Panamá Viejo ( English: "Old Panama"), also known as Panamá la Vieja, is the remaining part of the original

Panama City Panama City, also known as Panama, is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has a total population of 1,086,990, with over 2,100,000 in its metropolitan area. The city is located at the Pacific Ocean, Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, i ...

, the former capital of

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

, which was destroyed in 1671 by the Welsh privateer

Henry Morgan Sir Henry Morgan (; – 25 August 1688) was a Welsh privateer, plantation owner, and, later, the lieutenant governor of Jamaica. From his base in Port Royal, Jamaica, he and those under his command raided settlements and shipping ports o ...

. It is located in the suburbs of the current capital. Together with the historical district of Panamá, it has been a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

since 1997.

History

A settlement was founded on August 15, 1519 by

Pedro Arias Dávila Pedro Arias de Ávila (c. 1440 – 6 March 1531; often Pedro Arias Dávila or Pedrarias Dávila) was a Spanish soldier and colonial administrator. He led the first great Spanish expedition to the mainland of the Americas. There, he served as go ...

and another 100 inhabitants. At the time, it was the first permanent European settlement on the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

, replacing the two cities of Santa María la Antigua del Darién and Acla. Two years later, in 1521, the settlement was promoted to the status of city by a royal decree and was given a

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

by Charles V of Spain, forming a new cabildo. Shortly after its creation, the city became a starting point for various expeditions in

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

and an important base where

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

and

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

were sent to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. From 1520, some Genoese merchants ruled the commerce of Old Panama (Panamá Viejo) on the

for a century, thanks to a concession given by the Spaniards, who had the

Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( ; ; ) was a medieval and early modern Maritime republics, maritime republic from the years 1099 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italy, Italian coast. During the Late Middle Ages, it was a major commercial power in ...

as allies. Between 1586 and 1587, there were already 11 Italians in Panama, seeking naturalization and the right to stay in Panama. According to a census around 1587, Panama City had 548 inhabitants (some of them descendants of the first Genoese settlers), of whom 53 were foreigners and of these 18 were Italians. In 1539 and 1563, the city suffered a number of fires which destroyed parts of it but did not impede the city's development. In 1610, the city reached a population of 5,000, with 500 houses, as well as convents, chapels, a hospital and a

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

. At the beginning of the 17th century, the city was attacked several times by

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

s and by indigenous people from Darién. On 2 May 1620, an

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

damaged many buildings in the city. On 21 February 1644, the Great Fire destroyed 83 religious buildings, including the cathedral. At this time, there were 8,000 people living in the city. In 1670, the city counted 10,000 inhabitants. On 28 January 1671, in response to intelligence that the colonies of New Spain were gathering forces to attack Jamaica, the Welsh

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

attacked the city with 1,400 men, marching from the Caribbean coast across the jungle. Forces sent from Panama to ambush Morgan in the jungle passes ran away rather than face them and, although tired and hungry from their nine-day march, Morgan's force reached the plains outside the city. Although outnumbered, and facing heavy guns and cavalry, the English defeated the city's militia then proceeded to sack Panamá. Either Morgan and his army started a fire that burned the city or the Captain General Emanuel Gonzalez Revilla ordered the explosion of the gunpowder magazines. The city's viceroy, Don Juan Perez de Guzman himself wrote, "I endeavoured with all my industry to persuade the soldiers to turn and face our enemies but it was impossible; so that nothing hindering them, they entered the city to which the slave and owners of the houses had set fire". Morgan wrote, "There we were forced to put out the fires of the enemy's houses; but it was in vain, for by 12 at night it was all consumed that might be called the City". These contemporary accounts both strongly support the story that it was burned by its inhabitants; indeed there was no incentive for the English to set it alight as they had not had chance to loot it. Either way, the resulting fire destroyed the city. Morgan's attack caused the loss of thousands of lives (his report stated 400 Spanish casualties) and Panamá had to be rebuilt a few kilometres to the west on a new site (the current one). Henry Morgan was arrested but, after proving he knew nothing of the recently completed Treaty of Madrid which ended hostilities between England and Spain, was subsequently freed and later rewarded. UNESCO added Panamá Viejo to the World Heritage list in 1997. It justified its inclusion on the grounds that the site is the "oldest continuously occupied European settlement in the Pacific coast of the Americas".

Popular culture

This UNESCO World Heritage Site was a Pit Stop of the 19th season of ''

The Amazing Race ''The Amazing Race'' is an adventure reality competition franchise in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams. ''The Amazing Race'' is split into legs, with teams tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselv ...

''. The reward feast from a reward challenge in the 7th season of the CBS show ''

Survivor Survivor(s) may refer to: * one who survives Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Survivors, characters in the 1997 KKnD series#Armies, ''KKnD'' video-game series * ''The Survivors'', or the ''New Survivors Foundation'', a fictional ...

'' was held at this place.

Gallery

File:Vista_desde_Torre_en_Panamá_Viejo_.jpg, View from the Bell Tower to Costa del Este. File:Iglesia y Convento de las Monjas de la Concepción, Panamá Viejo.jpg, Ruins of the Concepción nuns' convent File:Casa Terrín, Panamá.jpg, Ruins File:Torre de la Catedral, Panamá.jpg, Distant view of old Panama Cathedral

References

External links

UNESCO description listPatronato Panama Viejo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Panama Viejo History of Panama City Buildings and structures in Panama City Archaeological sites in Panama Former populated places in Panama Populated places established in 1519 1519 establishments in North America 1519 establishments in the Spanish Empire 16th century in Central America Tourist attractions in Panama City World Heritage Sites in Panama