Spanish fortifications in America

[1] Defense fortifications were present from the beginning of the conquest of America, military actions and diplomatic efforts that resulted in Spain's control of a vast territory.

[2] From the reign of Felipe II onwards, notable efforts were made to build new fortifications or expand existing ones in the face of the annexationist threat from other European nations.

By 1550 certain strategic ports had become fortified enclaves: Santo Domingo, Hispaniola, and San Juan, Puerto Rico (centers of Spanish power in the Caribbean islands); Cartagena (guardian of northern South America and incursions through the Isthmus of Panama area); Nombre de Dios and later Portobelo on the isthmus;[3] San Juan de Ulúa in Veracruz (key point and entrance to Mexico); and Havana (strategic center and meeting point for groups of ships to undertake their return voyage to Spain).

In 1563 the engineer Francisco Calona began redesigning Havana's fortifications to incorporate modern bastions, cannon platforms, thick-walled vaults, and a dry moat.

After the signing of the Treaty of London in 1604, European competitors occupied the vacant territories in America, which became excellent stalking points from which to launch more planned and larger attacks.

With the arrival of the annual Spanish fleet, Mexican military forces from Puebla, Orizaba, Jalapa, and Cordoba reoccupied the town and found destroyed buildings and the bodies of people and animals rotting in the streets.