Ruined convent in Panama La Vieja
by James Brunker
Title
Ruined convent in Panama La Vieja
Artist
James Brunker
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
The ruins of the church of the Convent of the Conception in the ruins of Panama La Vieja / Panama Viejo. The ruins are what remains of the original Panama City, which was founded in 1519 by the conquistador Pedro Arias de Avila. After the Spanish conquest of the Inca empire in the mid 1530s the town grew rapidly - huge amounts of gold and silver from South America were shipped here and then carried across the isthmus by mules to the ports of Nombre de Dios and Portobelo on the Caribbean coast for the onward journey to Spain. The Caribbean ports and mule trains were frequently attacked by pirates, and in 1671 Panama City itself was ransacked and destroyed by the infamous Welsh pirate Henry Morgan. Afterwards the Spanish rebuilt the city at what is now Casco Viejo, the old colonial quarter of the current Panama City. Both Casco Viejo and the Panama Viejo archeological site were added to UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1997.
Photograph © James Brunker. Reproduction, transmission or publication in any form without prior written permission strictly prohibited.
Uploaded
February 9th, 2021
Statistics
Viewed 57 Times - Last Visitor from Pompano Beach, FL on 03/24/2024 at 10:35 PM
Embed
Share
Sales Sheet
Comments (1)
Michaela Perryman
A most interesting history and a fine photo
James Brunker replied:
Thank you Michaela! Panama has a lot of great history, especially the early colonial period. Gold, pirates, exploration and all sorts of general skullduggery!