The Fortifications of Cartagena de Indias

BARAJAS.

PREFACE TO THE REVISED FOURTH ENGLISH EDITION

OVER A CENTURY OF PEACE HAS FREED Cartagena from its ever-present fear of military attack. Today, its ramparts are picturesque reminders of bygone days; and the presence of the Colombian naval fleet no more than an adornment to a pleasant setting. In Colonial times Cartageneros had a different perception: they lived for over two hundred years under protection of stone structures laid out to discourage the enemy, and for them, the city’s defenses were much more than a quaint sight. Spanish officials and merchants, clergymen and artisans, and even slaves, knew too well that fortresses correctly designed, solidly built, wisely equipped and, of course, well defended were essential for protection of life, honor and property. Cartageneros from all walks of life shared the concerns of the military. The rich often helped to defray costs of construction and repair. The fortifications of Cartagena stemmed from fear, real and imagined, of hostile sails on a menacingly close horizon.

This book describes, albeit briefly, the efforts of men who, driven by imperial or local interests, studied the city’s tactical weaknesses and unflinchingly attempted, stone by stone, to correct them. There are no detailed descriptions of each bastion. The author’s purpose is to assess the strategic ideas which gave birth to forts and ramparts, and, of course, to chronicle events connected with their planning, building and military history. Since the goal is to promote a general understanding of the subject, I apologize to professional historians: there is an intentional absence of source notes in the text to foster unhindered reading.

Books, specialized articles and documents on Cartagena’s defenses are abundant and readily available to those who may wish to inquire further, although much archival research is still needed if we are to understand in greater detail topics such as costs of construction or the economic impact of military presence in Cartagena. The essentials of what is known about the development of Cartagena’s defenses, about its poliorcetics or art of siege warfare and fortification, can be found in Enrique Marco Dorta, Cartagena de Indias, la ciudad y sus monumentos, Seville, 1951, and in two books by Juan Manuel Zapatero, Las Fortificaciones de Cartagena de Indias: estudio asesor para su restauración, Madrid, 1969, and Historia de las Fortificaciones de Cartagena de Indias, Madrid, 1979.

Invaluable for those who would like to go into more detail are: Keuthe, Alan J., Military Reform and Society in New Granada [1773-1808], Gainsville, Florida, 1978; Marchena Fernández, Juan, La Institución Militar en Cartagena de Indias durante el siglo XVIII, Seville, 1982; Vidal Ortega, Amtonino, Cartagena de Indias y la región histórica del Caribe, 158-1640, Seville, 2002; Ruíz Rivera, Julián, Cartagena de Indias y su provincia: una mirada a los siglos XVII y XVIII, Bogotá, 2005; Serrano, José Manuel, Fortificaciones y tropas, el gasto militar en Tierra Firme, 1700-1788, Seville, 2004, and Ejército y fiscalidad en Cartagena de Indias: auge y declive durante la segunda mitad del siglo XVII, Bogotá, 2006. These references hardy exhaust the subject. For instance, over fifty books, meaningful articles and eye-witness accounts cover the decisive English defeat before Cartagena in 1741, probably the most researched event in the city’s colonial history, with multiple interpretations. It is recommended material for anyone wanting to delve deeper into its military past. What the reader will find in these pages offers but a whiff of its complexity.

I have a lasting debt of gratitude with two unforgettable late scholars: Juan Manuel Zapatero and Eduardo Lemaitre. Dr. Zapatero, author of invaluable works on seventeenth and eighteenth century fortifications and one of the most respected world authorities on the subject, gave me generous access to key documents, helped me clarify many obscure points and taught me to understand and value Cartagena’s rich military past and the devotion of its engineers. I am indebted also for his inspiration and encouragement to Dr. Eduardo Lemaitre, my longtime friend and mentor, in whom I admire among many other talents a gift for writing enjoyable history. His A general history of Cartagena, which will soon be published in English, is a model for those who aspire to convey knowledge of the past in a pleasurable package. I can only wish that, inspired by both, my succinct text on the fortifications of Cartagena comes across in an intelligible and friendly manner.

Finally, I wish to thank devoted and anonymous friends who helped me purge this devilish translation of its worst grammatical errors. I apologize to my readers for the ones that got away.

RODOLFO SEGOVIA

Cartagena, November, 2009

ALARM BELL OF THE CASTLE OF SAN FELIPE DE BARAJAS.

CHAPTER I

WHY CARTAGENA?

CARTAGENA DE INDIAS WAS BORN AS A MILITARY CITY. To this day, the historic center warlike profile is a visible characteristic. Local militia, professional soldiers and military engineers were Cartagena’s almost constant companions from the beginning, and strategic considerations proved decisive in selecting its location.

CARTAGENA’S FORTIFICATIONS:

THE EARLY DAYS

Conquistador don Pedro de Heredia landed in the bay of Cartagena with a small but well-equipped force of perhaps 150 men in January of 1533. On coming ashore, he temporarily stationed his troops at the sandy island of Calamarí in a secluded northern cove of Cartagena’s large harbor, abandoned by native fishermen. Without formal founding, a city would be born.

Spanish colonization came relatively late to the Bay of Cartagena in Tierra Firme [the coast of Colombia and Venezuela] although it is one of the largest and most secure harbors in the New World [Fig. 1]. Rodrigo de Bastidas had established neighboring Santa Marta en 1526, with Pedro de Heredia as his lieutenant-governor, while the inland areas along the Magdalena River remained unexplored. It is likely that Bastidas himself was the first to sail into the bay in 1501. The lack of precious metals or a dense Indian population discouraged settlement. Spaniards confined their interest to hunting aborigines to sell them as slaves. Many years of raids from Santo Domingo explain why the Indians promptly absconded upon sighting Don Pedro’s four vessels, as well as their staunch resistance later on.

[FIG. 1] THE BAY OF CARTAGENA IN 1742. [CARTAGENA ON THE LEFT HAND CORNER] [SHM]

Alonso de Ojeda was the first conquistador to subscribe a formal contract, Capitulación, with the Spanish Crown for the purpose of settling the Province of Cartagena. He founded short-lived San Sebastian de Urabá on the gulf of the same name in 1510, but this early attempt met with fierce opposition from Indians who stubbornly resisted humiliation at the hands of Spanish sea-roving looters. The native inhabitants exchanged gold or gold alloys for trinkets, but turned back pressing forays into their territory. Warhardened warriors from Turbaco or Yurbaco tribes living in the hills behind the Bay of Cartagena earned a well deserved reputation for bravery as a result of episodes such as killing Columbus’ early companion and Ojeda follower, map maker and pilot, Juan de la Cosa. We know very little about these original inhabitants. Their language has been lost and their material and cultural remains are scarce.

Born in Madrid, Pedro de Heredia was a veteran of the New World and an experienced and enterprising soldier. Upon landing in Calamarí, he carried with him a proper Capitulación as legal title to the Province of Cartagena. Its jurisdiction extended in a rough triangle defined by the Magdalena River, the Caribbean coast down the Gulf of Urabá, and the mountains of the Province of Antioquia [Fig. 2]. After Ojeda only one other unsuccessful suitor had solicited the Crown’s permission to colonize this expanse of Tierra Firme. Now, however, Peru’s dazzling news and the tenuous knowledge of the Inca Empire’s geographical extent sparked new interest [Fig. 3].

[FIG. 2] THE KINGDOM OF NEW GRANADA [COLONIAL NAME OF COLOMBIA] IN THE 17TH CENTURY. WITH THE PROVINCE OF CARTAGENA BETWEEN PANAMÁ AND THE MAGDALENA RIVER [EE].

[FIG. 3] VICEROYALTY OF PERU: CARTAGENA THE KEY TO THE INDIES OF PERU [EE].

Don Pedro landed initially in Calamarí, but he was not pleased with the site: It lacked fresh water, an essential element common to almost all Spanish settlements in the New World. Only after four months of fruitless search for a more suitable site around the bay and the northern left bank of the Magdalena River did Heredia return to Calamarí, which he renamed San Sebastian de Cartagena, most probably on the first of June of 1533. This time he distributed plots of land among his men for the symbolic grid forming of a Spanish colonial city. Rainwater ponds and later specially built cisterns to catch the run-off from roofs and patios would provide for the island’s water needs. What the founder of Spain’s newest settlement could not ignore was the great defensive potential offered by its isolated location in the most protected corner of the bay.

The Peruvian conquests of Francisco Pizarro triggered Cartagena’s first boom. It began to be called Cartagena of the Indies to distinguish it from Spain’s Cartagena on the Mediterranean; early explorers discerned similarities between their two bays. Hundreds arrived stimulated by shining Inca gold. They found none of it. Instead, the conquistadores driving south into the province came upon the extinct Zenú culture’s burial grounds, brimming with golden objects. The lucky ones staked claims to mine parcels of tombs. Archives tell us that widows and children inherited the plots. Rich pickings contributed to prosperity. At the same time it became clear that scant indigenous dwellers on precarious subsistence agriculture and gathering would be unsuitable to sustain the rigors of Hispanic colonization.

It is difficult to ascertain what the population of the Province of Cartagena was upon the arrival of Heredia and his host. Mid-16th century testimonies estimate it around 100.000 people, divided into scattered groups with no central authority. Their main staple and source of carbohydrates was yucca, a root common to the Caribbean, supplemented by fishing and hunting.