At
one time, Campeche was the best defended city in the Americas. There are
two forts on two hills on either side of the old city overlooking the Gulf
of Mexico.
In 1597, the
city was attacked by William Parker, an Englishman. Even though he was
eventually defeated, the scare prompted the city to plan and build public
defense works. In 1610 (things took time then too) they began
construction. Nevertheless , this first attempt at fortifying the city
failed misserably when in 1685, Laurent Graff led a force from La Tortuga
Island off the coast of Santo Domingo and devastated Campeche. This
experience forced those Campecheans who stayed to renew their efforts to
fortify the city.
For more than
twenty years they continued to build the bastions and forts that
eventually made the city safe against pirates.
"Canada must be a just society...Our dreams for this beautiful
country will never die" Pierre Elliott Trudeau 1919-2000
