-The Isthmus(narrow neck of land) of PANAMA- Vasco Núñez de Balboa heard of the South Sea from the natives while sailing along the Caribbean coast. On 25 September 1513 he saw the Pacific. In 1519 the town of Panamá was founded near a small indigenous settlement on the Pacific coast. After the discovery of Peru it developed into an important port of trade and became an administrative centre. 1671 the Welsh pirate Henry Morgan crossed the Isthmus of Panamá coming from the Caribbean and destroyed the city. Afterwards the town was relocated some kilometers to the west at a small peninsula. The ruins of the old town Panamá la Vieja are preserved, and were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. Silver and gold from the viceroyalty of Peru were transported overland across the isthmus to Porto Bello where Spanish treasure fleets shipped them to Seville and Cádiz from 1707. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isthmus_of_Panama
Posted on: Mon, 10 Jun 2013 21:24:37 +0000
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