Portobello and Fort San Lorenzo:

Treasures, Pirates, Sunken Ships and Panama

Panama is much more than just a tropical paradise.  There’s much more to Panama beyond its canal, its locks, Gatun Lake, its lush rainforest and picture perfect beaches.  Panama’s history was built on looting, buccaneers and stolen Spanish treasures: the material that continues to inspire storybook legends!

The sites of Portobello and Fort San Lorenzo outside of today’s Panama City are the historic remnants of Spain’s colonial military architecture and Panama’s true stories of Pirate Captain Henry Morgan and the destruction of old Panama City.  With the recent discovery of one of this feared corsair’s sunken ships dating from the attack and siege of Portobello and San Lorenzo and the looting of Panama City in 1671, Panama’s intriguing past of pirates, Spanish galleons and chests full of gold is more alive than ever.

Portobello and Fort San Lorenzo: Built to Protect, Time and Again

Panama was part of a legendary Spanish treasure trail, the Camino de Cruces, across the Isthmus of Panama and an important site for international trade, particularly between Europe and its new colonies.  Portobello and Fort San Lorenzo were both built to safeguard the Spanish Crown’s interests in the New World: tons and tons of gold, silver and other riches obtained from their conquered territories in the Americas and gathered in Panama City before being shipped to Spain.  Portobello’s fort and barracks surrounding the bay and Fort San Lorenzo guarding the mouth of Chagres River were built to bear it all, yet in 1671 both Portobello and Fort San Lorenzo succumbed to Privateer (a position higher up in the social ladder than a regular pirate) Henry Morgan’s attack.  Henry Morgan managed to gather over 2000 of the most ruthless pirates of the Caribbean and took Panama City under siege for a month, destroying the city.

The buildings that remain today are the third rebuild attempt after the forts were destroyed by Capitan Henry Morgan, then again in 1739 by Admiral Edward Vernon.  After some time, trade routes changed and the forts were never attacked again.  These fortifications on the Caribbean side of Panama are listed by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites and have been recognized by the Pan American Institute of Geography and History as an essential link to the understanding of the history of the Americas.

Bringing Panama’s History to Life: Captain Henry Morgan Sunken Ship

And Panama’s history of pirates could not be more alive after the discovery of one of Captain Morgan’s ships.  History says five of the pirate’s ships sunk during the attack to Fort San Lorenzo and Portobello in 1671 due to the rough seas and shallow waters around the reef.  Archeologists are working at Lajas Reef, 200 yards off the Caribbean coast of Panama, in order to bring the hull of this 17th century sunken pirate ship back to the surface.  And the Captain Morgan Rum Company is funding the project!

Whether they find a lost treasure or not, the true treasure is Panama’s historical richness.

If you travel to Panama, you must visit the Portobello and Fort San Lorenzo UNESCO World Heritage sites or you’ll be missing out!