The city of Campeche was one of the favorite targets of pirates and filibusters.
The forts and bastions witnessed the intensity with which these buccaneers plundered the city as part of a complex system of maritime economy where France and England were the main beneficiaries. During the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, Spanish galleons loaded with gold, silver, fine wood, bird feathers, wax, cotton and dyewood, crossed the Atlantic. Spain had become the recipient of a papal document that gave it the privilege of usufruct and dominion over the entire continent, but France and England, although they were economic powers, were left out of the treaty, so they decided to somehow seize the loot.
Between the old and the new continent was the busy Atlantic Ocean and in its waters, pirate ships waited to intercept the Spanish galleons and obtain riches in an “easy” way. The pirates eventually became integrated as a society of navigators and sailors organized by the enemies of Spain, who with mastery and crude strategies attacked the galleons on the high seas, and later, plundered the ports, including Campeche, leaving behind, history, architecture, social and civil customs. Its battles to this day are mixed with stories that amaze the imagination of those who visit this beautiful walled city.
Once the assault was completed and they returned to their country of origin, the pirates were accountable to their king and were compensated with a percentage of the loot given. Some of them reached positions in the nobility thanks to their fruitful gifts.
On several occasions the help of the crown was required to stop the continuous attacks on the city of Campeche, but it was not until the year 1686 when the first stone of what would become its great wall was laid. This work, completed in 1704, protected the city and prevented new pirate attacks.
