Cartagena

/kahr'teuh jee"neuh/; Sp. /kahrdd'tah he"nah/, n.

1. a seaport in SE Spain. 146,904.

2. a seaport in N Colombia. 292,512.

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I

City (pop., 1999 est.: 805,757), Colombia.

Located on the northwestern coast, it has a good harbour and is Colombia's principal port for oil exports. Founded in 1533, it became one of Spanish America's chief cities. It was strongly fortified and often attacked, notably by British forces under Francis Drake (1585) and Edward Vernon (1741). It remained under Spanish control until 1815, when it was taken by revolutionary leader Simón Bolívar. Though soon lost, it was retaken by independence forces in 1821. It declined in the 19th century but regained prominence in the 20th century as an oil-processing centre.

II

Port city (pop., 2001: 184,686), southeastern Spain.

Founded by the Carthaginians under Hasdrubal in 227 BC, it was captured by Scipio Africanus the Elder in 209 BC and made a Roman colony. It was sacked by the Goths in AD 425. It was held by the Moors from 711 until it was taken by James I of Aragon in 1269. In the 16th century Philip II made it a great naval port; it remains Spain's chief Mediterranean naval base as well as a commercial port.

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▪ Colombia

  capital of Bolívar departamento, northern Colombia, at the northern end of Cartagena Bay. The old walled sections, including the 17th-century fortress of San Felipe de Barajas, lie on a peninsula and the island of Getsemaní, but the city now spreads over the islands of Manga and Manzanillo (site of the airport) and the mainland below La Popa Hill. In the old section are the ornate cathedral, the Church of San Pedro Claver (1603), the Palace of the Inquisition (1706), the main plaza, and the University of Cartagena (1827).

      Founded in 1533, Cartagena de Indias gained fame after the mid-16th century when great fleets stopped annually to take on gold and other products of northern South America for convoy to Spain. The city became a centre for the Inquisition and a major slave market.

      In 1811 the province of Cartagena declared its independence from Spain, and years of fighting followed. After falling into Spanish hands from 1815 to 1821, the city was recaptured by patriot forces. In the early national period, Cartagena continued as Colombia's leading port, but it was handicapped by inadequate connections with the interior. By the 1840s it had declined in population and commerce. In the 20th century it experienced renewed growth and is now Colombia's fifth largest city. Probably the most significant factor in Cartagena's revitalization was the opening of petroleum fields in the Magdalena River valley after 1917. The completion of the pipeline from Barrancabermeja to the Bahía de Cartagena in 1926, and the building of an oil refinery, helped make the city the country's chief oil port; platinum and coffee are other important exports. Manufactures include sugar, tobacco products, cosmetics, textiles, fertilizer, and leather goods. Tourism is of increasing importance. Pop. (2007 est.) 871,342.

▪ Spain

      port city, in the provincia (province) and comunidad autónoma (autonomous community) of Murcia, southeastern Spain. It is the site of Spain's chief Mediterranean naval base. Its harbour, the finest on the east coast, is a deep, spacious bay dominated to seaward by four hills crowned with forts and approached by a narrow entrance guarded by batteries. The outer bay is sheltered by Escombrera Island.

      It was founded in the 3rd century BC on the site of an ancient Iberian settlement by the Carthaginian (Carthage) general Hasdrubal. After its capture by Publius Cornelius Scipio (later surnamed Africanus) in 209 BC, it flourished as the Carthago Nova of the Romans. In 425 it was pillaged by the Goths. Cartagena was a bishopric from about 400 to 1289, when the see was removed to Murcia. Under the Moors it became an independent principality, which was destroyed by Ferdinand II of Castile in 1243, restored by the Moors, and finally conquered by James I of Aragon in 1269. Its easily defended natural harbour lent itself to rebuilding, and in the 16th century Philip II made it a great naval port. Cartagena was one of the focal points of the Carlist revolt in 1873–74. It was a Republican naval base during the Spanish Civil War (1936–39). Parts of the old town wall remain, as does the ruined Castillo de la Concepción, built in the 12th century on Roman foundations; the city's archaeological museum contains Iberian, Greek, and Roman artifacts.

      As a great commercial port, Cartagena was adversely affected during the early 20th century by the increasing importance of Barcelona, Málaga, and Alicante, all on the same coast. Cartagena exports some olive oil, dried fruits, minerals (lead, zinc, silver, iron, copper, sulfur), and esparto fibre. Fewer minerals were exported after the opening of an independent port in 1898 at Portman, a mining village on a sheltered bay 11 miles (18 km) east. Cartagena has, however, important smelting works; its manufactures include glass and esparto fabrics. As a naval base, it has an arsenal and extensive dockyards. The nearby Mar Menor (coastal lagoon) has swimming beaches and recreational areas. Pop. (2007 est.) mun., 207,286.

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