El Morro Summary

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Reading 1 1- It turned out to be less than ideal for a seat of government or for a military base: the swamps made the location unhealthy and hard to reach, it was located too far from the port to transport goods, and it was difficult to defend. 2- The Spanish forced many Taínos to labor like slaves to mine gold and produce crops; this work and European diseases quickly pushed the indigenous population towards extinction. 3- In 1511, they began to rebel against the Spanish, but their primitive wooden weapons, stone axes, and arrows were no match for Spanish firearms. After their defeat, many fled to the Lesser Antilles, smaller Caribbean islands to the southeast, where they joined forces with the Caribes, a fierce tribe of…show more content…
Among the additional works was a small masonry fortification across the bay to the west of El Morro. Named San Juan de la Cruz (St. John of the Cross), it is usually called El Cañuelo after the tiny island on which it was built. A wooden stockade originally defended this site, but Dutch attackers burned it during their 1625 assault. A stone fort was built in the 1660s to help defend the harbor entrance and the mouth of the Bayamón River, which linked San Juan to inland settlements. Both of these structures are in front of each other, meaning, they could work together by each protecting their side of the harbor, making both sides protected…show more content…
shipping, in this case through the newly-built Panama Canal. Other parts of the fort were adapted to new uses, as old bunkers and batteries were modernized and El Morro became part of the sprawling administrative, housing, and hospital complex. 3- After World War II, the American military decided it no longer needed all of Fort Brooke. On February 14, 1949, El Morro, San Cristóbal, El Cañuelo, the gate of San Juan, and most of the city wall became San Juan National Historic Site, which is administered by the National Park Service. Old San Juan retains many elements of colonial times, such as cobblestone paving, inner patios and courtyards, overhanging balconies, and religious shrines. Its most impressive features remain, as they have for 400 years, the old fortifications that once guarded the city. Questions map 2 1- The main fort should have been located near el Morro to protect it from attacks by sea. The ships will usually come from that area because it has deep waters. To protect it from land, the main fort should have been constructed around San Juan. 2- The San Antonio Channel seems the least effective in defending San
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