Chagres

Chagres
Chagres in about 1739

Chagres, a village of the Republic of Panama in the Colón Province. It has a harbour from 10 to I ~ ft. deep, which is difficult to enter. The port was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1502, and was opened for traffic with Panama, on the Pacific coast, by way of the Chagres River, in the 16th century. With the decline of Porto Bello in the 18th century Chagres became the chief Atlantic port of the Isthmus, and was at the height of its importance during the great rush of goldhunters across the Isthmus to California in 1849 and the years immediately following.[1]

With the completion of the Panama Railway in 1855, however, travel was diverted to Colón, and Chagres soon became a village of miserable huts. On a high rock at the mouth of the river stands the castle of Lorenzo, which was destroyed by Sir Henry Morgan when he captured the town in 1671, but was rebuilt soon afterwards by the Spaniards. Chagres was again captured in 1740 by British forces under Admiral Edward Vernon.

In fiction

Chagres features prominently in The Adventures & Brave Deeds Of The Ship's Cat On The Spanish Maine: Together With The Most Lamentable Losse Of The Alcestis & Triumphant Firing Of The Port Of Chagres, a children's book by Richard Adams.

References

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainChisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 
  1. ^ John David Borthwick, Three years in California pg. 11 at Internet Archive


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Chagres — (Chagre, spr. Tschagre), Stadt mit Seehafen im Freistaate Isthmo auf der Nordküste der Landenge von Panama (Centralamerika) an der Mündung des gleichnamigen Flusses ins Caraibische Meer, Stationsort der englischen Post nach Californien u. Peru,… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Chagres — (spr. tscha ), Fluß auf der Landenge von Panama, entspringt auf der Küstenkordillere San Blas, ist wegen zahlreicher Wasserfälle nur auf eine kurze Strecke schiffbar und mündet ins Karibische Meer. Seinem Unterlauf folgt die Panamabahn, auch der… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Chagres — (spr. tscha ), Hafenplatz in Panamá, an der Mündung des Flusses C. in das Antillenmeer, ca. 1000 E …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Chagres — [chä′gres] river in Panama, dammed to form Gatun Lake, flowing into the Caribbean …   English World dictionary

  • Chagres — Para otros usos de este término, véase Chagres (desambiguación). Mapa de la localidad de Chagres (derecha) y el río Chagres (centro) en 1739. Chagres fue un asentamiento colonial español establecido en la costa caribeña de Panamá, específicamente …   Wikipedia Español

  • Chagres — Rivière Chagres Rivière Chagres Caractéristiques Longueur  ? Bassin  ? Débit moyen  ? …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Chagres — Sp Čãgresas Ap Chagres L u., g tė Panamoje …   Pasaulio vietovardžiai. Internetinė duomenų bazė

  • Chagres (desambiguación) — Chagres puede referirse a: El asentamiento colonial de Chagres, localizado en Panamá. El río Chagres, río que desemboca en dicha localidad. El distrito de Chagres, subdivisión de la provincia de Colón, en Panamá. Nueva Chagres, capital del… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Chagres District —   District   …   Wikipedia

  • Chagres National Park — IUCN Category II (National Park) …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”