Two Gems of Panama Spanish Colonial Period

Panama has a rich historical background.  It was the first European settlement in American mainland.  The Isthmus of Panama was initially called “Tierra Firme” which in English means “Dry  Land” or “Main Land”.  The main city in Tierra Firme was Santa María la Antigua del Darién.  In September 1510, the first permanent European settlement on the American mainland was founded.

On August 15, 1519, Pedrarias moved the capital of Santa María la Antigua del Darién with all its organizational institutions to the Pacific coast and founded Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de Panamá, abandoning Darién and settling the first European city on the shores of the Pacific Ocean.

Ruins of this early Spanish settlement still exists under the name of Panama Viejo or Panama la Vieja, which means Old Panama. Recently, there was a complete restoration of the main buildings of Panama Viejo to save it from total destruction. The ruins of Panama Viejo currently receive the name of  The Monumental Historic Complex of Panama Viejo.

The crown jewels of the ruins of Panama Viejo are the ancient cathedral known as “Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción”, built between 1610 and 1626, and the neighboring Bishop’s House (Casa Alarcón), the two best-preserved structures, both near the ruin’s main entrance.

There are two other structures that also stand out and worth mentioning; (i.e., Iglesia y Convento de las Monjas de Nuestra Señora de la Concepción (The Church and Convent of the Sisters of the Conception) and Fuerte de la Natividad (Fort of the Nativity).

I.  Iglesia y Convento de las Monjas de Nuestra Señora de la Concepción

This religious community was founded in 1597.  Its population increased so rapidly, that by 1604 it already had a church and a cloister, which was heavily damaged by the earthquake of 1621. By 1640 a new church was built with brick and mortar (calicanto), which was unfortunately unfinished because of the intrusion of buccaneer Henry Morgan who sacked and torched the city in 1671.

Let’s take a look at this well preserved jewel of Panama Spanish colonial period:

Entrance to the church and convent of the nuns of Nuestra Señora de la Concepción.

View of the strange roof of the building and the beauty of the arch. Because Panama is very stable, this type of architecture has endured almost 500 years.

View of the solid building built with brick and mortar (calicanto). Notice the square windows which contrast with those of the cathedral which were arched.

II.  Fuerte de la Natividad

During the colonial period, few people thought the city could be attacked.  This was of course before pirate, Henry Morgan’s violent intrusion in 1671.  There were many defense projects for this area but none was made.  For this reason, the small Fort of the Nativity was probably one of the few military buildings that were built in Panama to protect the entrance to the city.  It is said that the fort had very  few  soldiers and some canons.

This is all that remains of this small fort.

View of the small fort at the entrance of the city. It was probably built by rustic carpenters and masons.

This is where the sentinels made their watch. You can see the narrow window of the watch post to observe what was going on outside the fort.

Panama was part of the Spanish Empire until November 28, 1821 when it declared its independence from Spain.  But the Spanish culture is here to stay in this beautiful country bathed by the two of the greatest oceans of the world.  Good Day.

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