Cartagena's Forts, Culture and Namesake Make a Fascinating Historical Place. the Name of the City Originated
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Cartagena's forts, culture and namesake make a fascinating historical place. The name of the city originated from a Spanish conquistador, Pedro de Heredia who founded the city, naming it for Cartagena in Spain. On June 1, 1533 he landed and founded Cartagena de Poniente (Cartagena in the West). Whether it was a colonial name, a reminder of the coastline, bay or just to honor the city in Spain, the name was eventually changed to Cartagena de Indias to indicate its location. <cartagenaexplorer.com> At one point in history Colombia, Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela were known as the Viceroyalty of New Granada (Virreinator de La Nueva Granada, 1717‐1821) under the jurisdiction of the Spanish Empire. <oxfordartonline.com> The history of the region dates to over 6,000 years ago. In the town of San Jacinto, 52 miles from Cartagena, indigenous people flourished. Since the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Caribbean in 1492 and continuous European immigration, the indigenous people began to suffer. Their downfall came from disease, conquests, encroachment and enslavement. <cartagenaexplorer.com> One indigenous group, the Zenú of the Sinú River area, made an exceptional impact on the history of Colombia and Cartagena specifically. The Zenú were skilled goldsmiths. That gold brought even more Spanish to Colombia including Pedro de Heredia. Heredia's journey to the region was not only for gold. See https://thebiography.us/en/heredia‐pedro‐de1 for more details regarding his life. In 1551, a fire destroyed much of the original settlement. Its rebuilding included the use of more stone structures and walls. The city's bay with its deep, wide and calm waters, its location as a gateway to South America, proximity to Magdalena River which runs through Colombia, and increase in trade made the rebuild not only acceptable but also profitable to the Spanish. This provided Spain with a monopoly on international trade until the late 1700s. <cartagenaexplorer.com> Cartagena was the headquarters of the Spanish military in the Americas. Cartagena also became a major slave trade port. African slaves numbering over a million entered the port and were sold at the Plaza de los Coches, near the Clocktower and Pedro de Heredia's statue in old Cartagena. "San Pedro Claver was a Jesuit priest in Cartagena who ministered to slaves and argued for their humane treatment in the mid‐1600s." Escaped slaves, called maroons, built walled villages called palenques in South America and the Caribbean Islands. "In 1691, Palenque became the first officially recognized free black community in the Americas." The residents spoke the Spanish Creole language. <cartagenaexplorer.com> Slavery declined during the 18th century in the area due to many factors including less mining of gold, cost of importing slaves and an increase in low‐cost free labor. "This free labor was primarily made up of freed slaves, mestizos (people of mixed European‐Indigenous descent), mulattos (people of mixed European‐African descent), zambos (people of mixed African‐Indigenous descent), and pardos (people of mixed European‐African‐Indigenous descent)." <cartagenaexplorer.com> "The African influence in the history of Cartagena and the history of Colombia particularly shines through in its influence on music. Cumbia stems primarily from a blend of African influenced drums and indigenous flutes. The use of the clave, a musical instrument consisting of two sticks hit together, as part of the rhythm of salsa (invented in Cuba) and tango (usually most associated with Argentina) has its origin in African rhythms as well." <cartagenaexplorer.com> Pirating was also a part of Cartagena's history. Privateers were common. These were men who were given permission by a sponsoring country to attack others and share the loot among the sponsor and pirates. Both Europe and the United States employed privateers. Sir Francis Drake (1586) was Britain's privateer. He attacked and occupied the city before a Spanish fleet arrived and caused Drake to flee. During Drake's two‐month occupation, legend goes that a pirate's mixed drink of cane liquor, sugarcane juice, lime and mint (the Mojito) also referred to El Draque was invented. <cartagenaexplorer.com> Following Drake's successful capture of Cartagena, the Spanish decided that walls would better fortify the city. The Baluart (bastion) de Santo Domingo was the first to be constructed. Other forts were constructed such as Baluartes de Santa Caralina y San Lucas and Balurate de San Ignacio de Loyola built around the Jesuit cloister near San Pedro de Claver Church. <cartagenaexplorer.com> The most impressive bastion was Castillo San Felipe de Barajas. It was built on San Lázaro hill (1536‐1657). Today it is a major tourist attraction in the city. "The Inquisition that had gripped Spain during the Middle Ages expanded to all Spanish colonies and territories including Colombia. While churches were built in Cartagena to bless the faithful, 'courts' were erected to seek out, try and condemn anyone viewed as a heretic. During the colonial era, 800 people were condemned to death and executed for crimes of what the Church decreed were 'magic, witchcraft and blasphemy'." <Port Guide Cartagena> Cartagena's largest attack on the city took place from March 13‐20, 1741. Admiral Edward Vernon, British Navy, assembled an armada of 195 ships, 32,000 soldiers and 3,000 artillery pieces. Cartagena was defended by 3,600 soldiers and 6 ships under the leadership of Don Blas de Lezo y Olabarrieta. The Battle of Cartagena de Indias was won due to the huge forts and castles, the harbor, the bay, Spanish Regular Army soldiers, 600 Inland Indian archers, 1000 artillery pieces, 6 Spanish vessels and Spanish intelligence used spies to know where the advances would take place and react to them swiftly. <grandesbattalas.es> Since its Spanish founding, Cartagena has been at the forefront of wars for independence. Spanish Americas were influenced by the United States fight for independence and the French Revolution. Spanish rule in their colonies was controlled by people born in Spain (peninsulares). The Spanish descendants born in the Americas (Criollos) were not allowed to hold such positions. Simón Bolívar became the champion for independence in Colombia and other countries in South America. On July 20, 1810 the colony of Nueva Granada was declared an autonomous colony. <cartagenaexplorer.com> However, independence did not include total unanimity. There were internal factions and disputes that played a role in Colombia's history. The autonomy declaration was furthered by The Act of Independence of Cartagena on November 11, 1811. The act stated that Cartagena was "declared a province to be a free and sovereign state and dissolved all ties between it and the Spanish Crown." That lasted until 1815, when the Spanish government recaptured Cartagena. The retaking meant more fighting, pain and suffering to its people. Nine independence leaders were executed‐‐known as the Nine Martyrs. <cartagenaexplorer.com> Simón Bolívar returned from Venezuela. The Royalists who were in control after the retake and renewed Nueva Granada, were surprised during the rainy season, but held out for several more years until October 19, 1821, independence came again. The toll on the country was great. The Spanish occupations, wars and reduction in population had affected them, including their monopoly on trade. Colombia's economy suffered throughout most of the remainder of the 19th century. <cartagenaexplorer.com> Cartagena's revival came with the assent of Rafael Nuñez, who was from Cartagena. He served as President of Colombia 1880‐ 1882 and 1884‐1892. His actions revived the port, brought on a railroad connection which helped Cartagena export coffee. Cartagena received electricity in 1891 and got an aqueduct to bring fresh water to the city to reduce disease. <cartagenaexplorer.com> During the 1930s Cartagena became a tourist attraction. Its year‐round warm weather, beaches and historical sites became a main source to bring people to Colombia. Other challenges and problems have faced the city, as well as the country. Illicit drugs production and trafficking, kidnappings and murder are well noted problems in Colombia. "Almost all cocaine across the globe comes from Colombia, Peru and to a lesser extent Bolivia; and countries where coca‐‐the crop used for cocaine‐‐has been common for centuries and is consumed legally by chewing the leaves or making tea." <data.colombiareports> More about this subject can be found at https://data.colombiareports.com/colombia‐drug‐trafficking/. Cartagena de Indias is considered one of the safest places to visit in Colombia. Today Cartagena has a population of nearly one million people. Colombia is usually spelled "Columbia" by English speaking countries. See interesting article on the subject of spelling‐‐https://www.quora.com/Do‐Columbia‐and‐Colombia‐as‐words‐mean‐the‐same. Colombia borders include Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru and Panama. Its equatorial climate has an average temperature of 82 degrees year long. Cartagena is a UNESCO World‐Heritage Site. Its Walled City has four sections: San Diego, named after the convent, La Matuna, the commercial and financial area, Getsemani, which once housed African slaves and Santo Domingo. This photo program shares some of the sights of Cartagena. We were sorry that on the day of our tour the opportunity to spend more time in various sections of the city was limited by the 99‐degree temperature and 100 percent humidity. Traffic‐Congestion‐Tourists‐Luxury transportation Police and the Military People Demographics of Cartagena Colombia has nearly 50 million people, Cartagena nearly one million. It is the 5th largest city in the country. In 1939 there were less that 100,000 people in the city. Population growth took place between 1976 and 1985. According to DANE 28.1% live in poverty and 5.5% in extreme poor conditions. <juanfe.org> Downtown near the old Walled Cartagena Residences and shops Monuments and Statues Monument to India Catalina, daughter of Cacique Zambia who ruled the Mokana tribe.