Cartagena: History

Pre-20th-Century History

Cartagena's walls and fortifications are a monument to its rich but often violent past. During the colonial period, Cartagena was the most important bastion of the Spanish overseas empire and influenced much of Colombia's history.

The Caribbean coast was occupied by various native Indian cultures long before the Spanish arrived. Cartagena was founded by Pedro de Heredia in 1533 on the site of the Carib Indian settlement of Calamari. It was Colombia's second major Spanish settlement (after Santa Marta in 1525) and became the principal center of trade. In 1552, fire destroyed a large number of the town's wooden buildings. Since then, only stone, brick and tile have been permitted as building materials.

Cartagena soon blossomed into the main Spanish port on the Caribbean coast, the major northern gateway to South America, and the staging post and storehouse for treasure plundered from Indians until it could be shipped to Spain. The lure of such booty made the town a target for pirates and buccaneers. During the 16th century, Cartagena suffered five sieges by pirates, the most infamous was led by Englishman Sir Francis Drake. He sacked the port in 1586, 'mercifully' agreeing not to level the town after he was given a ransom of 10 million pesos.

In response to these attacks, the Spaniards built a series of forts and walls around Cartagena. It protected the town from its biggest attack, led by Edward Vernon in 1741. The defense was commanded by Blas de Lezo, a Spanish officer who had already lost an arm, a leg and an eye in previous battles. With 2500 poorly trained men, Don Blas managed to fend off 25,000 English soldiers and their 186 ships. He lost his other leg and died soon after, but is now regarded as the savior of Cartagena.

Despite the attacks, Cartagena flourished, trading everything from gold to slaves. The Canal del Dique, constructed in 1650 to connect Cartagena Bay with the Río Magdalena, made it the main gateway for ships heading to ports upriver - a large part of the merchandise shipped inland also passed through.

The indomitable spirit of the locals was rekindled during the independence movement. Cartagena was one of the first Colombian towns to proclaim independence from Spain, early in 1810. The declaration was signed on 11 November 1811, but the city paid dearly for it. In 1815, Spanish forces under Pablo Morillo were sent to re-conquer the town. It fell after a four-month siege but more than 6000 inhabitants died of starvation and disease.

In August 1819, Simón Bolívar's troops defeated the Spaniards at Boyacá, bringing freedom to Bogotá. Cartagena, however, had to wait until October 1821 for liberation, when patriot forces took the city by sea. Bolívar gave Cartagena its well-deserved name 'La Heroica', the Heroic City.

Cartagena soon recovered and became an important trading and shipping centre again. It's prosperity attracted foreign immigrants, and many Jews, Italians, French, Turks, Lebanese and Syrians settled here.

Modern History

Colombia entered the 20th century wracked by full-scale civil war, then again in 1948 the struggle between Liberals and Conservatives broke out with La Violencia , a destructive period of civil strife. Cartagena was not immune from the political violence but economically it prospered, largely on the back of oil exports (rather than cocaine) from its increasingly busy port. Platinum, coffee, sugar, tobacco and textiles were also important exports. In 1974, Cartagena celebrated its pre-colonial past, erecting the Monumento a la India Catalina at the entrance to the Old Town in tribute to the Carib Indians. In 1984, the 'Port, Fortresses and Monuments', including the old town, were designated a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Recent History

In recent decades, Cartagena has expanded dramatically and is now surrounded by vast suburbs and high-rise buildings. It is Colombia's largest port and an important industrial center specializing in petrochemicals. Despite increasing urban sprawl, the walled Old Town has remained virtually unchanged. Cartagena's bayside location has also seen huge tourist development, with the resort strip of Bocagrande (Big Mouth) particularly booming as a holiday destination.

In August 2000, US president Bill Clinton visited Cartagena for talks associated with his government's 1.3 billion-dollar Plan Colombia aid package to help tackle drug trafficking and armed conflict.

Cartagena's calendar is packed with festivals -the biggest bash is the Carnaval de Cartagena, which culminates with the Miss Colombia beauty pageant on November 11 - one of the biggest cultural events in the country! Cartagena also hosted the 2006 Central American and Carribean Games, finishing fourth of the overall medal count.

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