Portobelo | |
|---|---|
Corregimiento and city | |
 Portobelo bay and ruins of Spanish fortifications | |
  Portobelo | |
| Coordinates:09°33′16″N79°39′18″W / 9.55444°N 79.65500°W /9.55444; -79.65500 | |
| Country |  Panama |
| Province | Colón |
| District | Portobelo |
| Founded | 1597 |
| Founded by | Francisco Velarde y Mercado |
| Area | |
| • Land | 244.7 km2 (94.5 sq mi) |
| Population (2010)[1] | |
• Total | 4,559 |
| • Density | 18.6/km2 (48/sq mi) |
| Population density calculated based on land area. | |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (EST) |
| Climate | Am |
Portobelo (Modern Spanish: "Puerto Bello" ("beautiful port"), historically in Portuguese:Porto Belo) is a historic port andcorregimiento inPortobelo District,Colón Province, Panama. Located on the northern part of theIsthmus of Panama, it is 32 km (20 mi) northeast of the modern port ofColón now at the Atlantic entrance to thePanama Canal. It has a population of 4,559 as of 2010[update],[1] and functions as the seat of Portobelo District.[1]
Established in 1597 for its deepnatural harbor, it joinedVeracruz (2,066 km (1,284 mi) to the northwest) as ports used by theSpanish Empire to ship treasure from the mines ofPeru (via Panama City on the Pacific side of the Isthmus and overland to Portobelo) back to Spain. The city was repeatedly captured by British privateers and pirates, culminating in asuccessful siege by theRoyal Navy in 1739, during theWar of Jenkins' Ear.
Its economy received a major boost in the late-19th century during the construction of thePanama Canal. In 1980,UNESCO designated theFortifications on the Caribbean Side of Panama: Portobelo-San Lorenzo, including the ruins of the Spanish colonial fortifications and nearbyFort San Lorenzo, as aWorld Heritage Site.
Portobelo wasfounded in 1597 by Spanish explorerFrancisco Velarde y Mercado[2] and quickly replacedNombre de Dios as the major local port for Peruvian silver. Legend has it thatChristopher Columbus originally named the port "Puerto Bello", meaning "Beautiful Port", in 1502.[3] After the EnglishprivateerFrancis Drake died ofdysentery in 1596, he was buried at sea in a lead coffin off Portobelo, memorialised by the presentIsla Drake ("Drake Island") at the mouth of the harbour. During the 16th to the 18th centuries it was an important silver-exporting port inNew Granada on theSpanish Main and one of the two Atlantic ports on the route of theSpanish treasure fleet. The Spanish built defensive fortifications at Portobelo to protect it from attacks by other European powers. In 1601, English privateers led byWilliam Parkercaptured Portobelo from the Spanish. The Welsh privateerHenry Morgan repeated the feat in 1668, having led a force of 450 privateers andovercame its strong fortifications. His forces plundered it for 14 days before withdrawing. It was captured again in 1680 by the English pirateJohn Coxon.[4]
In 1726, theRoyal Navy initiated ablockade of Porto Bello underAdmiralFrancis Hosier in an attempt to prevent the Spanish treasure fleet returning to Spain. Hosier's fleet spent an extended period of time moored atBastimentos 11 km (6.8 mi) to the northeast, during which time Hosier and many of his fleet's sailors died from tropical diseases. 13 years later, the portwas captured on 21 November 1739 by a British squadron under AdmiralEdward Vernon during theWar of Jenkins' Ear. The victory created an outburst of popular acclaim throughout the British Empire. More medals were struck for Vernon than for any other 18th-century British figure and across theBritish Isles the name of "Portobello" was given to places and streets in honor of the victory, most notablyPortobello Road in London, the district ofPortobello in Edinburgh and thePortobello Barracks in Dublin.[5]
The Spanish eventually recovered Portobelo in 1741 after their victory at theBattle of Cartagena de Indias.[6] British efforts to gain a foothold on the Spanish Main and disrupt the galleon trade were ultimately fruitless. Following the War of Jenkins' Ear, the Spanish switched from using large fleets calling at few ports to small fleets trading at a wide variety of ports, developing a flexibility that made them less subject to attack. Ships[citation needed] also began to travel aroundCape Horn to trade directly at ports on the western coast.
The population of Portobelo in 1990 was 3,058 and in 2000 was 3,867.[1] In July 2012 theUNESCOWorld Heritage Committee placed Portobelo and nearbyFort San Lorenzo on theList of World Heritage in Danger, inscribed asFortifications on the Caribbean Side of Panama: Portobelo-San Lorenzo, citing environmental factors, lack of maintenance, and uncontrolled urban developments.[7]
In London thePortobello Road is a famous street market, dating back to the 19th century with millions of visitors each year.
Capital:Colón | ||
| Chagres District |  | |
| Colón District | ||
| Donoso District | ||
| Omar Torrijos Herrera District | ||
| Portobelo District | ||
| Santa Isabel District | ||
Media from Commons
Travel guides from Wikivoyage
Data from Wikidata| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
