Cartagena
.
CARTAGENA
is a Citie, and the principall place of the
Bishopricke; it lyeth fourtie leagues from Santa Marta:
it standeth in scant 11. degrees. The sayd Citie is
situated upon a sandy banke or bay like unto an Iland:
it hath about 450. dwellers therein. There are very faire
buildings therein: as concerning their houses, they are
made of stone, and there are three Monasteries, of which
two of them are of Friers which are within the city, the
one called Santo Domingo, and the other called Santo
Augustin, and the other which is called Saint Francis,
which standeth without the citie about 30. paces off.
And for to goe unto the said Frierie, you must goe upon
a Causey
made of stone, and water on both sides. This
citie hath great trade out of Spaine, and out of The new
kingdome of Granada
, and out of the Ilands there adjoyning, from Peru
, and from all the coast of this firme land,
and of the fishing of the pearles of Rio de la Hacha, and
of Margarita: it is a very sound countrey.
This Citie hath a very good Harbour, and sufficient to
receive great store of Ships: this said Harbour hath two
entrances in, the one of them lyeth halfe a league from
the Citie, where all the Ships doe enter into the sayd
Harbour: the mouth or entring in of the sayde Harbour
is 1400. yardes or paces in bredth, and very deepe water.
The other entring in which is called La boca chica, or litle
mouth, lieth a league beyond this place to the westwards.
It is 900. yards in bredth, and in the entring in thereof
there lieth a channel in the midst of it, which is 200.
yards broad, and 20. or 15. fadome water, some places
more, some lesse. And to enter into the Harbour you
must go through this channel, and the land doth double
in and out. And at the entring in of the sayde Harbour,
after you have past this Channell, you must beare up to
the shoareward neere unto the
Iland of Cares, and looke
how much is overplus more than the two hundred yardes
of the Channell, all the rest are certaine ledges of Rockes,
covered with two or three foote water upon the toppe of
them, some places more, and some lesse. So the ships
which must enter in at the mouth, must bring very good
Pilots with them, which must be very skilfull: yet all
this will not serve, but they must carry their Boate before,
and sound with their Lead to know where the best place
of the Channell lyeth for them to goe in, so it will be
small hinderance to any shippe that shall enter, neither
yet danger at all of sinking.
There are three places about the sayde Citie, where the
Enemie may give an attempt by Land. The one of them
is where the enemie did enter in and landed, which is a
sandy Bay, and on the other side of the Bay is the Sea,
and on the other side a great Lake which goeth towards
the Harbour. The sandy bay or banke, on the one side
is 500. yardes broad, all sandy ground without any trees.
So that the enemie which giveth the assault in this place
must bee constrayned to march all alongst this sandie
Bay, the enemie lying open these 500. yardes, which
reach untill you doe come to the trench: And on the
backside other 500. yardes, till you doe come unto the
Citie.
The sayde sandie bay or banke is 130. yardes broad,
where the trench is builded. And in this place this Citie
hath bene taken by the enemie twise. Wherefore heere
wee have driven in a great many of woodden stakes, which
goe downe into the sea 50. yardes deepe: and this wee
have done, because this is a very dangerous and filthy
coast. And below in the bottom of the Valley there we
have builded a little Sconce, where we may plant 3. or 4.
peeces of ordinance. And likewise wee have made a
deepe ditch, which doeth answere to both parts of the sea;
so on this side the Citie is very strong and sufficient.
For this was the place whereof the Citizens were most
afrayde.
The other entring is lower downe by the sayde sandy
Bay, which is called Cienaga
, or The fenne del Roreado.
This is another place which is on the sayd sandy bay,
which is 300. yardes broad from the one place downe to
the sea. And on the other side there lyeth the Cienaga
,
which is a certaine plat of ground that is overflowen with
water all the yeere long. So that the enemie which shall
come this way to winne the Citie, must come marching
over land a good way upon a sandie banke or Bay, where
the Sea lyeth on the one side, and a grove or boske of
wood on the other side, and through a plat of ground
which is overflowen with water, but not all covered. So
in this place wee have made a Fort or Sconce with certaine
Flanckers belonging therunto. And I have caused a
deepe ditch to be digged of 60. foote in bredth, so that
the Sea doeth come to that plat or place which is overflowen. And in this order we have stopt this passage,
so that the Citie standeth in maner like unto an Iland.
There is 2600. yardes distance from this place to the
other trench where the enemie Francis Drake did land
last.
The entring in of this Harbour is by the bridge and
Causey
which doeth goe from the Citie to S. Francis;
the sayd Causey
is 300. yardes in length, and 12. yardes
in bredth: and the water is on both the sides of the saide
Causey
: so this is the strongest place of all the rest of
the three places. Also in this place there is order taken
to make a draw bridge, and upon the top of the said
bridge to build a platforme, and plant ordinance upon it:
and on both sides of the bridge there are certaine trenches
made, where our men may be close kept.
At the point of this land called ycacos, which is in the
entring in of the harbour towards S. Anna, we have made
a Fort of timber fouresquare of 300. foote every way, and
trencht, where wee may plant 15. or 16. peeces of ordinance, and keepe 50. men in garison, and behinde the
bourdes on the backside of the timbers, a Barricado of
earth or mudde wall being foure foote in thicknesse, and
behinde the mud-wall, sand: so this Fort will bee of
great importance for safegard of this Harbour, because
all the Shippes which doe enter into this Harbour doe
come close to this place where it is strongest, so that
sometimes one may cast a stone into the ships when they
are comming in: and when any ship of warre or Pirate
will give any attempt to enter into this Harbour, there is
order given that the two galleys shall go forth, and put
themselves behinde the Fort with their prows to the sea,
and so shooting at their enemies in the forepart of the
ship, and then the Fort answering likewise with their
ordinance at the side of the shippe, and at their tackling,
so the enemie being in the Harbour all unrigged, they
must of necessitie be constrained to lye hovering within
the Harbour, or els they must drive upon the rockes
called the Ismo, or els upon those rocks which are covered
with the sea at the
Iland of Cares.
And put case that in this place we can doe no good by
this meanes, and that the enemie will venture to come
in with their long boates & Pinnesses through this narrow
mouth; then we are to have in a readinesse 4. Frigats
to ayde and helpe the gallies, & to row with oares, and
so to go to the narrow mouth, and there to stay in the
channell. And forasmuch as the entring in is so dangerous, according as I have certified your Majestie, there
can no ship come into this harbour, but we must needes
sinke them; so that these defences shall not onely bee
annoyance to the enemie, but also animate and encourage
the inhabitants of this citie : for they have beene and are
in such feare of the enemie, and pirates, that if wee had
not made these fortifications, strengthened the citie in this
order, and put some souldiers in garison, the citizens
would have fledde, and forsaken this citie: for all the
perswasions made to them by the governour coulde not
perswade them to the contrary, but they would bee gone,
if it had not beene for this fortification, and yet for all this
wee have much to doe to make them to stay here: so nowe
by reason of these souldiers which shall come hither, the
people of the citie have taken heart of grasse : so I have
tolde them that your majestie will command that this
citie and the harbour shall be better fortified and
made stronger, and all this which I have caused to be
builded, is with that money which I have borowed of the
citizens.
As touching the safegard and defence of this harbour,
if your majestie so please, here may we builde a very
faire and strong castle with foure bulwarks, on the poynt
of the Ycacos which doth lie on the side where the citie
is builded, because all the shippes which doe come to this
harbour, must come close abord this shore, so neere, that
wee may cast a stone into them, and so overtake any
ship. So likewise if the shippes will goe on the other
shore, then they doe goe in greater danger, because of
those shoalds and ledges of rockes, and so are often cast
away. And forasmuch as those ships which here doe
arrive are brought hither by Easterly winds, and sometimes with those winds which come out from the sea,
and therefore perforce must give a good birth off, otherwise they cannot enter into this harbour, therefore of
necessity they must come so close to the shore: And on
the other side where the
Island of Cares standeth, there
may wee builde another tower foure-square, and plant
some foure or five pieces of ordinance, and this will serve
for the night, if occasion be offered that any small shippe
or barke should come in here, or any pinnesse in the
night, to doe any harme, or to attempt to burne any
Fleete which shoulde ride here at an anker within this
harbour: so the fort beeing on the one side, and the
tower on the other side, keeping good watch, there can no
shippe nor barke come into this harbour, but they will
bee espied.
In the narrow mouth at the entring in the other way
towardes the
Island of Cares, where the channell doth
runne neere the shore, as I have already certified your
majestie, there may another castle be made, and there
foure or five pieces of ordinance planted, and some sixe
or eight men to keepe watch and ward: this being done,
your majestie shall have this citie very well fortified, by
reason it is of such importance for the service of your
majestie, and the trade of all Spaine and Peru
, and all the
Indies: for this is the principall fort of all this countrey.
Over against this point of the Ycacos, in the
Isle of
Cares, hard by the water side, there are great store of
stones, free stones, and other stones to make lyme, and
wood to burne the stones withall for the lyme, and great
part of the stones doe lie about the water: so the wood
will cost but the cutting of it downe, and the working
of it, and with little paines taking it will bee brought to
good perfection, for wee have already made triall thereof,
for there was never building that went to decay after it
hath bene made, nor perished by the sea: so the charge
hereof will be but litle or nothing.
And for to put this in practise to build a fort, it is
needefull that your majestie should send hither and to
many other places, where any fort shall bee made, some
store of Negros, and to this place would be sent 150
Negros brought from Guyney: and if the Negros of
Havana are not to bee imployed there, nor those which
are in Sant Juan de Ullua, it may please your majestie
to cause them to bee sent for to this place, for most of
them be artificers, some masons, bricklayers, smithes and
sawyers, and to send some masons from Spaine to teach
our men these occupations. And after these fortifications
are ended and all furnished, then the Negros may be solde
to great profit, for a Negro
that is of any occupation is
sold here for 600. and 700. pezos.
