Christopher Columbus landed on the north coast of the island of Hispañola in 1492. He named the location Puerto Plata, meaning silver port because he had finally found silver. Puerto Plata became an important location for the Spanish for the next 300 years, as ships would arrive at this port using it as an entry point to travel to other parts of the Americas.
Puerto Plata needed protection, and Fortaleza San Felipe provided military and arms to be used against pirates and other colonizers such as the French and the English. In May of 1800, the fort was used in the Quasi-War between the United States and France.
Fort San Felipe was first commissioned by King Felipe II of Spain in 1564 and completed by Don Rengifo de Angulo in 1577. It sits on the hill of Puntilla Del Malecón and is strategically located as all other locations on the coast are protected by the reef and ships were only able to enter here.
There were many similarities between this fort and forts in Spain because it was originally designed by the Spanish. Similarities included the double walls, the high arches, the moat, and embrasures (small openings for archers to shoot through).
One of the differences is that in this fort, they used the local stone which is made of coral. The other difference is the size, in Spain the forts could hold whole towns of people for many years if they were being attacked. The Spanish forts were built before gun powder and cannons were used in battle, so they could keep armies out. Fort San Felipe was much smaller and wouldn't be able to hold an entire town. I think it is because this fort was built after gun powder and cannons were used in battle, it had a different purpose and didn't need to be as large.
Forts in Spain were commonly used as prisons, and Fort San Felipe was as well during the War of Restoration in 1863-65. The cell of Juan Pablo Duarte, who was one of the founding fathers of the current day Dominican Republic, is open to the public. Pedro Santana imprisoned him in the center of the fort to try and stop the revolution, it didn't work.
During the War of Restoration much of the city of Puerto Plata was burned to the ground, the fort is the only remaining building left from the 16th century. It currently holds many artifacts on display from this important time period in Dominican history.
By Charlotte Amundson
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