17th century

During the century the fortifications that were built had an eminently defensive character. By the Treaty of London "Treaty of London (1604)") (1604) Spain facilitated English trade in America in exchange for not helping the Netherlands, against whom Spain was fighting the Eighty Years' War. However, the enemy European nations were occupying some vacant territories, where they established their colonies based on agricultural production with slave labor, such as the Virgin Islands, the colony of Virginia, the colony of Jamaica, or the Dutch Guyanas. In addition, they tolerated or promoted the actions of plunder and plunder by pirates and buccaneers, such as the case of Portobelo "Portobelo (city)") in 1668. In turn, these places provided a support point for war actions against Spain. In the case of the Pacific, the attack route to the ports of Central America, Mexico, and Peru, included crossing the isthmus. The limiting factor to the defensive capacity of the largest Caribbean fortresses was the supply, maintenance and availability of enough men to use artillery. In 1625 the Morro troops in San Juan de Puerto Rico, part of the National Historic Site of San Juan, repelled the attack of the Dutchman Balduino Enrico"), which however caused great damage to the population, within the expansionist attempts of the United Provinces in the Antilles.

• - Baluarte del Conde, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

• - Fort of Buenos Aires, current location of the Casa Rosada, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

• - Castillo de San Lorenzo El Real de Chagres, Colón, Panama.

• - Castillo de San Felipe de Lara, Livingston "Livingston (Izabal)"), Guatemala.

After the failed attempt to occupy Valdivia (1643) by the expedition of the Dutch East India Company from Pernambuco, the fortification works of Corral Bay were undertaken with a set of forts known as the Valdivia fort system that was expanded and improved in successive years.

Francisco de Murga was one of the engineers who contributed to the improvement of Cartagena de Indias in this period. The construction of the San Felipe de Barajas castle dates back to 1657 to defend Cartagena de Indias, the most important port on Tierra Firme. It suffered constant sieges by the English and French, with the French commander Baron de Pointis being the one who devastated the town in mid-1697 "Cartagena Expedition (1697)"). Faced with new attacks and looting such as that of the Dutchman Laurens de Graaf in Campeche in 1672 or Veracruz in 1683.

• - Castle of the Immaculate Conception, Río San Juan "Río San Juan (Nicaragua)"), Nicaragua.

• - San Miguel de Agüi Castle, Ancud, Chile.

• - La Plachada Battery, Guayaquil, Ecuador.

• - Fort San Diego, Acapulco, Mexico.

18th century

During the century, with the arrival of the Bourbons "Casa de Borbón (Spain)"), highly effective improvement, expansion or new construction works were carried out. In 1711, the Royal Corps of Military Engineers was created, by which Spanish engineers were responsible for the defense of Latin America, the construction of necessary public works and the preparation of cartography. The defense of the Jesuit mission system against Apache attacks and aid to the settlers involved the construction of a wide network of more than one presidio from east to west of the northern of New Spain, currently the south of the United States and northern Mexico. These forts, smaller in size than those of port towns, gave rise to the towns of San Antonio "San Antonio (USA)") or Tucson. During the first battle of the War of the Seat between Great Britain and Spain, in November 1739, the port city of Portobelo was attacked and razed to the ground by the British army under General Vernon. The town's forts called Todofierro, Gloria and San Jerónimo did not offer any resistance due to their poor condition and lack of supplies or preparation of their troops. In this period, Spanish forces and fortifications helped resist, repel and give victory to the English attacks on San Agustín (1740 "Siege of San Agustín (1740)"), Cartagena de Indias (1741), La Guaira (1743), Puerto Cabello (1743). We can point out the work of the engineer Juan de Herrera y Sotomayor in Cartagena de Indias to reconstruct what was destroyed by Depointis in 1697 or the work of Agustín Crame for the reconstruction of the Tres Reyes del Morro or the new redoubt of San Joaquín in Caracas.

The defeat of Vernon's imposing fleet of two hundred ships in Cartagena de Indias in 1741 "Siege of Cartagena de Indias (1741)") thanks to its fortifications, including the San Felipe de Barajas castle, Santa Cruz castle or the San Luis castle, was one of the most humiliating in English military history. Based in the colony of Jamaica, Vernon attacked with a number of troops far superior to that of the Spanish, both in weapons and men, and even had commemorative coins minted before the attack. The governor Sebastián de Eslava, and the commander Blas de Lezo managed, taking advantage of the advantage of the fort of San Felipe de Barajas, to resist and finally defeat the British.[6]​ To make up for the defeat, Vernon attacked Santiago de Cuba "Battle of Santiago de Cuba (1741)"), from his base in Port Royal "Port Royal (city)") and was again defeated even with a significant numerical superiority thanks to the fortification of the square, highlighting the castle of San Pedro de la Roca, under the command of Governor Francisco Cagigal de la Vega and the French engineer Francisco de Langle.[7]​.

• - San Carlos de Perote Fortress, Perote "Perote (Veracruz)"), Mexico.

• - Royal Force of Havana, Havana, Cuba.

• - San Fernando Fortress, Omoa, Honduras.

• - Ozama Fortress, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

In 1765, the fortress of Morro de San Juan in Puerto Rico became the largest in the Spanish Empire in America thanks to the works of engineer Colonel Tomás O'Daly.[8]​In 1762, faced with the attack on Cuba, Manila and the coast of Nicaragua during the Seven Years' War against Great Britain, the need to improve the defenses of the main ports became evident. The construction of the walled city of Veracruz dates back to 1790, with bastions such as Santiago and the fortress of San Carlos de Perote, on the Camino Real to Mexico. Artillerymen, construction experts and surveyors were assigned to Veracruz to defend the entire Bay of Mexico. During the Anglo-Spanish War "Anglo-Spanish War (1779-1783)") triggered by Spanish military and financial intervention in favor of the independence of the United States, the British attacks against San Fernando de Omoa and the Castle of the Inmaculada failed. During the following Anglo-Spanish War, the English again tried to annex part of Spanish territory, failing before the defenses of San Felipe del Morro in San Juan de Puerto Rico (1797), but managing to surrender Trinidad.

19th century

The successive Spanish-American wars of independence that began in 1808 marked the independence of Spain from the American nations under its control. In addition, the last forts against the annexation threat from the United States of Spanish Florida or Santa Fé de Nuevo México, such as the Spanish fort "Fuerte Español (Colorado)") (Colorado) or the fort San Carlos "Fuerte San Carlos (Fernandina)") (Florida), date from this period. The fortress of San Juan de Ulúa (Veracruz, Mexico) was the last bastion of Spanish power in Mexico until 1825. Throughout the century, many of the fortifications were converted into prisons and penitentiaries, rather than serving as sentinels to protect strategic ports against unfailing attacks from the same European nations as well as the US.

Currently, some of these examples of all types of military engineering are national symbols of their countries, first-rate tourist assets or UNESCO World Heritage Sites. While, in general, the colossal ones have remained, those of smaller size or less durable materials are in a state of ruin, awaiting rehabilitation.

• - Paul E. Hoffman, The Spanish Crown and the Defense of the Caribbean, 1535–1585: Precedent, Patrimonialism, and Royal Parsimony (1980).

• - John H. Parry, The Spanish Seaborne Empire (1966).

• - Arthur P. Newton, The European Nations in the West Indies, 1493–1688 (1933).

• - Peter T. Bradley, The Lure of Peru: Maritime Intrusion into the South Sea, 1598–1701 (1989).

• - Clarence H. Haring, The Buccaneers in the West Indies in the Seventeenth Century (1910).

• - Juan Juárez Moreno, Corsairs and pirates in Veracruz and Campeche (1972).

• - Richard Pares, War and Trade in the West Indies, 1739–1763 (1936);.

• - David Syrett, The Siege and Capture of Havana, 1762 (1970);.

• - Richard Harding, Amphibious Warfare in the Eighteenth Century: The British Expedition to the West Indies, 1740–1742 (1991).

• - Antonio Calderón Quijano, History of the fortifications in New Spain (1953),.

• - Guillermo Lohmann Villena, The military defenses of Lima and Callao (1964).

• - Blanes Martín, Tamara. Fortifications of the Caribbean. Havana, Cuba: Cuban letters, 2001.

• - Marchena Fernández, Juan. Army and militias in the American colonial world. Madrid: Editorial MAPFRE, 1992.

• - Serrano Alvarez, José Manuel. Fortifications and troops: Military expenditure on the mainland, 1700–1788. Seville: Provincial Council of Seville, 2004.

• - Wikimedia Commons hosts a multimedia category on Fortifications of Spain in America.

• - Fortifications in Latin America Ramón Gutierrez.

17th century

During the century the fortifications that were built had an eminently defensive character. By the Treaty of London "Treaty of London (1604)") (1604) Spain facilitated English trade in America in exchange for not helping the Netherlands, against whom Spain was fighting the Eighty Years' War. However, the enemy European nations were occupying some vacant territories, where they established their colonies based on agricultural production with slave labor, such as the Virgin Islands, the colony of Virginia, the colony of Jamaica, or the Dutch Guyanas. In addition, they tolerated or promoted the actions of plunder and plunder by pirates and buccaneers, such as the case of Portobelo "Portobelo (city)") in 1668. In turn, these places provided a support point for war actions against Spain. In the case of the Pacific, the attack route to the ports of Central America, Mexico, and Peru, included crossing the isthmus. The limiting factor to the defensive capacity of the largest Caribbean fortresses was the supply, maintenance and availability of enough men to use artillery. In 1625 the Morro troops in San Juan de Puerto Rico, part of the National Historic Site of San Juan, repelled the attack of the Dutchman Balduino Enrico"), which however caused great damage to the population, within the expansionist attempts of the United Provinces in the Antilles.

• - Baluarte del Conde, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

• - Fort of Buenos Aires, current location of the Casa Rosada, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

• - Castillo de San Lorenzo El Real de Chagres, Colón, Panama.

• - Castillo de San Felipe de Lara, Livingston "Livingston (Izabal)"), Guatemala.

After the failed attempt to occupy Valdivia (1643) by the expedition of the Dutch East India Company from Pernambuco, the fortification works of Corral Bay were undertaken with a set of forts known as the Valdivia fort system that was expanded and improved in successive years.

Francisco de Murga was one of the engineers who contributed to the improvement of Cartagena de Indias in this period. The construction of the San Felipe de Barajas castle dates back to 1657 to defend Cartagena de Indias, the most important port on Tierra Firme. It suffered constant sieges by the English and French, with the French commander Baron de Pointis being the one who devastated the town in mid-1697 "Cartagena Expedition (1697)"). Faced with new attacks and looting such as that of the Dutchman Laurens de Graaf in Campeche in 1672 or Veracruz in 1683.

• - Castle of the Immaculate Conception, Río San Juan "Río San Juan (Nicaragua)"), Nicaragua.

• - San Miguel de Agüi Castle, Ancud, Chile.

• - La Plachada Battery, Guayaquil, Ecuador.

• - Fort San Diego, Acapulco, Mexico.

18th century

During the century, with the arrival of the Bourbons "Casa de Borbón (Spain)"), highly effective improvement, expansion or new construction works were carried out. In 1711, the Royal Corps of Military Engineers was created, by which Spanish engineers were responsible for the defense of Latin America, the construction of necessary public works and the preparation of cartography. The defense of the Jesuit mission system against Apache attacks and aid to the settlers involved the construction of a wide network of more than one presidio from east to west of the northern of New Spain, currently the south of the United States and northern Mexico. These forts, smaller in size than those of port towns, gave rise to the towns of San Antonio "San Antonio (USA)") or Tucson. During the first battle of the War of the Seat between Great Britain and Spain, in November 1739, the port city of Portobelo was attacked and razed to the ground by the British army under General Vernon. The town's forts called Todofierro, Gloria and San Jerónimo did not offer any resistance due to their poor condition and lack of supplies or preparation of their troops. In this period, Spanish forces and fortifications helped resist, repel and give victory to the English attacks on San Agustín (1740 "Siege of San Agustín (1740)"), Cartagena de Indias (1741), La Guaira (1743), Puerto Cabello (1743). We can point out the work of the engineer Juan de Herrera y Sotomayor in Cartagena de Indias to reconstruct what was destroyed by Depointis in 1697 or the work of Agustín Crame for the reconstruction of the Tres Reyes del Morro or the new redoubt of San Joaquín in Caracas.

The defeat of Vernon's imposing fleet of two hundred ships in Cartagena de Indias in 1741 "Siege of Cartagena de Indias (1741)") thanks to its fortifications, including the San Felipe de Barajas castle, Santa Cruz castle or the San Luis castle, was one of the most humiliating in English military history. Based in the colony of Jamaica, Vernon attacked with a number of troops far superior to that of the Spanish, both in weapons and men, and even had commemorative coins minted before the attack. The governor Sebastián de Eslava, and the commander Blas de Lezo managed, taking advantage of the advantage of the fort of San Felipe de Barajas, to resist and finally defeat the British.[6]​ To make up for the defeat, Vernon attacked Santiago de Cuba "Battle of Santiago de Cuba (1741)"), from his base in Port Royal "Port Royal (city)") and was again defeated even with a significant numerical superiority thanks to the fortification of the square, highlighting the castle of San Pedro de la Roca, under the command of Governor Francisco Cagigal de la Vega and the French engineer Francisco de Langle.[7]​.

• - San Carlos de Perote Fortress, Perote "Perote (Veracruz)"), Mexico.

• - Royal Force of Havana, Havana, Cuba.

• - San Fernando Fortress, Omoa, Honduras.

• - Ozama Fortress, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

In 1765, the fortress of Morro de San Juan in Puerto Rico became the largest in the Spanish Empire in America thanks to the works of engineer Colonel Tomás O'Daly.[8]​In 1762, faced with the attack on Cuba, Manila and the coast of Nicaragua during the Seven Years' War against Great Britain, the need to improve the defenses of the main ports became evident. The construction of the walled city of Veracruz dates back to 1790, with bastions such as Santiago and the fortress of San Carlos de Perote, on the Camino Real to Mexico. Artillerymen, construction experts and surveyors were assigned to Veracruz to defend the entire Bay of Mexico. During the Anglo-Spanish War "Anglo-Spanish War (1779-1783)") triggered by Spanish military and financial intervention in favor of the independence of the United States, the British attacks against San Fernando de Omoa and the Castle of the Inmaculada failed. During the following Anglo-Spanish War, the English again tried to annex part of Spanish territory, failing before the defenses of San Felipe del Morro in San Juan de Puerto Rico (1797), but managing to surrender Trinidad.

19th century

The successive Spanish-American wars of independence that began in 1808 marked the independence of Spain from the American nations under its control. In addition, the last forts against the annexation threat from the United States of Spanish Florida or Santa Fé de Nuevo México, such as the Spanish fort "Fuerte Español (Colorado)") (Colorado) or the fort San Carlos "Fuerte San Carlos (Fernandina)") (Florida), date from this period. The fortress of San Juan de Ulúa (Veracruz, Mexico) was the last bastion of Spanish power in Mexico until 1825. Throughout the century, many of the fortifications were converted into prisons and penitentiaries, rather than serving as sentinels to protect strategic ports against unfailing attacks from the same European nations as well as the US.

Currently, some of these examples of all types of military engineering are national symbols of their countries, first-rate tourist assets or UNESCO World Heritage Sites. While, in general, the colossal ones have remained, those of smaller size or less durable materials are in a state of ruin, awaiting rehabilitation.

• - Paul E. Hoffman, The Spanish Crown and the Defense of the Caribbean, 1535–1585: Precedent, Patrimonialism, and Royal Parsimony (1980).

• - John H. Parry, The Spanish Seaborne Empire (1966).

• - Arthur P. Newton, The European Nations in the West Indies, 1493–1688 (1933).

• - Peter T. Bradley, The Lure of Peru: Maritime Intrusion into the South Sea, 1598–1701 (1989).

• - Clarence H. Haring, The Buccaneers in the West Indies in the Seventeenth Century (1910).

• - Juan Juárez Moreno, Corsairs and pirates in Veracruz and Campeche (1972).

• - Richard Pares, War and Trade in the West Indies, 1739–1763 (1936);.

• - David Syrett, The Siege and Capture of Havana, 1762 (1970);.

• - Richard Harding, Amphibious Warfare in the Eighteenth Century: The British Expedition to the West Indies, 1740–1742 (1991).

• - Antonio Calderón Quijano, History of the fortifications in New Spain (1953),.

• - Guillermo Lohmann Villena, The military defenses of Lima and Callao (1964).

• - Blanes Martín, Tamara. Fortifications of the Caribbean. Havana, Cuba: Cuban letters, 2001.

• - Marchena Fernández, Juan. Army and militias in the American colonial world. Madrid: Editorial MAPFRE, 1992.

• - Serrano Alvarez, José Manuel. Fortifications and troops: Military expenditure on the mainland, 1700–1788. Seville: Provincial Council of Seville, 2004.

• - Wikimedia Commons hosts a multimedia category on Fortifications of Spain in America.

• - Fortifications in Latin America Ramón Gutierrez.