Isla Grande is a small island and

corregimiento ''Corregimiento'' (; ca, Corregiment, ) is a Spanish term used for country subdivisions for royal administrative purposes, ensuring districts were under crown control as opposed to local elites. A ''corregimiento'' was usually headed by a '' corr ...

Portobelo District The Portobelo District is one of the districts that make up the Colón Province, Panama. It covers an area of 397 sq.km, and the latest official estimate of population (for 2019) is 10,581.Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censo, Panama. The d ...

Colón Province Colón () is a province of Panama. The capital is the city of Colón. It covers an area of 4,575.5 sq.km, and the latest estimate of population (for 2019) is 294,060.Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censo, Panama. Overview This province h ...

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

, off the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

coast. It had a population of 1,037 . Its population as of 1990 was 626; its population as of 2000 was 1,055. During the right times of year, the water between the island and the mainland provides an excellent surfing environment. Most of the people found in the town are of African descent and trace it back to black African slaves and those known as Cimarrones. Its historical name was ''Isla Grande de Bastimentos''.Columbus' Easternmost Discoveries in Panama: A Geographical Appraisal Lewis D. Harris pp. 25-36, published in Terrae Incognitae , The Journal of the Society for the History of Discoveries Volume 16, 1984 - Issue 1

/ref> It was discovered and named in Spanish "Isle and port of Provisions" by

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

in 1502 during his 4th and last voyage. As the

Bastimentos Bastimentos Island (in Spanish language, Spanish: ''Isla Bastimentos'') is an island with eponymous town, and Corregimientos of Panama, corregimiento located in the Bocas del Toro District and archipelago of Bocas del Toro Province, Panama. The ...

together with its nearby port (Puerto de Bastimentos) it played an important role in history as the place where in 1726/7 the British Admiral

Francis Hosier Vice Admiral Francis Hosier (1673–1727) was a British naval officer. He was a lieutenant on Rooke's flagship at the Battle of Barfleur in 1693. He captured the ''Heureux'' off Cape Clear in 1710 and distinguished himself in action with the ...

with 3,000 of his sailors died of tropical disease whilst anchored with his fleet of 20 ships during the disastrous

Blockade of Porto Bello The Blockade of Porto Bello was a failed British naval action against the Spanish port of Porto Bello in present-day Panama between 1726 and 1727 as part of the Anglo-Spanish War. The British were attempting to blockade the port to stop the S ...

References

Corregimientos of Colón Province Grande Lighthouses in Panama {{Colón-geo-stub

See also

References