Castillo de San Felipe de Lara - Izabal, Guatemala
Posted by: 
Metro2
N 15° 38.237 W 088° 59.630
16P E 286259 N 1729816
This fort was built in 1644.
Waymark Code: WMY5FH
Location: Guatemala
Date Posted: 04/25/2018
Views: 1
Wikipedia (
visit link) informs us:
"The Castillo de San Felipe de Lara (often referred to simply as the Castillo de San Felipe) is a Spanish colonial fort at the entrance to Lake Izabal in eastern Guatemala. Lake Izabal is connected with the Caribbean Sea via the Dulce River and El Golfete lake. The fort was strategically situated at the narrowest point on the river. The Castillo de San Felipe was used by the Spanish for several centuries, during which time it was destroyed and looted several times by pirates.
The fort is listed on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List and is a popular regional tourist destination...
San Felipe had continuous occupation from the Mesoamerican Middle Preclassic period (c.1000–400 BC) and was still inhabited when the Spanish first arrived in the region in the mid 16th century.
Castillo de San Felipe, Rio Dulce, Guatemala
The Castillo de San Felipe was built to protect the port of San Antonio de las Bodegas on the south shore of Lake Izabal from frequent pirate attacks, mostly by English pirates.After nightfall, passage along the river into the lake was blocked by a large chain that crossed from the fort to the far bank. San Antonio was the main port for receiving Spanish shipping carrying goods for the Captaincy General of Guatemala and was responsible for supplying and garrisoning the fort. Guatemalan records contain details of captains being appointed to the fort well into the 18th century. The position was a joint post, also including the position of mayor of San Pedro de Amatique and San Antonio de las Bodegas. The latter post was in name only, since the towns were soon abandoned due to constant slave raids by the Mosquito Zambo that left the Motagua delta and shores of Lake Izabal largely deserted, with those inhabitants that did not flee being sold into slavery in the British colony of Jamaica. A census taken in October 1776 recorded 122 inhabitants of San Felipe, all of whom were either Spanish or mixed race. In 1797 the garrison numbered 36 infantry."