Boca Chica Island

A visit to the forts in Bocachica will give you a deeper appreciation of the defenses of Cartagena and the massive effort and expenditure that went into it. There are 3 excellently preserved forts in Bocachica, the Castillo San Fernando, the San José Fort, and the Angel San Rafael Fort. These were meant to be the first line of defense of the city and if not outright stop, at least delay any enemy fleet from making its way towards the city in the inner bay. Admission to all 3 forts is always free. Below, I’m going to give you a brief history of the forts. Ok, as a history teacher, I have a tough time being brief. If you’d like to learn about their constructions and importance to Cartagena’s colonial defenses read on, or if not, skip down to how to get there. History of the Forts of Bocachica In 1586, Francis Drake led a successful attack on Cartagena. After taking the city, he and his men looted it, burned many of its buildings, and only left after receiving a hefty ransom. This prompted the construction of fortifications to protect the city from future attacks. This construction included the city walls and a fort on a hill outside the walls that was later expanded to be the massive Castillo San Felipe. However, these were meant to be the last lines of defense. There were also fortifications built in the bay to prevent an enemy fleet from entering and getting close to the city in the first place. First, a short geography lesson. There are two channels entering Cartagena’s bay on either side of the island known as Tierra Bomba. The larger, and most commonly used one was known as Bocagrande (literally big mouth) and today lends its name to the nearby neighborhood. Too wide to easily defend, the city’s defenses focused instead on protecting the inner bay. Meanwhile, the smaller channel, known as Bocachica (literally little mouth) is located between the other side of Tierra Bomba and a small key off the coast of Barú. It was originally rarely used due to the smaller width and less favorable winds. Map showing the bay of Cartagena Map showing the two entrances to the bay and the forts at Bocachica. Map made on Scribblemaps. However, sediment began to build up in the Bocagrande Channel, and in 1640, 3 Portuguese ships ran aground. This only sped up the process, and within a few years, a narrow strip of land with mangroves spanned the entire Bocagrande channel, blocking it. For the defense of the city, this proved to be a stroke of luck. The narrower Bocachica channel was more easily controlled. Ships had to pass in single file and cannon fire could cover the entire width of the channel. The Castillo San Luís de Bocachica was the first fortification built on the island between 1647 and 1661. It was destroyed by the French privateer Barón de Pointis in 1697. It was reconstructed between 1719 and 1725. At this time, the fort of San José was also built on the key on the other side of the channel to create a crossfire at the entrance of the bay. A floating chain also ran between the two forts. Photo of the channel of Bocachica taken from a cannon emplacement on one side with the fort on the other side visible This photo taken from a gun emplacement in Fort San José shows the crossfire it would make with San Fernando on the other side of the channel. Pointis had landed on the island outside the range of the fort and attacked it over land. Three small fortifications were built to prevent a future land attack. However, they failed to stop Edward Vernon’s massive fleet from following Pointis’s example and landing and marching on San Luís, destroying it and San José. Fortunately, the forts had at least partly served their purpose and delayed Vernon’s entrance to the bay. The time he took to take them contributed to the onset of yellow fever and other diseases among his men. When they tried to assault the city itself, they were too weakened and Vernon was forced to sail away. Still, Vernon’s attack had been too close of a call. Reconstruction, renovation, and expansion of all of Cartagena’s defenses occurred in the late 1700s. This would include new forts on Bocachica. However, another shift of water flow in the bay had caused the Bocagrande Channel to reopen. However, the strategic defense value of the narrower channel of Bocachica was too great an advantage. An underwater wall was constructed to keep Bocagrande closed permanently. Even today, boats more than a few feet deep are unable to pass. This assured that the rebuilt defenses would be to protect the Bocachica Channel. Fort San José was rebuilt with a wedge shaped wall looking out to sea and a slanted line of cannons the designer called a “water flower” running along the water line in the channel.