A Defense of the 1st Order - Ballajá in San Juan, Puerto Rico
Posted by: 
Don.Morfe
N 18° 28.224 W 066° 07.416
19Q E 803788 N 2044647
Spain built Castillo San Felipe del Morro, the massive fortification in front of you to guard San Juan harbor. Marker is in Ballajá, San Juan in Municipio de San Juan, Puerto Rico 00926.
Waymark Code: WM18E5E
Location: Puerto Rico
Date Posted: 07/16/2023
Views: 0
A Defense of the 1st Order
Spain built Castillo San Felipe del Morro, the massive fortification in front of you to guard San Juan harbor. To control the harbor was to control the entrance to the Caribbean Sea and access to the riches of the New World.
Puerto Rico was the first major island with fresh water that ships encountered as they sailed west from Europe. San Juan’s excellent harbor was the first secure, deep-water port. The nation that controlled the harbor could protect their merchant ships and send warships out to control shipping to and from the Caribbean. For almost 400 years Spain defended San Juan and its harbor. El Morro was the key to that defense.
Spain built El Morro over a span of 250 years. The oldest part - a tower that still stands deep within the fort - was built in 1539. By 1790, El Morro looked similar to the way it does now.
Why Is It Called El Morro?
Castillo San Felipe del Morro owes its name to the headland where it sits. El Morro means the headland — a high point of land that extends into a body of water.
The importance of San Juan for the security of the Spanish empire so impressed King Carlos III that in September 1765 he decreed San Juan should be made “a Defense of the First Order.”
Group that erected the marker: National Park Service
URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: [Web Link]
Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary:
Calle del Morro
Ballajá
San Juan, San Juan Puerto Rico
00926
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