro begun a bitter struggle for colonies and had ships of her day, lay with 19 other vessels Americas—colonies and trading stations of and its 330 defenders. seized the Lesser Antilles. a few miles east of San Juan on June 6, their own. The artillery duel lasted 3 weeks. Behind Early in the 1630's, therefore, Gov. 1598. Aboard the great flagship was George Cumberland's dream soon ended. Dys­ the battered walls, many Spanish gunners Enrique Enriquez de Sotomayor began a Clifford, Earl of Cumberland, leading an­ entery so weakened his men that they had were among the casualties; but the Holland­ work that went on intermittently for more other formidable English attack on Spanish Casa Blanca (L) and La Fortaleza (R) tower above the city wall to leave Puerto Rico. But with them they ers also lost heavily. Guerilla-type action by than 150 years—the building of massive America. hauled 80 Spanish cannon to the ships, and Capt. Andres de Botello and his hardy Puerto walls, some of them 50 feet high, to enclose Cumberland chose to approach by land. Massive masonry fortifications begun by the Spanish in the 16th century; the oldest Caribs from the southern islands ravaged equal to half the town's white population. they tore down the land wall of El Morro. Rican volunteers continuously harassed the the city. On a promontory a half mile east He brought 1,000 men ashore. And this fortifications of European type in United States territory their lands. For years the only stronghold Salazar watched the hornwork grow, with attackers. El Canuelo was recaptured and of El Morro, a redoubt called San Cristobal time San Juan had less than 500 defenders, was La Casa Blanca (The ), walls of tapieria (a substantial mix of earth, burned. Despite Dutch vigilance, canoes was built about 1633- By 1678, as the city built in 1525 as a home for the Ponce de Leon was short of food and weakened by an epi­ The Dutch Burn San Juan rock, and lime) and limestone. For the first loaded with supplies reached El Morro. wall enclosed this redoubt, San Cristobal took demic. A Negro led the Englishmen to the SAN JUAN NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE, com­ for the Spanish captains—a homeward pas­ family. True, the walls of La Fortaleza time El Morro had the appearance of a DURING the first quarter of the 1600's, 200 Finally, Hendrick delivered an ultimatum: bridge that stretched across to San Juan on something of its present design. El prising major defenses of the fabulous sage via the Florida Straits and the Gulf (The Fortress) were finished in 1540, but of citadel. slaves were brought to San Juan and artisans surrender, or San Juan will burn. "There is Island. Before dawn, on June 8, Cumber­ Morro, too, was strengthened. Spanish Main, lies at the Caribbean gate­ Stream. it Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo said, "only from Spain arrived to work on the defenses. enough wood and enough stone," replied blind men could have chosen such a site for land's men attacked the bridge gate, only to way. Here Spaniards planted the first In the 50 years after Columbus' first voy­ "The Corsair Drake" On tiny Canuelo Island, opposite El Morro Gov. Juan de Haro, "to build the town a fort." be thrown back after a 2-hour fight. Cum­ San Juan—A Defense of "The First permanent colony in the present territory age, Spain built a vast American empire. To at the harbor entrance, work on a little square again." Perhaps Morro Castle began with Fer­ WHILE the defenses were being built, curious berland, who fell from the bridge in his While Hendrick put La Fortaleza and Order" of the United States, and here, to protect fetch the new-found wealth across the sea, fort, called San Juan de la Cruz, was started nandez' suggestion that the 120-foot morro, English sea captains were unwelcome visitors. armor, almost drowned. almost a hundred houses to the torch, the this colony and their treasure fleets, they each year two convoys left Spain, entering about 1610, while at the other end of San As Spain's power in the Caribbean was or headland, at the west end of San Juan Then, in 1595, came "el corsario Drake," The attack shifted to a Spanish battery Spanish suddenly attacked, routing the Dutch built mighty forts rising 140 feet and more Juan several outworks were improved. Most threatened by the British capture of Mar­ the Caribbean near Puerto Rico. One took was the proper place to fortify. Defensive with full knowledge that San Juan harbored guarding a narrow channel at the northeast from their positions. Spanish cannon, moved above the sea. San Juan's great fortifica­ important, El Morro's hornwork was rebuilt tinique, St. Lucia, Grenada, and on Mexican silver and Philippine merchan­ works were authorized there in 1539, and the a storm-wracked galleon. Thirty-five tons point of the island. A warship sailed close swiftly into position, twice caused the enemy stronger than ever, and behind its walls a during the 1760's, the Spanish Crown listed tions are a measure of Spain's ancient dise at Vera Cruz, while the other loaded first battery and tower were built about that of precious metal lay in La Fortaleza awaiting in and silenced the shore guns, whereupon fleet to change anchorage. When at last, on broad new gun deck overlooked the harbor Puerto Rico as a defense station of the "first power in the , and its traditions pearls at Cartagena .and Peruvian treasure at time. transport to Spain. the men of England landed and moved on November 2, the ships made a successful form a historic bond between the Americas. channel. order." Field Marshal Alejandro O'Reilly Puerto Bello on the Isthmus. At Havana Corsairs had already sacked and burned Drake's fleet of 23 sail, with a land army the town. Siege guns methodically breached break for the sea, the guns of El Morro this the land wall of El Morro, and Gov. Antonio For Puerto Rico, the long conflict between brought Engineer Tomas O'Daly to San Juan they met for the homeward voyage past the Havana, and in the following years Spain of 3,000 men, dropped anchor at the east time left many a mark on them. Mosquera formally presented the citadel keys Spain and the Netherlands came to a climax in 1765, and the two Irish Spaniards not only The Search for Riches shores of Florida. suffered countless other losses on both land end of the island of San Juan on November to Cumberland on June 21. Cumberland in 1625. On September 25, a Dutch fleet of reformed the military organization, but also Roving corsairs seized what they could of and sea. In 1586, Sir Francis Drake returned 22, 1595. A hundred Spanish cannon and Building the Walls Around the City "GOLD in the rivers of Puerto Rico!" The saw his standard rise over the battered walls 17 vessels under Gen. Bowdoin Hendrick planned great additions to the fortifications. Spanish goods. No ship or settlement was from Santo Domingo, Cartagena, and St. 1,500 men were ready. A ball from a shore word from the Indians brought Juan Ponce Augustine with booty worth £60,000. As and dreamed of Puerto Rico—the Key to the coolly sailed into the harbor, suffering little ALTHOUGH European losses had weakened In the decade from 1766, using 700 con­ safe from attack. Puerto Rico, so near the battery crashed through a cabin port, struck de Leon to the island in 1508 to found part of a plan to improve Spanish defenses, Indies—as a permanent possession of His damage from El Morro. Ship guns cleared Spain, another great defense project was victs from Spain, Venezuela, and Colombia, Caribbean gateway, had to be kept free of the stool from beneath Sir Francis Drake Caparra. Don Juan de Tejeda went to survey the enemies who would otherwise seize it for a while he was at supper, and killed three offi­ Gold there was indeed, but it was soon Antilles. El Canuelo, rebuilt after the Dutch attack of 1625 El Morro from the bay home port in their forays against the treasure cers. The squadron moved to the other end gone. And though commerce in sugar, In company with the famed military engi­ fleets. Florida's St. Augustine, at the other of the island. coffee, and other products took its place, neer Juan Bautista Antonelli, Tejeda landed end of the American loop, was fortified for At the new anchorage the next day, the Puerto Rico was never a wealth-producing precipitately in Puerto Rico when their ship much the same reason. was wrecked on the coast. Antonelli ap­ English engaged El Morro's artillery, and colony. It was important to Spain for other proved the Morro site and laid out a horn- that night a thousand of Drake's men manned reasons. Puerto Rico was the base from The First Defenses of San Juan work (so-called because its plan resembles pinnace and launch. Past El Morro they which Ponce de Leon sailed to find the north­ the spreading horns of a bull) to stretch slipped, into the dark harbor to burn Spanish ern mainland—the 16th century "island" IN 1521, the year of Ponce's death, the north-south across the headland as protection vessels. But, as the flames began to light the that he called Florida across the swift-flowing Puerto Rican colonists moved from Caparra against land attack. waters, Spanish cannon splintered the little current of the Gulf Stream at which he mar­ to a better location—the present townsite on Loss of materials in the wreck held up boats crowded with Englishmen. Shattered veled. Although he paid for them with his the little coastal island of San Juan. Sea construction until Capt. Pedro de Salazar and dismayed, the attackers withdrew. Drake life, when mortally wounded by Florida rovers continually threatened the little settle­ arrived in 1591- As a labor crew, the town then sailed toward Panama, where he hoped Indians, his discoveries opened a new seaway ment of some 300 people, and marauding council assigned him 400 men—a number for better luck. But he died of a fever, and Cover: The walls of El Morro On the harbor side, the wall rises sharply from the water's edge and here, at historic San Juan Gate, colonial officials were greeted with traditional ceremony as they stepped ashore. Nearby is Casa Blanca, property of the heirs of Ponce de Leon until 1779. Now San Juan occupied by the Commanding General of the Antilles Command, it is not open to the public. NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE Castillo de San Cristobal (Fort St. Chris­ topher) looms grimly above . As at El Morro, there is a courtyard, or plaza Tuerto Ifyco de armas, surrounded by gunrooms and bar­ racks. Tunnels lead up to a main gun deck; higher still is the Caballero de San Miguel, Fort San Cristobal rises from the heart of the city San Juan Island, showing El Morro and city walls a massive two-tiered gun platform 150 feet above the sea. O'Daly made El Morro essentially what it the city, but Gen. Ramon de Castro's eastern The Fortifications Today is today. At San Cristobal he built the great defense line held the British at bay and finally Administration outworks. won a fierce artillery duel. After a strong SAN JUAN NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE in­ cludes the Spanish-built forts of El Morro, By the last years of the 18th century the Spanish attack, Abercromby withdrew on SAN JUAN NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE was San Cristobal, and El Canuelo, the city walls, established by order of the Secretary of the major fortifications included El Canuelo and the night of April 30. the citadel of El Morro for defense of the and Casa Blanca. Interior on February 14, 1949. Under the terms of a cooperative agreement between harbor entrance and the city walls and San The End of an Era Castillo de San Felipe del Morro (Fort St. Cristobal for command of other approaches. Philip on the Headland) rises 140 feet above the Department of the Army and the De­ WHILE San Juan defenses were refined dur­ Beyond San Cristobal to the east were two the sea at the west end of San Juan Island. partment of the Interior, Army use of the forts will continue. Regulated public access, other defense lines—an entrenchment stretch­ ing the 1800's, Spain's American colonies A broad grassy slope is the land approach to under the supervision of the National Park ing across the island and fortifications along gained independence. By the time trouble the moated walls. Storerooms, gunrooms, Service, is permitted. Correspondence re­ the eastern shore. By the end of the century, in Cuba led the United States to declare war quarters, chapel, and prison surround a large courtyard, or assembly plaza, and huge lating to the historic site should be addressed these great works had cost Spain an estimated with Spain in 1898, Cuba and Puerto Rico cisterns lie beneath. Ramps, tunnels, and to the Superintendent, San Juan National 6,000,000 pesos. They mounted over 400 were the only remnants of Spain's former stairways give access to the different parts of Historic Site, National Park Service, Box 712, guns, and spread over more than 200 acres of American empire. the fort, a tremendous, five-tiered pile of San Juan, P.R. land. The town itself occupied only 62 In search of the Spanish fleet, Admiral limestone which sweeps upward from the acres. William Sampson brought his flotilla to ancient gun platform washed by the Atlantic Service to the Public The Revolutionary and Napoleonic strug­ to the broad, windswept ramparts that crown Puerto Rico, and for 2l/2 hours, on May 12, GUIDED tours are available from the Na­ gle that convulsed Europe for 25 years his battleships engaged the newly modernized the headland. tional Park Service headquarters, near the en­ (1789-1815) affected San Juan in the batteries of San Juan. Fortunately, there El Canuelo, or San Juan de la Cruz (St. trance of Fort Brooke. Information con­ 1790's. A British fleet of 60 vessels, under was no great damage, nor was there further John of the Cross), is a 50-foot-square fort cerning the site and the scheduled tours may Rear Admiral Henry Harvey, crossed the action at San Juan. United States forces across the harbor entrance from El Morro. be obtained here. Its walls stand about 15 feet high. The flat Atlantic to seize Spanish colonies, and at landed on Puerto Rico's southern coast in roof was a platform for cannon, and beneath Mission 66 Barbados Sir Ralph Abercromby went aboard July, but an armistice had been signed before this deck are the ruins of a cistern and with an army of some 7,000 men. After MISSION 66 is a 10-year program of conser­ they reached the capital city. Spain's four- magazines. vation, development, and improvement of the capturing Trinidad, they moved on Puerto century rule at Puerto Rico came to an end Although part of the city wall was razed National Park System. It is scheduled for Rico. On April 18, 1797, despite a prelimi­ when the defenses of San Juan were turned as the city grew during the latter 1800's, the completion in 1966, the 50th anniversary of nary repulse, the troops landed east of San over to the United States on October 18, bastioned ramparts still crown the precipitous the establishment of the National Park Juan Island. Abercromby marched toward 1898. ocean shore from El Morro to San Cristobal. Service. Photographic credits: El Canuelo, courtesy U. S. Army All others, courtesy Government of Puerto Rico Reprint 1961 U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1961—0-616887