Founded as a Spanish
colony in 1510 by Diego de Nicuesa,
it was the first European settlement
on the Isthmus of Panama. Originally
a major port of call for the Spanish
treasure fleet, Nombre de Dios was
situated near an unhealthy swamp,
and was nearly impossible to fortify.
Francis Drake sacked the colony in
June of 1572, and ambushed the Silver
Train, a mule convoy carrying a fortune
in precious metals, in March of the
following year.
Set on a deepwater bay
deemed easier to defend from the ravages
of pirates, Portobelo was heavily
fortified and for 150 years played
host to the famous trade fairs, when
the Spanish treasure fleet came to
collect the riches that traveled across
the isthmus on mule trains from Panama
City and to leave merchandise brought
from Seville for distribution throughout
the Americas. Unsurprisingly, the
wealth concentrated in the royal warehouses
here was an irresistible target for
the pirates who scoured the Spanish
Main.
By the 17th century
Nombre de Dios had been all but abandoned
by the Spanish, and its importance
to the treasure fleets had been surpassed
by Portobelo. The town still exists
today, though it is nowhere near as
large as it was in the 16th century.
Prior to the construction
of the Panama Canal, Nombre de Dios
was the starting point of a series
of rivers and paths by which ships
could cross from the Caribbean to
the Pacific Ocean.
