El Castillo (village)
| El Castillo | |
|---|---|
| Comarca and village | |
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 El Castillo
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| Coordinates: 11°01′04″N 84°24′04″W / 11.01778°N 84.40111°WCoordinates: 11°01′04″N 84°24′04″W / 11.01778°N 84.40111°W | |
| Country |
 Nicaragua
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| Department | Río San Juan Department |
| Municipality | El Castillo |
| Elevation | 33 m (108 ft) |
El Castillo is a village of about 1500 people situated on the southern bank of the Río San Juan (San Juan River) in southern Nicaragua. It is one of 27 comarcas of the municipality of El Castillo, a subdivision of the Río San Juan Department. The village is situated approximately 6 kilometers from the border with Costa Rica, at the Raudal del Diablo rapids of the San Juan River. The site on which the village of El Castillo is built was initially established in 1673 as a Spanish fortification to defend against pirate attacks upon the city of Granada (which can be reached by navigating upstream from the Caribbean Sea along the San Juan River into Lake Nicaragua). The settlement of El Castillo and its fortress continued to be strategically important to the Captaincy General of Guatemala until the late 18th century.
By the late 17th century, the success of the city of Granada had made it a victim of pirate attacks. The most notable of these was in 1670 by the pirate Gallardino, who approached the city from Lake Nicaragua after navigating up the treacherous San Juan River from the Caribbean Sea. Gallardino's successful 1670 raid on Granada emphasized the need for a more effective defense of Nicaragua, and it was obvious to the Spanish colonial authorities that they would have to construct a series of fortifications along the San Juan River in order to protect the citizens of Granada from future attacks.
After an exploratory expedition which took place from January — February 1673, Captain General Fernando Francisco de Escobedo and military engineer Martín de Andújar Cantos decided to build a fortress at the Raudal del Diablo (known at that time as the Raudal de Santa Cruz), atop the ruins of the previous Fuerte de Santa Cruz, which dated from the time of King Philip III of Spain. The chosen site was the site of the present-day village of El Castillo.
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Wikipedia