More than an archeological site, the ruins of Panama Viejo a represent the authentic origin of the capital. The ruins constitute a glimpse of the historic period in which Panama was born and it was originally baptized by the conquistador Pedro Arias Dávila as Our Lady of Assumption of Panama in 1519.
Despite its unfinished history as an inhabited center, the highlights are the amount of pirate, privateer and feared bandits stories of the time, that beyond the havoc they wreaked back then, they left an indelible footprint in local history. These stories and memories endure amongst those that are dedicated to promote said settlement as a point of interest for tourists.
The origin and construction of Panama Viejo
At the beginning of 1520, the recently established City of Our Lady of Assumption started functioning as the capital for the Spanish province of Castilla de Oro. Its main objective was to serve as a serious representative for the population known as Santa María la Antigua del Darién and Acla.
The settlement was active between the years of 1519 and 1671, quite some time before being moved 10 kilometers southwest from this location. Some of the main reasons for such a change were the vulnerability against pirate attacks.
The most important of these was the onslaught brought by Henry Morgan in 1671. Most people think that the pirate came to the city to plunder it. However, a Panamanian historian, Vladimir Berrio Lemm, mentioned that Morgan was looking to take over the city so that the people would swear obedience to the King of England, and in this way consolidating English presence in new land.
The attack happened between January 28th and February 24th of 1671 and took the life of over three thousand people. The instability that rose from this attack from the east and those from other pirate bands was accentuated by the dire conditions of the place, which included lack of water, frequent devastating fires and the earthquake of 1621.
Panamá Viejo: World Heritage Site
Given the modern advances in Panama, the tourist influx and the collective international interest, Panama Viejo was declared a Historic Monument in 1976.
The definitive status of World Heritage Site was given to Panama Viejo in the year 2003. This is one of the reasons that today it receives an important amount of the tourists that visit Panama.
