fortifications on the Caribbean Side of Panama: Portobelo-San Lorenzo
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How it came to be
The Caribbean side of the Isthmus of Panama was the outlet for Peruvian silver bound for Spain. In 1586 the Italian engineer Battista Antonelli drew up the first plans to defend Portobelo Bay and the mouth of the Chagres River, and on 20 March 1597 the town of San Felipe de Portobelo was founded to replace Nombre de Dios as the port. Portobelo grew rich on its famous trade fairs.
The wealth drew attack after attack. In 1668 the privateer Henry Morgan took Portobelo, and in 1670 his men left Fort San Lorenzo at the mouth of the Chagres in ruins. In 1739 the British admiral Edward Vernon captured Portobelo. In the 18th century the forts were rebuilt in neoclassical style.
After gold was found in California in 1848, Chagres boomed as the starting point for crossing the isthmus, until the Panama Railway was completed in 1855. The forts were inscribed in 1980 and placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2012 because of decay and weak management.
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