Cartagena, Colombia

Cartagena de Indias
View of the Santa Cruz de Manga Islands, Boca Grande and Castillo Grande, and Tierra Bomba seen from Cerro de la Popa. Cartagena de Indias, Colombia.
Flag of Cartagena de Indias Flag Seal
Nickname: The Heroic City The Door of the Americas Capital of the Caribbean The Mother City The Walled City The Key of the West Indies The Fort of the Kingdom Best Fortified City of the Americas
Coordinates: 10°24′N 75°30′W
Department	Bolívar Department
Region	Caribbean Region
Foundation	1533
Government
- Mayor	Judith Pinedo
Area
- City	572 km² (220.9 sq mi)
Elevation	1 m (3 ft)
Population (2006)
- City	1,239,430
- Urban	1,090,127
- Metro	149,303
Website: (Spanish) Government of Cartagena official website Tourism Office Official Site

Cartagena de Indias (pronounced [kaɾtaˈhena ð̞e ˈin̪d̪jas] in Spanish; the usual English pronunciation is IPA: /ˌkɑrtəˈheɪnə deɪ ˈɪndiəs/), is a large city seaport on the northern coast of Colombia. Capital of the Bolívar Department. Founded in 1533 by Spaniard Don Pedro de Heredia, and named after the port of Cartagena in Spain's Murcia region, it was a major center of early Spanish settlement in the Americas which had impressive development in the XVIII century as the de facto capital of the Viceroyalty of New Granada and as the main hub of commerce and transportation in the late viceroyal era, situation that is reflected in its alternative capitality today. Nowadays continues to be the economic hub of the Caribbean region as well as a popular tourist destination.

Geography

File:CartagenaPeninsula.JPG

Cartagena Peninsula looking towards the Old City

Cartagena faces the Caribbean Sea to the west. To the south is the Cartagena Bay, which has two entrances: Bocachica (Small Mouth) in the south, and Bocagrande (Big Mouth) in the north. The old colonial walled city and fortress, a UNESCO Heritage site, are located on a peninsula and the island of Getsemaní. The city has spread over the islands of Manga and Manzanillo, and on the mainland.

Due to Cartagena's tropical location, the climate changes little, with an average high of 88.6°F (32°C) and an average low of 77°F (25°C) throughout the year. Cartagena also averages around 90 percent humidity, with a rainy season typically in October. Cartagena receives about 40 inches (1000mm) of rain each year.

Rivers and canals Size – land area, size comparison Environmental issues Districts

The Metropolitan area of Cartagena is formed by:

Saint Pedro Claver Square

Northern area

In this area find the Rafael Núñez International Airport, in the neighborhood of Crespo, only ten minutes away from downtown or the old part of the city and fifteen minutes away from the modern area. It must be said that this large area is that with the greatest long-term urban development. Here you will find the majestic Coralia Américas Hotel, and several educational institutions.

If you decide you'd like to relive the history of Cartagena, go to the Ciudad Amurallada (Walled City), also called "Centro Histórico" and "Corralito de Piedra", where you will find four sectors, each one with a peculiar story to tell: San Diego, La Matuna, Getsemaní and Santo Domingo.

Downtown

House of Teresita Román de Zurek and family

Downtown is undoubtedly the heart of the city and the most evident testimony of its history. It has a varied architecture, mainly of a colonial style, but there are also republican and Italian style buildings, such as the Cathedral's bell tower.

The official entrance to downtown is through Puerta del Reloj (Clock Gate), which comes out onto Plaza de los Coches (Square of the Carriages). A few steps from there there is the Plaza de la Aduana (Customs Square), next to the mayor's office. Nearby is San Pedro Claver Square, and his namesake's church, as well as the Museum of Modern Art.

Nearby is the Plaza de Bolívar (Bolívar's Square) and the Palace of the Inquisition to one side. Not to far is the office of Historical Archives which holds Cartagena's history. Next to the archives is the Government Palace, the office building of the Governor of the Department of Bolivar. Across from the palace is the Cathedral of Cartagena which dates back to the 16th century.

San Pedro Claver square at night

There is another religious temple that you should take time to admire: The restored Santo Domingo Church, in front of Plaza Santo Domingo (Santo Domingo Square). The square was decorated with the sculpture Mujer Reclinada ("Reclining Woman"), a gift from the renowned Colombian artist Fernando Botero.

Another notable building is the Teatro Heredia (Heredia Theater), an architectural jewel located in front of the Plaza de la Merced. A few meters away is the Calle de la Factoría (Factory Street); on it is the Marquis of Valdehoyos House which now functions as the Historical Photographic Library.

A little bit further on is Augustinian Fathers Convent is the University of Cartagena. This university is a higher education center, opened to the public in the late 19th century. The Claustro de Santa Teresa (Saint Theresa Cloister), which has been remodeled into a hotel, operated by Charleston Hotels became an upscale Colombian hotel chain. It has its own square, protected by the San Francisco Bastion.

San Diego

File:Cartagena.jpg

Beach of Bocagrande

It was named after San Diego Convent, nowadays the Beaux Arts School Building. In front of it you will find Convent of the Nuns of the Order of Saint Claire, now the beautiful Hotel Santa Clara. In the surrounding area you will find Santo Toribio Church, the last church built in the Walled City, and next to it, Fernández de Madrid Square, in honor of Cartagena's hero José Fernández de Madrid, whose statue can be seen here.

Inside the Old City, you have to go to Las Bóvedas (The Vaults), a construction attached to the walls in the Santa Catalina Bastion. From the top of this construction you will be able to view the Caribbean Sea.

The Matuna

The Matuna is the commercial and financial area par excellence in the city. Here you can also find affordable hotels, like Saint Philip Hotel, and affordable restaurants with good service.

Getsemaní neighborhood

This is one of the most representative neighborhoods in Cartagena. African people who were brought as slaves used to live here. Parque Centenario (Centennary Park) is the most prominent place in this area; built in 1911, it commemorates a century of independence.Inside, often obscured, you will find some interesting monuments, including one dedicated to the military. Parque Centenario also serves as a local police station and a mid afternoon pulpit for aspiring evangelists. Over the years, the park has acquired, through various means, a sloth, two Gila Monsters and a few monkeys. The Eastern edge of the park is split between a really good used book pavilion (with English books stowed away for the industrious traveller) and a selection of Seafood joints. Their seafood kiosks are often stocked by homeless folk fishing and bringing them to the various kiosks. This would cause a wary traveller to think twice before eating at one of these. On the other hand, these kiosks all run 24 hours, so there is always food available. In this very same area you will find Cartagena's Convention Center, Third Order Church and San Francisco Cloister. You will also see San Roque and of the Trinity churches, in the square with the same name. Note that the entirety of the Old City has the same architectural styles as the area surrounded by The Walls.

Bocagrande skyline

There is a great boutique hotel in this neighborhood called Casa El Carretero. It has been featured on the New York times and Travel & Leisure.

Bocagrande

Bocagrande (Big Mouth) is the most modern area of the city, with many hotels, shops, restaurants, nightclubs and art galleries. It forms part of a land extension delimited by Cartagena Bay to the east and the Caribbean Sea to the west, where you will find El Laguito (The Little Lake) and Castillogrande (Big Castle), two renowned neighborhoods. Its particular appeal are the beaches and nightlife. All over Avenida San Martín (Saint Martin Avenue), which is the backbone of the area, you will find several business premises, restaurants and hotels.

The beaches of BocaGrande, laying along the Northern shore, are muddy affairs. There are breakwaters about every two hundred yards and the desired azure of the Caribbean is lost by the almost sea level rise of the beach and the lack of proper waste disposal in the city. It takes about seven minutes worth of a boat ride out to sea to see the color that you desire of the Caribbean.

On the bay side of the pensinsula of Boca Grande is a spectacular seawalk. The centre of the Bay holds a statue of the Virgin Mary. The seawalk is the site of an interesting showing of the various contestants of the Miss Colombia Pageant during that festival.

Originally constructed for foreign oil workers, the majority of the land which makes up Bocagrande was established through land reclamation. Bocagrande is now considered the city's most popular area for tourists.

History

xxx Founded in 1533, Cartagena de Indias gained fame after the mid-16th century when great fleets stopped annually to take on gold and other products of northern South America for convoy to Spain. The city became a centre for the Inquisition and a major slave market.

In 1811 the province of Cartagena declared its independence from Spain, and years of fighting followed. After falling into Spanish hands from 1815 to 1821, the city was recaptured by patriot forces. In the early national period, Cartagena continued as Colombia’s leading port, but it was handicapped by inadequate connections with the interior. By the 1840s it had declined in population and commerce. In the 20th century it experienced renewed growth and is now Colombia’s fifth largest city. Probably the most significant factor in Cartagena’s revitalization was the opening of petroleum fields in the Magdalena River valley after 1917. The completion of the pipeline from Barrancabermeja to the Bahía de Cartagena in 1926, and the building of an oil refinery, helped make the city the country’s chief oil port; platinum and coffee are other important exports. Tourism is of increasing importance. xxxxx

Precolombian Era - 7000 B.C.E. - 1500 C.E.

The Caribbean region, particularly in the area from the Sinu river delta to the Cartagena de Indias bay, appears to be the first documented human community in today's Colombia: the Puerto Hormiga Culture.

Until the Spanish colonization many cultures derived from the Karib, Malibu and Arawak language families lived along the Caribbean Colombian coast. In the late pre-Columbian era, the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, was home to the Tayrona people, closely related with the Chibcha family language.

Archaeologists estimate that around 7000 B.C.E., the settlement of the formative Puerto Hormiga Culture, located near the limits between the departments of Bolívar and Sucre was established. In this area archaeologists have found the most ancient ceramic objects in the Americas, dating from around 4000 B.C.E. The primary reason for the proliferation of primitive societies in this area is the relative mildness of climate and the abundance of wildlife which through continuous hunting allowed the inhabitants a comfortable life.

In today's villages of Maria la Baja, Sincerín, El Viso and Mahates, there have also been discoveries of the remains of culturally organized societies through the excavation of maloka type buildings, which are directly related to the early Puerto Hormiga settlements.

Archaeological investigations date the decline of the Puerto Hormiga culture and its related settlements to around 3000 B.C.E. The rise of a much more developed culture, the Monsú, who lived at the end of the Dique Canal, near today's Cartagena neighborhoods Pasacaballos and Ciénaga Honda at the northernmost part of Barú Island. The Monsú culture inherited the Puerto Hormiga culture´s use of the art of pottery but also developed a mixed economy of agriculture and basic manufacture. the Mosú people's diet was based mostly on seashells, sweet- and salt-water fish.

The ethnologists who discovered Monsú, the Reichel-Dolmatoff marriage, found an interesting artificial mound created by them consisting in vases and rests of skeletons. After the first excavations, the Monsú mound was found to be a communal hut that had strong wood logs around it and was built on different levels, each one from a different period of time. The most ancient of these is the Turbana Period, from 3350 B.C.E. This archaeological zone, less than 6 miles from Cartagena de Indias' downtown boasts the most complete collection of ceramic instruments in Colombia and the American continent. The ceramic patterns found in Monsú, are a tour de force for students of archeology of the Caribbean sea basin and northern South America.

The Reichel-Dolmatoffs later found other artificial mounds, dating from 3200 to 1000 B.C.E., thus making the suburbs of modern Cartagena the seat of the first organized society in Colombia, and one of the most ancient in the Americas.

The development of the Sinú society in today's department of Cordoba and Sucre, eclipsed these first developments around the Cartagena Bay area. Around 1500 the area was inhabited by different tribes of the Karib language family, more precisely the Mocanae sub-family. These were:

• In the downtown island: Kalamarí Tribe
• In the Tierrabomba island: Carex Tribe
• In the Barú island, then peninsula: Bahaire Tribe
• In the eastern coast of the exterior bay: Cospique Tribe
• In the suburban area of Turbaco: Yurbaco Tribe

Some subsidiary tribes of the Kalamari lived in today's neighborhood of Pie de la Popa, and other subsidiaries from the Cospique lived in the Membrillal and Pasacaballos areas. Among these, according to the first chronicles the Kalamarí Tribe had preeminence.

These tribes, though physically and administratively separated, shared common architecture, such as hut structures consisting of circular rooms with tall roofs inside wooden palisades.

First Sightings - 1500 - 1533

Since the failed foundation of Antigua del Darién in 1506 by Alonso de Ojeda, and the subsequent failed city of San Sebastian de Urabá in 1517 by Diego de Nicuesa, the southern Caribbean coast became a bit unattractive to colonizers, which preferred the more known Hispaniola and Cuba. Though, the Casa de Contratación gave permission to Rodrigo De Bastidas to again, conduct an expedition as adelantado to this areas. Bastidas, explored the coast and discovered the Magdalena River delta in his first journey from Guajira to the south in 1527, trip that ended in the Urabá gulf, seat of the failed first settlements. De Nicuesa and De Ojeda noted the existence of a big bay on the way from Santo Domingo to Urabá and Panama isthmus, encouraging De Bastidas to investigate.

In this first trip, he passed away Cartagena de Indias's bay but noted that in future voyages he will investigate this "immense bay, perfect for ships." This second trip was made in 1530, and the calculations were true: it was an enormous bay of 9 sq mi. with profound waters. After the discovery, De Bastidas returned to Santa Marta, recently founded by him in 1528.

Colonial Era - 1533-1717

Cannons from the Colonial times over city walls

Cartagena de Indias was founded the 1st of June, 1533 by Spanish commander Pedro de Heredia, in the former seat of the indigenous Caribbean Calamarí village. See Juan de la Cosa)

The dramatically increasing fame of the prosperous city turned it an attractive plunder site for pirates and corsaires. Just 30 years after its foundation, it was pillaged by French Pirate Robert Baal and since then the city began to rebuild itself in more noble materials (stone and similars) and surrounded by walled compounds and castles. Martin Cote attacked years later.

The initial life in the city was quite bucolic, less than 2000 inhabitants and only one church. A few months after the disaster of the invasion of Cote, a fire took the city to its grounds and forced the creation of a Firefighting Squad, the first in the Americas.

Many pirates intended the same on Cartagena who was more and more notorious in the thieves' guilds in Europe:

• Sir John Hawkins (England): Tried to trick Gov. Martín de las Alas in 1568 to open (against the Spanish Law) a foreign fair in the city to sell its goods for then ravaging the port. The Governor declined and Hawkins tried to siege but failed.
• Sir Francis Drake (England): Ironically nephew of Hawkins, the famed pirate came with an amazing fleet and took quickly the city. The Governor Pedro Fernández de Bustos and the Archbishop fled to the neighbouring town of Turbaco and from there negotiated the costly ransom for the city: 107,000 spanish dollars of the time (Around 200 mill. of today's USD), in any case, the future "Sir" destroyed 1/4 of the city, the developing Palace of the Township and the recently finished Cathedral. Since this disaster Spain poured millions every year to the city for its protection, beginning with Gov. Francisco de Murga the planning of the walls and forts.
• Sire Bernard Desjeans, Baron de Pointis, Jean Ducasse 1697. Raid on Cartagena (1697) The city recovered quickly from the horrible takeover of Drake and kept growing. The port now seat of the Inquisition in the Caribbean (with Lima's and Mexico's the only 3 seats in America), many public buildings and servants, its importance was confirmed. Desjeans's plans were far more than pillage: it was an invasion by all means. The muscles of King Louis XIV were decided to take over the decaying Spain of the Austria dynasty and Cartagena de Indias was his entry. The altruistic purpose of the invasion, not pirate entry was shadowed by the governor of Saint-Domingue (Today's Haiti) Jean Baptiste Ducasse who brought his soldiers just to steal and finally the original plan ended as pirates and thieves again destroying the city. In any case, the entry wasn't easy, because of the recently finished first stage of walls and forts which slowed and made costly the victory. While Desjeans only asked for 250,000 Spanish dollars in ransom, Jean Ducasse stayed a few months later and dishonoured the promise of the Baron of respecting the churches and holy places and left them with nothing. The city again, lost everything. The XVIII century begins.

Other important events in the XVI-XVII century were:

XVI century:

• The brother of the founder, Pedro de Heredia, Alonso de Heredia founded Mompox, with the name Santa Cruz de Mompox to honour the actual governor of the province, José de Santacruz who was about to make another unjust Residencia to his brother, planned by his enemies in the city. Residencia successfully overcame by Heredia who later Residenced Santacruz for his greed in the expedition made by him to Urabá in late 1537.
• In its typical decentralised and autonomistic state policy, Spain put in Cartagena de Indias many offices that are normally in the Capital of the area in question (in this case, not in Bogota). This are:

1. The Royal Houses of Customs: Technically the Main directorate for Customs policy in the New Grenada and its dependencies. Today's Cartagena de Indias's mayors office is there.
2. The Royal Houses of Accountance: Most of its competence was in the State Finance area, making it analogous to a Ministry of Finance or a Secretary of the Treasury. This office was in today's Mapfre House (La Inquisicion Street)
3. The Royal Mail House: More developed in the XVIII century, began in 1540 and stayed permanently in the City until 1821 when renamed, delivered most of the post in the New Grenada and to Europe. Today's SUDEB house occupies its original place.
4. The Royal Consulate of Commerce of Cartagena de Indias: A privately-run institution with public charter, the Consulates of Commerce were express courts for trading quarrels and to promote trade and development in its area. Until 1790 was the only in the area, then succeeded by Caracas (1790), Mompox (1793), Panamá (1798), Santafé (1805) and others.
5. The Hospital of the Navies: First and Only military hospital in the area, and until the foundation of the San Juan De Dios Hospital in Bogota the only in New Grenada, in its first floor a Poor people's Hospital worked until was developed the San Carlos Hospital in 1730 and the Poor people's was opened up in the Santa Clara convent. The Hospital worked in today's Naval Museum, the poor's Hospital in its first floor and the later ones in Gastelbondo Street (San Carlos), and today's Sofitel Santa Clara Hotel (Poor people's Hospital of Santa Clara of Assisi).
6. Royal Headquarters of the Regular Armies of Cartagena de Indias: In the New Grenada, like in most Spanish America, military presence was at least nule and when present was quite concentrated in the important hubs: Havana, Mexico City, Lima, Panama and Cartagena de Indias. The only Regular (always present) army in the New Grenada has its Headquarters in today's Judges Offices in Cuartel Street. This made Cartagena de Indias also the seat to something similar to a Ministry of Defense in a modern Country.

XVII century:

• During the governorship of Rafael Cápsir an interesting event occurred in the city: the "Cessatio a Divinis". The nuns of the Santa Clara convent, who grew richer than the Franciscan friars from donations and more intelligent investments of those wanted to become independent of them in the financial area. The Archbishop agreed with the petition of the nuns but the Franciscans protested and made party with the Governor and he decided to storm the Convent, while the Archbishop forbade the head of the Franciscans to say mass (Cessatio a Divinis). The nuns wanted to reverse their petition but the Archbishop was already exalted and persuaded them to continue. The city was terribly distressed by the conflict which saw daily fights in the streets between the partidaries of each faction (Something similar to Menéndez's "Spain in the XVI-XVII century was a friarish democracy."). The conflict ended finally with the tutelage of the Franciscans over the nuns ending, but the archbishop was banned from the city.
• The Portuguese Company of Cacheu, dedicated to Slave Trading is closed down by the Crown because of accounting fraud and tax evasion. The famed slave company was stationed on front of today's Marquis de Valdehoyos house (Calle de la Factoría).
• The monk Pedro Claver began his ministry of the enslaved in Cartagena, work that gained for his name the Sanctity in the late XIX century.
• The Township Palace and Governors House was finished.

The fame of this prosperous city turned it into the plunder site for pirates and thieves; the legions for the country’s defence soon became insufficient, which is why the kings of Spain decided to approve the construction of castles, forts, and walls that surrounded the city.

In order to resist these attacks, during the 17th century the Spanish Crown hired the services of prominent European military engineers to carry out the construction of fortresses, which are nowadays one of Cartagena's clearest signs of identity. This construction took 208 years, and ended with some eleven kilometres of walls surrounding the city, the San Felipe de Barajas Castle, named in honor of Spain's King Philip IV and its most decided public servant in the construction: Gov. Pedro Zapata de Mendoza, Marquis of Barajas, constructed to repel land attacks, equipped with sentry boxes, buildings for food and weapons storage, underground tunnels;

The complex was completed with:

1. The San Sebastián del Pastelillo Fort: in today's neighborhood of Manga, called del Pastelillo (the cupcake) because of its low altitude to avoid being affected by the Castle of San Felipe whose cannons may have destroyed it if made taller. The fort replaced the first defense of the city: The Tower of Boquerón, a medievalesque tower that dominated the bay and city, similar to Torre del Homenaje in Santo Domingo, but round.
2. The Santa Cruz de Castillogrande Fort: in today's neighborhood of Castillogrande, specifically in the Naval Club, a cross shaped fort which controlled the entry in the inner bay.
3. The San Juan de Manzanillo Fort: smaller than its brother in Castillogrande, in order to not crossfiring it, but in the opposite side of the strait.
4. The San Luis de Bocachica fort: Beautifully finished cross shaped fort, an exponent of the renaissance military architecture, dominated alone the Bocachica strait which lead to the ocean but was destroyed by Vernon in the XVIII century, only some remains are over some places of Bocachica, near its successor, the San Fernando fort.
5. The San Fernando de Bocachica fort: Built nearer to the Sea than its older brother, the San Luis, it was more modern and state-of-the-art, being more roundly shaped, with space for more musketeers rather than massive cannons, and fare more neoclassical and delicate in its outer layers, revealing the tendency in military architecture in the XVIII century.
6. The San José de Bocachica batteries: Built with the new plan of the San Fernando Fort, was designed to point to the line of flotation of the ships, and that's why its almost under sea level.
7. The Angel San Rafael Battery: A masterpiece of the History of Military Architecture, its the only exponent in the world of "inside defense" The battery has few cannons to the outside, only the necessary to support the defense of San Fernando but its use was to attract the sieging forces to enter in a tunnel that appear as accidentally opened 500 meters away from the fort, so they are attracted to take it easily to siege the castle of San Fernando. When the tunnel ends, it enters to a dry moat inside the battery and where if fully equipped more than 400 muskets are pointing just at the first entrance, the design of the "devil holes" where the muskets are, avoid to the invader to see them and death is automatic. No one ever intended catch the trap but to prove it tests were done with cattle in the late XVIII century and the theory was confirmed. Recently the battery, a jewel of the crown in the military architecture history, was rebuilt after years of abandon.
8. The Santa Barbara Battery: Designed near the tunnel entrance to Angel San Rafael was a small battery used as a decoy and to support fire to the Bocachica system, its most important object was to attract the siegers to the mainland so they can see the tunnel entrance and die at the Angel San Rafael death moat. The Santa Barbara battery disappeared with the years, only its founding stones remain over the seas.
9. The Batteries of Chamba and Santiago: Mainly designed as support batteries for San Luis fort, but after the destruction of it by a resented Vernon he brutalized ever more these forts that had the unfortunate luck of being in a very deep sea area which made easy to destroy from a small distance. Ruins remain of both in the oceanic shore of the Tierrabomba Island, no plans exist to rebuild them.
10. The Batteries of Mas, Crespo and the Revellín of El cabrero.: Destroyed by erosion and the desperate efforts of the XIX century administrations to dinamize the city's building industry were support forts for the massive San Lucas and Santa Catalina fortresses in the city Walls.
11. The walls of the old city. 11 km of walls, more than 20 mini forts within it, 4 auxiliary doors, only one bridge-fort to connect the city to the mainland.

Explanations are unnecessary: when the defenses were finished in 1756, the city was simply impossible to take over. There is a legend, that when reviewing the costs of the defenses of Spain in Havana and Cartagena de Indias, in an effort to reform the chronic spending of his predecessors, Charles III of Spain, in his famed ironical style said while taking his spyglass: "This is outrageous! For this price those castles should be seen from here! (Peninsular Spain)."

Cartagena was a major trading port, specially for precious metals. Gold and silver from the mines in New Granada and Peru were loaded in Cartagena on the galleons bound for Spain via Havana. Cartagena was also a slave port; Cartagena and Veracruz (México) were the only cities authorized to trade with black people. The first slaves arrived with Pedro de Heredia and they worked as cane cutters to open roads, in the desecration of tombs of the aboriginal population of Sinu, and in the construction of buildings and fortresses. The agents of the Portuguese company Cacheu distributed human 'cargos' from Cartagena for mine exploitation in Venezuela, the West Indies, the Nuevo Reino de Granada and the Viceroyalty of Perú.

On 5 February 1610, the Catholic Monarchs established from Spain the Inquisition Holy Office Court in Cartagena de Indias by a Royal Decree issued by King Philip II. The Inquisition Palace, finished in 1770, is still there with its original features of colonial times. When Cartagena declared its complete independence from Spain on November 11, 1811, the inquisitors were urged to leave the city. The Inquisition operated again after the Reconquest in 1815, but it disappeared definitely when Spain surrendered six years later before the patriotic troops led by Simón Bolívar.

In March 1741 the city endured a large-scale attack by British and American colonial troops led by admiral Edward Vernon, who arrived at Cartagena with a massive fleet of 186 ships and 23,600 men against only 6 Spanish ships and 3,600 men, in an action known as the Battle of Cartagena de Indias. After weeks of intense fighting, the siege was repelled by the Spanish and native forces led by commander General Blas de Lezo, who inflicted heavy casualties on the English troops. This victory prolonged Spain's control of the Caribbean waters, which helped secure its large Empire until the 19th century. Admrial Vernon was accompanied by American Colonial trooops, including George Washington's brother, Lawrence, who was so impressed with Vernon he named Mount Vernon after him.

For more than 250 years, Cartagena was part of the Spanish Crown. On November 11th, 1811, Cartagena declared its independence, and began another chapter in its history that has been anything but easy, its title ‘The Heroic City’ is well earned and reflects the life of the city.

Economy

Colombia's economy has experienced positive growth over the five years to 2008 despite a serious armed conflict. The economy continues to improve in part because of austere government budgets, focused efforts to reduce public debt levels, an export-oriented growth strategy, improved domestic security, and high commodity prices. Ongoing economic problems facing President URIBE include reforming the pension system, reducing high unemployment, and funding new exploration to offset declining oil production.

Cartagena has become a center for plastic surgery, dental treatment, and the latest technology in bariatric weight-loss operations for people from the United States and in other “First World” countries, where health services costs keep rising.

Per capita GDP, rank Financial and business services sector Tourism

Sugar and tobacco are processed there, while other products include cosmetics, textiles, fertilizer, and leather goods.

Transport: Road, rail, air, sea

• Rafael Núñez International Airport

Demography

Cartagena has a population of 1,240,000 in its Metropolitan Area, and 1,090,000 in the city (2005 Census), being the fifth largest urban area in Colombia.

Of interest

Cartagena walls

• Islas del Rosario
• India Catalina
• Steps of La Popa mount
• El Castillo de San Felipe (Particularly the tunnels.)
• The Walled city of Cartagena
• El Cartagena Gold Museum
• The Palace of the Inquisition (or the Torture Chambers)

El Reloj

• The Underground Tomb
• Hard Rock Cafe (located in Downtown)
• Las Bóvedas
• Playa Blanca, Barú (located in the island of Barú)
• El Reloj (clock tower)

Architecture

Cartagena has experienced heavy urban development in recent years, particularly with the construction of new skyscrapers. As of October 2007, there were 42 high-rises under construction, including an effort to create Colombia's tallest, the Torre de la Escollera. The new high-rise, extraordinarily narrow, was expected to be completed in early 2007, and was planned to stand at 676 ft (206 m) and have 58 floors. However, a construction defect, accentuated by the strong Caribbean winds, has led to its dismantling. A new, twenty-story building will be constructed in its place. The building reached the 56th floor (in girders, solely) before the wind bent the structure severely.

Culture

World Heritage site

Port, Fortresses and Group of Monuments, Cartagena*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
State Party	Colombia
Type	Cultural
Criteria	iv, vi
Reference	285
Region**	Latin America and the Caribbean
Inscription history
Inscription	1980  (8th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. ** Region as classified by UNESCO.

The Port, Fortresses and Group of Monuments of Cartagena were selected in 1984 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization for being located in a bay by the Caribbean Sea, having the most extensive fortifications in South America. A system of zones that divides the city into three neighborhoods: San Pedro, with the cathedral and many Andalusian-style palaces; San Diego, where merchants and the middle class lived; and Getsemani, the 'popular quarters'.

In Popular Culture

• Cartagena gained modern notoriety in the 1984 hit movie, Romancing the Stone when romance novelist Joan Wilder (Kathleen Turner) travels to Cartagena to deliver a treasure map in an effort to ransom her kidnapped sister. The Cartagena scenes were actually filmed in Mexico, and it doesn't reflect the real Cartagena. In the Family Guy episode Barely Legal, the mayor, thinking the film to be real, sends all the police officers to Cartagena, which is referred to as being a fictional city.
• In that movie, Michael Douglas' character refers to it as Cartage(ny)a. This has largely been adopted by tourists and is a constant thorn in the sides of locals. The "N" in Cartagena is solid. You will find only one business in the entire city that refers to this film.
• The first chapter of Brian Jacques' novel The Angel's Command takes place in 1628 Cartagena.
• The movie "Love in the Time of Cholera (film)" released on November 16, 2007 in the USA, is filmed in Cartagena.
• La Queimada, "Burn!" with Marlon Brando was filmed in Cartagena and released in 1969.
• The movie "The Mission (film)" released in 1986 with Robert De Niro was filmed in Cartagena and Brazil. The interpreter for the director was a Colombian who had recently moved to Canada.
• The poem “Románc” by Sándor Kányádi is talking about the beauty of Cartagena.
• Cartagena is referred to by Tom Cruise's character, Vince, in a scene in the film Collateral just before he terminates the blues trumpet player.
• A fictionalized version of the raid on Cartagena is chronicled in Chapter 27 in the novel Captain Blood.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Cartagena's healthy business climate International Reports.net,Retrieved August 23, 2008.
• Encyclopaedia BritannicaCartagena Retrieved August 23, 2008.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Cartagena, Colombia

Travel guide to Cartagena from Wikitravel

• (Spanish) Cartagena Major's Office website
• Library of Congres - United States: Cartagena, Colombia
• (Spanish) Luis Angel Arango Library: History of Cartagena

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• Cartagena,_Colombia  ^history

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• History of "Cartagena, Colombia"

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