Defending Acapulco. Weaponry from Fort San Diego as archaeological sources for the Port maritime history

Summary

The Fort of San Diego, at Acapulco, was built and garrisoned since the early 17th-century, in order to repel pirates or naval forces of enemy countries. After the 1776 earthquake, the fortress was entirely redesigned, rebuilt and fitted, according to criteria then in use. This new structure was besieged by an insurgent army, leaded by Morelos during the Mexican Independence War in 1813. The fort was continuously occupied by military personnel until 20th-century, when it became the local prison.

Such a long history as a defensive building is represented by cannons, ordnance ammunition, musket and rifle bullets and flints (for flintlock firearms). The study of these material remains, part of the research agenda of the PAMPA, is a useful resource for the understanding and interpretation of the historical development of the Fort, its garrisons, the port itself and the imperial, transoceanic, global scale system that Acapulco was a part of.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Before the Trans-Pacific Partnership: Pacific Coast Ports in the Americas, and Beyond   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2018

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 328