Founding of Panama, oldest city built by Europeans on the Pacific's coast
The process of exploration and colonization by Europeans in the lands of the New World, later called America, had as its determining date the discovery of the South Sea (later called the Pacific Ocean). This discovery by the Spanish adventurer Vasco Núñez de Balboa occurred in September 1513.
Although the Italian navigator Américo Vespucio had already sensed that the lands of the New World were separated from the Asian continent, in 1513 the Spaniards verified the geography of the American continent on the ground, realizing that a thin strip of land (called Panama by the indigenous people) separated the North Sea (Atlantic Ocean) from the South Sea (Pacific Ocean).
However, the most important news that reached Balboa's ears on a previous trip was the existence of a country rich in gold (Birú) located on the western coast of the American continent, much further south of Panama. The discovery of the new sea and the subsequent training obtained by the indigenous people did nothing other than rekindle in the Spaniards the desire to organize expeditions to reach that fantastic country called Birú (later named Peru).
The location of the first city built by Europeans on the American mainland, called Santa María la Antigua del Darién, located in the Gulf of Urabá, on the Caribbean side of the Darién, was not particularly favorable. Since, in 1514, Pedro Arias de Ávila, known as Pedrarias Dávila (1460-1531), assumed control of Santa María la Antigua as ruler and captain general of Castilla de Oro (territory between the Gulf of Urabá and the Belén River), the situation of tension with the indigenous people became increasingly worse.
Pedrarias Dávila was not able to establish a friendly relationship with the natives and, around 1518, began to think about moving, along with his army, to a more convenient place.
What was the predominant motive that prompted the astute Pedrarias Dávila to found a new city on the American Pacific coast?
In my opinion, the old adventurer realized that the rumors describing the legendary Birú as the richest country in the world had a background of truth, so he thought of building a town on the western coast of the new lands, right on the place where the isthmus that connects the north with the south of the American continent is narrowest, in order to facilitate communication with the Caribbean Sea.
Panama was founded on August 15, 1519 in the place today known as Old Panama. Peaceful indigenous people who lived off fishing and crafts had lived in that area since ancient times. The name Panama seems to be able to be translated as “the place where there is an abundance of fish and butterflies.” Lately, the ceramics of the indigenous people who lived at that site have been studied and it has been possible to verify with the carbon 14 test that the findings date back to a period between the 6th and 13th centuries of the era of Christ.
As in most cases, the founding of a new city in the New World was, therefore, carried out where an indigenous town already existed, not only for strategic reasons, but also because of the proximity of the town to sources of fresh water.
There do not seem to have been any bloody confrontations with the natives, and this suggests that they were friendly. Probably, Pedrarias Dávila took advantage of the experience acquired in Santa María la Antigua del Darién and decided to interact calmly with the natives.
It is possible that the number of Spanish settlers in 1519 did not exceed one hundred individuals. Starting the following year, Francisco Pizarro, who at that time was already 47 years old, was appointed mayor. The other influential figures in Panama in 1520 were: Diego de Almagro, the priest Hernando de Luque and the Basque adventurer Pascual de Andagoya.
The fate of the cities is very curious: while Santa María la Antigua del Darién, the first city built on the American mainland, in 1510, was about to be abandoned definitively because it was left out of the flow of exploration and colonization, Panama turned out to be located in a very important strategic point, since from there future expeditions were being organized towards the most recent kingdom unknown to the Western world, the empire of the Incas.
Indeed, the first adventurer who tried to conquer Peru was the Basque Pascual de Andagoya, who in the period between 1521 and 1523 traveled south, trying to reach the empire of the Incas. However, he stopped at the San Juan River, on the current Colombian Pacific coast. Pascual de Andagoya was appointed governor of San Juan and obtained various news about the legendary country of Pirú, which, according to some indigenous people, was located further south. Upon returning to Panama, in 1523, he divulged the information received from the natives, which caused the colonists an ardent desire to organize new expeditions.
Already in 1524, therefore, Panama City was at the center of a very important flow of conquest. In that period there were only five cities inhabited by Europeans in the New World: Santo Domingo, the first city founded by Europeans on the entire American continent (1496); Veracruz (1519), founded by Cortés in his advance towards Mexico; Mexico City (Tenochtitlánof the Aztecs), where Cortés resided and Panama (1519), where the conquest of Peru was being organized (Santa María la Antigua del Darién had a short life, only from 1510 to 1524).
In 1524 Francisco Pizarro formed a partnership with the priest Hernando de Luque and the adventurer Diego de Almagro and undertook two exploration voyages (1524-1526) to the south of the Pacific Ocean coast, corresponding to the current countries of Colombia and Ecuador. After the conquest of Peru (1532-1533), Panama became even more a very important strategic center, through which the adventurers who headed towards Peru passed (south direction) and the conquerors returned with the royal fifth (the amount of gold destined for the Spanish Crown, heading north).
Already in 1541 the city had a population of 4,000 inhabitants (considering indigenous people and African slaves). The houses, built in stone, were already a hundred and a street, about 80 kilometers long, was built to connect Panama with the town of Nombre de Dios, located on the Caribbean coast of Panama, in order to enable a more agile flow of travelers and goods between the two shores of the isthmus.
Over the following decades, the city expanded further. Particularly, as a result of the exploitation of the rich Potosí silver mine, starting in 1550, the flow of silver to Spain increased significantly. Panama reinforced its role as an economic and transportation center (Hub).
Around 1570, the largest cities in the New World were: Potosí (50,000 inhabitants), La Ciudad de los Reyes (Lima, founded in 1535), Panama (1519), Santa Marta (1525), Cartagena de Indias (1533) and Veracruz (1519). Panama, precisely because it was located in the center of trade flows and because it was the starting point to Peru, expanded even more.
In 1610 the city had several paved streets and a main square; It reached 5,000 inhabitants and established itself as the main stopover on the route to Peru.
In 1644, when the population of Panama reached 8,000 inhabitants, there was a great fire that destroyed approximately eighty houses and the cathedral.
In 1671, when the population reached 15,000 inhabitants, a new threat was devastating the city, as the British pirate Henry Morgan attacked it, coming from Nombre de Dios.
The Panamanians were not at all prepared for an attack coming from the mountains, since they were used to receiving assaults from the sea (the previous armies of Hernando de Bochica and Pedro Alonso de Hinojosa had the objective of preventing the royalist forces from reaching Peru during the revolt of Gonzalo Pizarro, in 1544).
Henry Morgan, who had an army of about 1,400 men, dedicated himself to plundering Panama for about a month, from January 28 to February 24, 1671. Around 600 Spaniards and several British pirates died during the battle.
Henry Morgan did not manage to steal all the gold and silver in Panama because Captain General Juan Pérez de Guzmán ordered the destruction of the warehouse where the gunpowder was located, in order to cause a fire that would destroy the entire city, generating confusion and allowing some settlers to escape in several boats to Ecuador, thus protecting part of the treasure.
In any case, Henry Morgan was able to withdraw with a loot of 175 mules loaded with gold and silver, in addition to hundreds of prisoners who were later freed by paying a ransom.
The city was rebuilt two kilometers to the west, in the place that corresponds today to the Old Town. It was decided not to rebuild old Panama because it was considered that that site was very difficult to defend and in addition, it was found that the port was not ideal, since it had to be continually dredged.
Over the course of subsequent centuries, Panama City once again became the center of commercial and transportation flows on the American continent. The two key dates of Panama's expansion were 1855 and 1914, which correspond respectively to the construction of the Trans-Isthmian Railway and the opening of the Panama Canal.
YURI LEVERATTO
