WANDERLUST
Have you ever wondered why there are so many old-time forts on the Caribbean islands? And who built them? And why?
You’ll spot forts just about everywhere on the old “Spanish Main” — meaning all the Caribbean islands and the countries along the coasts of Central and South America. Some are jumbo-sized, like the $2 trillion monster fort overlooking the Colombian harbor of Cartagena, where treasure galleons gathered to sail in convoys to Spain. Other forts, like those perched on some of the hilltops in the Grenadines, boast just a cannon or two.
Most of the forts were built during the 17th and 18th centuries when Spain, France, England and the Netherlands were slugging it out to grab islands to grow the likes of sugarcane, tobacco and cotton. Not only did all these countries have to keep an eye out for each other’s ships, but also for guys with eye patches sailing around under the flag of the Jolly Roger.
At one time, as many as 5,000 pirates roamed the Caribbean, hoping to bag slow-moving cargo ships (regardless of whose colors they were flying). When they couldn’t find any, they settled for plundering lightly defended ports.
Sometimes the colors of different nations flew over the same forts at different times. For instance, during a long series of wars between France and England, France’s Fleur-de-lis went down and England’s Union Jack went up on the island of St. Lucia seven times before France finally threw in the towel in 1814.
“The War of Jenkins Ear” was another big flag-changer. This one started off the coast of Florida in 1731 when a Spanish ship captured a British merchant vessel commanded by Robert Jenkins. For some reason, the Spanish commander cut off one of Jenkin’s ears.
Now, the Brits could hardly take that insult lying down, so — after one thing led to another (including bickering over the rights to sell slaves in the Caribbean) — they ended up declaring war on Spain. In one battle, an English fleet led by Admiral Edward “Old Grog” Vernon captured and sacked the wealthy Spanish port at Portobello, Panama. Flushed with success, Vernon went on to attack another big Spanish port down the coast at Cartagena — and literally ran into a stone wall at the mega-fort there.
Vernon showed up with a force of 23,000 men and 186 ships bristling with 2,000 cannons, but the fort, defended by just 3,000 Spanish troops and six ships, sent Old Grog packing after a month-long siege of the city.
And so it went over the years, until the mid-1700s, when piracy fizzled out and the forts had a little less to do. But what put them out of business was a summit of the European superpowers in 1815, at the end of the Napoleonic wars. Called the Congress of Vienna, the pact divvied up Europe to the likes of the big players in return for everyone’s promise to behave.
And as Europe went, so did the Caribbean, with certain islands going to England, some to France, some to the Dutch and so on. Most of the islands have since gained their independence, semi-independence or fewer ties to their overseas parent countries.
All those ancient forts, once bristling with cannons manned by sharp-eyed gunners, are now full of tourists scampering around their ramparts and posing for pictures on the cannons.
