CULTURE: CARTAGENA, NEVER SO FEW MADE SO MUCH

Lina Rodríguez, Leonardo Solórzano y Julián Jaimes

Publicado en Capital Letter No. 2

Octubre de 2002

Could you imagine how Cartagena would be if it were under the British control? This question may sound a bit odd to you but it is an unknown face of our history. During the 18th century, the British Navy was at war with Spain because of the Spanish possessions in the Carib­bean sea. The British possessions had become stronger due to conquests by the British fleet of the territories in Fort San Lorenzo and Porto Bello.

The main characters of this historic episode were: the Spanish commander Blas de Lezo, who had a very illustri­ous career, had lost his leg, his eye and his arm in differ­ent battles; and the English admiral, Edward Vernon. The English fleet respected Bias de Lezo highly; but Vernon misjudged him.

Vernon's next objective was Cartagena which was de­fended by Lezo. The city had just oyer 6,000 soldiers and a small fleet. The British forces had 15,000 sailors, 12,000 soldiers, 30 ships (of the line) and 90 support vessels. The Spanish ships were destroyed in the Harbour. The Fortifi­cations in Bocachica were captured after heavy fighting by the British force. The batteries on the fortifications on the Castillo Grande, kept the British ships at bay. The British forces divided themselves into three groups in order to attack different places/Although they had lad­ders to climb the Castle, those were too short in com­parison with the wall made by Cartageneros. 

The Batter­ies on the fortifications kept the British under intense fire causing 800 losses, the capture of 200 prisoners and the loss of all their military supplies. Although the British continued fighting, their situation was too desperate due to the appearance of fever and dysentery which caused hundreds of losses each day. Finally the British suspended the attack and sailed back to Jamaica. Vernon's arrogance and the appearance of tropical diseases made the British suffer a pathetic de­feat.

Under the British control, Cartagena could have had a greater economic increase taking advantage of its strate­gic position in the continent due to its continuous trade with other continents and the closeness to the rest of the other British territories. These facts could have influenced the city. But Cartagena's heroism and the bravery could have been sacrificed by the British prosperity and it would not be our Heroic City.