CENTRAL AMERICA
and the
WESTERN CARIBBEAN

Belize | Costa Rica | El Salvador | Guatemala | Honduras | Nicaragua | Panama
Cayman Islands | San Andrés Islands

This list makes no claim of completeness.
Pre-Columbian Indigenous structures are too numerous to list here, and are not included.

BELIZE (formerly British Honduras)
Part of the Captaincy General of Guatemala, a domain of the Viceroyalty of New Spain (Mexico), however it was never settled by the Spanish. English pirates and loggers first settled St. George's Caye between 1638 to 1650. Spanish claims not exercised after 1798. Guatemala granted concession to Great Britain in 1859. Formally became a British Crown colony in 1862 as British Honduras. Independence came in 1981. Guatemalan claims were withdrawn in 1991.
History of Northern Belize
History of the Belize Police Department

Corozal Town:
Fort Barlee, built in 1870 after the Maya Indians attacked and held the town several months earlier. Attacked by the Maya again in 1872. Garrisoned by British troops until 1886, then replaced by the British Honduras Constabulary Force. Remnants of the brick corner bastions (or turrets) are located at the post office complex just west of Central Park.
British "pillboxes" (date ?) are located throughout town.
Corozal Early History

Orange Walk Town:
Fort Mundy, built in 1874, was simply a stockade around the town jail, police station, and courthouse, under the command of the police force. The Fort Mundy site is now a municipal government rest home.
Fort Cairns, completed in 1876 by British troops, was an earthwork fort with two masonry bastions, surrounded by a dry ditch. The site was destroyed in 2006 to build the new Town Hall. The flagpole at the Town Hall is reportedly the original from the fort.
Fort Hearns, site now Market Square next to the Town Hall. (Fort Cairns ?)
British troops were garrisoned here from 1867 to 1886, then replaced by the British Honduras Constabulary Force. The original military barracks compound was located in the area bound by present-day Baker Street, Church Street, Main Street, and the New River. Maya Indians attacked the post in September 1872 during the last stages of the "Caste War" in the Yucatan region.
The Early History of Orange Walk Town by Charles Emond

Belize City:
Fort George, built sometime after the 1798 Battle of St. George's Caye, was located on an island at the mouth of Haulover Creek, a branch of the Belize River. The strait between the fort and mainland was in-filled in 1924, becoming Memorial Park. No remains of fort, site now private homes. The first Fort George Lighthouse was built in 1885 at the point. The present concrete light tower was built after 1926 (Baron Bliss Lighthouse).
British troops were garrisoned here until 1888, then replaced by the British Honduras Constabulary Force. Belize City was the capital of the colony until 1970.
History of Belize District

GUATEMALA
Part of the Captaincy General of Guatemala, a domain of the Viceroyalty of New Spain (Mexico). Annexed by Mexico in 1821. Became part of the United Provinces of Central America in 1823. Full independence restored in 1838.

Izabal Department:
Castillo de San Felipe de Lara, built by the Spanish in 1652 to deter pirates coming up the Río Dulce from the Gulf of Honduras to raid supplies at this important staging point for the inland trade routes. It had replaced a 12-gun watchtower from 1595 (Sande Torréon) that had been attacked several times, destroyed and rebuilt in 1604, renamed Bustamante Torréon. Located on the north bank of Lago Izabal about four kilometres (by road) from the Río Dulce, near the small community of San Felipe. After being long abandoned, it was reconstructed/restored in 1955-56. Admission fee.
Guatemala: The Sweet River of Pirates and Ugly Mermaids by Augustin Berti and Nicholas Aguero
Moon Travel Guide entry

In 1736 the Spanish established three advance lookout posts at Fronteras, Zapote, and Tameja.

Guatemala City:
Fuerte de San José de Buena Vista, built in 1846 by the Guatemalan Army, located in the southeast part of the city. Manned by Loyalist troops during the October 1944 Guatemalan Civil War, it was attacked and shelled by artillery fire, exploding a magazine. The main building was demolished in 1961 and replaced by the Teatro Nacional (opened 1965), located on Calle 24 3-81, Zone 1. A portion of the original fort was later restored or reconstructed on the grounds. Located here is the Museo Heráldico y de Armas del Ejercito (admission fee).

Fuerte de San Rafael de Matamoros, built from 1853 - 1858, located in the northeast part of the city. Manned by Loyalist troops during the October 1944 Guatemalan Civil War, it still remains as the headquarters of the Guatemalan Army, hosting the Presidential Guard, Army Transportation Corps, Military Geographic Service, and the Logistics Support Command. Located at 11 Avenue "B" 32-46, Zone 5.
History of Guatemala City from Mother Earth Travel.com

HONDURAS
Part of the Captaincy General of Guatemala, a domain of the Viceroyalty of New Spain (Mexico). Annexed by Mexico in 1821. Became part of the United Provinces of Central America in 1823. Full independence restored in 1838. Occupied intermittently by U.S. Marines from 1907 to 1925.

Omoa:
Fortaleza de San Fernando de Omoa, built by the Spanish from 1756 to 1775, a moated triangular stone fort with three bastions. A smaller fort (El Real Fuerte) was also located nearby (one wall still remains), built in 1752 and remodeled in 1759. Attacked and captured by the British in October 1779 during a combined land and sea assault. The Spanish garrison at the time was only 100 men and 25 guns (out of 150 planned). The British abandoned the fort in November 1779 before a Spanish counterattack arrived. The infamous pirate Louis-Michel Aury attacked the fort in April 1820 and held it for several days in the name of the Mexican Patriots. Spanish troops from Comayagua and San Pedro Sula retook the fort. This was the last royalist Spanish holdout in Central America after the region declared its independence in 1821. Became a Honduran military prison in 1853. The military handed over control to civilian authorities in 1909. Closed in 1959 and later opened to tourists by the Honduran Institute of Anthropology and History. Nearby is the Museo de Omoa with several exhibits. The fort is currently under restoration. Admission fee.
Honduras This Week - Online Edition 63 July 1997 by Masja Zwart
Moon Travel Guide entry
WIKIPEDIA (en Español)

Trujillo:
Fortaleza de Santa Barbara de Trujillo, built by the Spanish from 1607 to 1629, replacing an earlier fort built in 1575. Attacked by the Dutch in 1632, the French in 1633, and the British in 1672 and 1689. Converted to a military prison facility in 1920, closed in 1959. The Honduran Army finally closed the fort in 1969, later opened to tourists by the Honduran Institute of Anthropology and History. About 50 percent of the original fort still remains. Currently under restoration. Admission fee.
Trujillo Tourism
Moon Travel Guide entry

Gracias:
Fortaleza de San Cristobal, built by the Honduran Army in the 1860's, around the tomb of former Honduran President Juan Lindo (six years after his death), to deter the passage of the Guatemalan Army into Honduras through the mountain passes during times of regional strife. Restored, the fort has two Spanish guns brought from the fort at Omoa. Located on a hill just west of downtown.
Moon Travel Guide entry

Black River (Río Sico):
A British logging settlement at Black River Bluff (Caribe), part of the Mosquito Coast settlements, was fortified in 1782 (Eastern Blockhouse) and defended by only 20 men, captured by the Spanish in April 1782. Recaptured by the British in August 1782.
Fort Dalling, at Quipriva, a British post captured by the Spanish in April 1782. The Spanish garrison of 75 men was recaptured by the British in August 1782.
British claims to this area were withdrawn in 1859.

Roatán, Bay Islands:
Port Royal was first settled by English logwood cutters and other illegal traders/pirates, from what is now Belize, in 1642, and the harbor was fortified against Spanish reprisals. The Spanish attacked in March 1650 and ejected all the freebooters, and removed all the native Indians to the mainland. The British did not return until 1742, refortifying the harbor with a 17-gun battery on the west end of George's Cay (Fort George), a six-gun battery on the north shore of the harbor east of town (Fort Frederick), and another battery on the high point of land on the southwest point of the harbor opposite Cusack Cay. Great Britain officially withdrew claims to the islands in 1763, but the freebooters remained in control. Spanish troops and naval ships attacked in force in March 1782 and captured and destroyed all three defensive works, and removed all inhabitants to Havana, Cuba. The islands remained deserted until 1797 when the British marooned about 5000 black Caribs (Garifuna) from St. Vincent Island. A small Spanish garrison was then maintained on the island after 1797, replaced by troops of the United Provinces in 1823. Great Britain reclaimed the islands again in 1838, but were returned to Honduras by treaty in 1858, under pressure from the United States. Partial remains of Fort George still exist. Site of Fort Frederick is now a private home.
Archaeological Investigations in the Bay Islands, Spanish Honduras, by William Strong, Smithsonian Institution, 1935
History of Roatan Island by David Evans
Moon Travel Guide entry

EL SALVADOR
Part of the Captaincy General of Guatemala, a domain of the Viceroyalty of New Spain (Mexico). Annexed by Mexico in 1821. Became part of the United Provinces of Central America in 1823. Full independence restored in 1838.
The Invasion of El Salvador by the Canadian Navy, January 1932 by Marc Milner, in Legion Magazine, March 2006

No data.

NICARAGUA
Part of the Captaincy General of Guatemala, a domain of the Viceroyalty of New Spain (Mexico). Annexed by Mexico in 1821. Became part of the United Provinces of Central America in 1823. Full independence restored in 1838. Occupied by U.S. Marines beginning in 1912, becoming a U.S. Protectorate from 1916 to 1933. The Mosquito Coast, settled by the British beginning in 1633, was a British Protectorate from 1740 to 1796, and again from 1834 to 1860, then it was an autonomous Indian reserve until 1894.
U.S. Marines in Nicaragua 1910 - 1933 by Bernard C. Nalty, U.S.M.C. Historical Branch
U.S. Marines in the Battle of Ocotal, November 1929 from Manfut.org (en Español)
Nicaragua Filibuster William Walker from Latin American Studies.org
Biography of William Walker from Tennessee State Library and Archives
1919 Article on William Walker from The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco, CA

El Castillo:
Castillo de la Inmaculada Concepción de María, built by the Spanish from 1673 to 1675 on the south bank of the Río San Juan on a hill at the Santa Cruz rapids, to deter pirate raids up the river to Granada. British troops and Zambos (mixed Afro-Indian) unsuccessfully attacked the fort in 1762. In April 1780 the British Royal Navy under Captain Horatio Nelson attacked and captured the fort, but was abandoned after six months due to sickness and desertion among the men. The fort fell into neglect by the end of the 19th-century. The fort was restored and opened to the public in 1993. Access only by boat tours from San Carlos, a two-hour trip.
Museo de Fortaleza del Castillo de la Inmaculada Concepción
Exploring El Castillo de la Concepción in Nicaragua by James Nalley
WIKIPEDIA (en Español)

The Spanish had originally built twelve defensive posts on the San Juan River between San Carlos and San Juan del Norte. Other sites from west to east included Sábalos, Pocosol River, Bartola Island, Valos Creek, Machuca Creek, San Carlos River, San Francisco River, Sarapiqui River, La Concepción, and San Juan del Norte. A small fort and customs house was first established at San Juan del Norte in 1541.

San Carlos:
Fortaleza de San Carlos, built by the Spanish in 1666 after several earlier pirate raids to Granada, which was sacked in 1660. Pirates attacked the fort in 1670 and sacked Granada again. The fort was then abandoned for over half a century afterwards. It was later used as a prison at times. The Nicaraguan National Guard held the fort in October 1977 against Sandinista rebels. The fort has been restored with a museum, library, and cultural center.

Granada:
Fortaleza de San Pablo de Granada, a stone blockhouse and battery built by the Spanish in 1784 as an outer defense for Granada against pirate raids. Located on Isla del Castillo (Castle Island), Las Isletas, in Lake Nicaragua. Restored in 1974 as a museum.
El Fuertecito, built by the Spanish in 1784 on the shore of Lake Nicaragua to provide crossfire with Fort San Pablo on Castle Island. Some preserved ruins still remain.
Fortaleza de la Polvora, built by the Spanish in 1748-49 to protect an important gunpowder cache from pirate raids. Later used as military barracks, and also as a prison facility. Located at the end of Calle Real Xalteva. Restored in 1996 as the Museo de Armas.

near Masaya:
Fortaleza de El Coyotepe, built by the Nicaraguan Army in 1893 to deter any threat to Granada from Honduras or El Salvador. Assaulted by U.S. Marines in October 1912. Later used as a military prison. After it was closed it was turned over to the Nicaraguan Boy Scouts, who have opened it to tourists. Admission fee.

Mosquito Coast:
British logging and smuggling settlements were established at several sites beginning in 1633. Each settlement may have been minimally fortified for defense.
Cabo Gracias a Dios (Cape Thanks be to God), (undetermined)
Bragman's Bluff (Puerto Cabezas), established by pirates in 1690. Renamed in 1925.
Bluefields, originally a Dutch pirate haven established in 1662, settled by the British in 1678. Became the capital of the Mosquito Coast Settlements in 1744.
Spanish-held San Juan del Norte was occupied by the British-allied Miskito Indians in 1841, and occupied by British troops in 1848, renamed Greytown, and annexed to the Mosquito Coast Settlements. The U.S. Navy bombarded and burned the town in July 1854 over a tariff dispute. U.S. Marines captured William Walker near here in November 1857.
All British claims to the region were withdrawn in 1860 by treaty with Nicaragua, under pressure from the United States.

COSTA RICA
Part of the Captaincy General of Guatemala, a domain of the Viceroyalty of New Spain (Mexico). Annexed by Mexico in 1821. Became part of the United Provinces of Central America in 1823. Full independence restored in 1838.

Limón Province:
Fuerte de San Fernando de Matina, was built by the Spanish in 1741-42 at the mouth of the Río Matina. It was a wooden fort/blockhouse, garrisoned by 34 soldiers and 21 local vigilantes. A second work was also planned but never built. Attacked in April 1747 by the British and allied Zambo Indians. Attacked again and destroyed by the British and Zambos in August 1747. It was never rebuilt.

To deter constant pirate attacks, 30-man guard stations or watchtowers were located along the coast in 1681 at several points, including Portete (Limón), Punta Blanca, Moín, Matina, Suerre, Jiménez, Reventazón, and Colorado. Two stone towers were planned for Matina and Portete, but they were never built.

San José:
Fuerte Bellavista, built in 1887 by the Costa Rican Army, used as the military headquarters until 1948. Located at the Plaza de la Democracia, entry on Calle 17 between Av Central and Av 2. Now used by the Museo Nacional de Costa Rica. Admission fee.
National Museum of Costa Rica (alternate site)
Nearby at the north end of Calle 4, on a hill above the Río Torres, is an old converted military barracks (date ?) that was once the city prison for many years (closed in 1979). It is now used by the Museo de Niños (Children's Museum), opened in 1994. Admission fee.
Children's Museum (alternate site)

Heredia:
Fuerte Fadrique Gutierrez, a 13-metre tall cylindrical stone tower fort built in 1876 by the Costa Rican Army, one of four planned (the other three were never built). Became a National Monument in 1974. Located on Central Street.

PANAMA
Part of the Viceroyalty of New Granada as a province of Colombia. Independent of Spain in 1819, with Colombia. Briefly became Free State of the Isthmus in 1840-41. Independent of Colombia in 1903. Became a U.S. Protectorate from 1903 to 1936.
Historic Panamá: Conquest and Exploration by Bruce Ruiz
Colonial Panama, Pictures and Information by Sean Kelly
(Please see PANAMA CANAL ZONE page for American canal defenses.)

Panamá City:
Founded by the Spanish in 1519 ("Panamá la Vieja"). A Casa Fuerte was probably built here at that time. Attacked by the English under Francis Drake in 1595. After 1607 the "Casas Reales" (Royal Houses), in the eastern part of the old city, were palisaded with several bastions and small guns. The city was sacked by English pirates under Henry Morgan in 1671. The entire city was then relocated about five km west in 1673 to the "Casco Viejo" section of the new city, with a moated stone wall and ramparts completed in 1686, with a shore battery next to the military barracks (present-day site of the "Union Club", the former PDF Officers' Club that was destroyed in 1989, near the intersection of Avenida A and Avenida Central). The city was never attacked again. The city walls were later demolished as the city grew. The casemated seawall around Plaza de Francia still remains, now housing small shops and a restaurant. There are several extant stone ruins remaining at Panamá la Vieja, accessible to the public with a museum on site (Museo de Sitio de Panamá la Vieja).
Fort La Navidad, originally built of wood in the 1520's, was on the west side of the old city, probably only a six-gun battery. Rebuilt in stone in 1658 as an irregular four-sided polygon with two corner tower bastions. The ruins are still extant.
Fort Matadero (1590's) was built to protect the western landward approach into the old city.
A lookout tower was built in 1632 on Perico Island.
Ruins of Spanish fortifications still exist on Isla Taboga (date ?).
The Fortifications of Old Panama by José Manuel Reverte Coma

Miraflores:
The Spanish, around 1750 or so, built a line of stone-walled trenchworks on Aguadulce Hill to protect Panamá City from a westward landward attack. Still extant. Trenchworks are also still located on Cedro Hill north of Panamá City.
(see also PANAMA CANAL ZONE page)

Nombre de Dios:
Founded by the Spanish in 1510. A Casa Fuerte was probably built here at that time. Attacked by the English under Francis Drake in 1572. Abandoned for Portobelo in 1596 because of poor health conditions. Minimally fortified at best.

Portobelo:
Replaced Nombre de Dios as the main Atlantic/Caribbean port in 1596. Sacked by English pirates in 1601. Attacked by English pirates under Henry Morgan in 1668. Attacked by pirates in 1678 and 1679. Attacked and taken by British naval forces in 1726 and 1739.
Fort Santiago de la Gloria (aka Gloria Castle) (1604 - 1739) built at the west edge of town on the coastal road, consisting of two bastions with a curtain wall between, armed with 22 guns. Demolished in 1739. Rebuilt in 1753 with a new Water Battery and Casa Fuerte, still exists.
Fort San Felipe (aka Iron Castle) (1600 - 1739) built at the bay entrance on the north side, with a 22-gun water battery. Demolished in 1739. Some ruins still remain, much was destroyed by U.S. Army engineers in the 1920's to build the breakwater in the bay.
Fort San Fernando (1753 - 1790's ?) built on the north shore of the bay opposite the town, replacing Fort San Felipe. Consists of a Lower Battery, an Upper Battery, and a Casa Fuerte above the Upper Battery. All three works still exist. A UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Peru Battery, Triana Battery, and La Trinidad Battery were land defenses built on the heights behind the town shortly after the 1601 attack.
Baluarte de San Pedro (1753 - 1790's ?) a land defense bastion on the road east of the town. Still exists.
Fort San Gerónimo (1658 - 1790's ?) a long 18-gun battery at the entrance to the bay opposite the Iron castle. Demolished in 1739. Rebuilt in 1753 - 1759 with a five-gun square redoubt at the end of the now 19-gun long battery, with the gate flanked by a small rounded redoubt. A UNESCO World Heritage Site.
History of Portobelo from CZ Brats.com
Portobelo from Panama Living.com

Chagres:
Castillo de San Lorenzo de Chagres, built by the Spanish from 1595 to 1625, located at the entrance to the Chagres River, replacing an earlier fort from 1575. It was built on a bluff at the mouth of the river, surrounded on all sides with palisades and wooden and earthen ramparts, with four bastions on the landward side, and two bastions facing the sea. Attacked by English pirates under Henry Morgan in 1671, who blew up the powder magazine killing most of the garrison. Rebuilt with stone in 1680. Attacked by British naval forces in 1740 and demolished. Rebuilt in 1761. The site was not used by Colombia after independence from Spain. The site became a Panamanian National Monument in 1908, but fell within the boundary of the U.S. Army's Fort Sherman in 1911. It was transferred back to Panama in 1979. A UNESCO World Heritage Site.
San Lorenzo National Park
Fort San Lorenzo from Panama Living.com
(see also PANAMA CANAL ZONE page)

Gatún:
Fuerte El Gatún, built by the Spanish around 1750 on a hill near the old village, at the confluence of the Gatún and Chagres Rivers, to protect the trans-isthmian trade route between Panamá City and Chagres. Site now under Gatun Lake. Another post may have been located upriver at Cruces.
Located on nearby Gatún Hill are six extant stone-walled trenches also built by the Spanish around 1750, totaling about 700 meters in length, providing a land defense for Fort Gatún and also providing a clear view of the Chagres River and Limón Bay.
(see also PANAMA CANAL ZONE page)

Darién:
Founded by the Spanish in 1510, replacing the failed settlement San Sebastián (1509) in present-day Colombia on the eastern side of the Gulf of Urabá. A Casa Fuerte was probably built here by Vasco Nuñez de Balboa. Four small forts, subposts of Panamá City, were reported in the area in 1772.

Santa Maria:
English pirates crossed the isthmus and sacked the town and its stockaded fort in 1680.

SAN ANDRÉS ARCHIPELAGO (Colombia)
The San Andrés Archipelago, off the east coast of Nicaragua, became a Department of Colombia in 1822.
History of San Andrés and Providencia
Tourist Guide to Old Providence Island

Isla de Providencia:
Providence Island, located about 60 miles north of San Andrés Island, was first settled by English Puritans of the Providence Island Company, via Bermuda, in December 1629, establishing the town of New Westminster (now Old Town). Fortifications were built in 1630. Fort Warwick was built on adjacent Santa Catalina (St. Catherine) Island facing New Westminster. Fort Henry was built on the southern part of Providence Island. Another fort (name ?) was built east of Fort Warwick, overlooking the harbour. Fort Darly was built at the extreme north point of Providence Island. There were 14 guns in total for all the forts. The settlers undertook privateering in 1634. The Spanish attacked the island in 1635, and again in 1641, evicting the English and thus ending the colony. Spanish troops were then garrisoned here, maintaining the four English forts, and building five additional gun batteries, including one named Santa Térésa. English pirate Henry Morgan attacked the island in 1665, and then captured the island in late December 1670 as a forward base for continuing attacks against Panama. The island was not retaken by the Spanish until 1689. So-called "Morgan's Fort" (still extant) is located on Santa Catalina Island at Mona Bay. After the Bahamas was settled by the British, this Providence Island then became known as "Old Providence Island" to distinguish it from "New Providence Island" there. In 1803 the island was placed under administration of the Viceroyalty of New Granada, thus beginning its ties to Colombia. Pirate Louis-Michel Aury captured the island in July 1818 and proclaimed its independence from New Granada and Spain. Old Fort Warwick was then rebuilt and renamed Fuerte de la Libertad (still extant, several Spanish gun tubes still remain in situ). The island was claimed by Colombia in 1822 after Aury's death. Providence Island is now a component of the Colombian Department of San Andrés and Providencia.
The Project Gutenberg EBook of "Privateering and Piracy in the Colonial Period"

CAYMAN ISLANDS (United Kingdom)
Settled by the British beginning in the 1660's as a dependency of Jamaica, became a separate Crown colony in 1962.

Grand Cayman Island:
Fort George, built by the local British settlers in 1790, was a 57-foot by 38-foot rectangular eight-gun coral and limestone battery with walls five feet high and five feet wide. Only three guns were actually emplaced by 1802, according to records. Partially destroyed by development in 1972. The protected ruins are located at the corner of present-day Harbour Drive and Fort Street in Georgetown. Owned by the National Trust for the Cayman Islands since 1987.
Bodden Town Guard House, built by the local British settlers in Bodden Town in the 1780's on Guard House Hill as a local militia barracks and small-arms magazine. Reconstructed in 1990 within Bodden Town Guard House Park, with two display cannon from a 1794 shipwreck.
Prospect Point Fort, a fort was reported to have been built here in the 1790's to protect the anchorage. No remains.

Cayman Brac:
Frenchman's Fort, undetermined, located near West End.

NEED MORE INFO:
Any additional information on these and other sites will be greatly appreciated.

QUESTIONS ? Please send any corrections and/or additions to this list to:
"Updates" at NorthAmericanForts.com