Fort San Cristobal

San Juan, Puerto Rico: The largest fort built in the New World by the Spanish, Fort San Cristobal was built to help protect San Juan from land attacks. The fort was used in conjunction with other Spanish forts to provide a well rounded defense system.

Finished in 1783, the 27 acre fort surrounded the city and access to the city was controlled through the fort’s gates. The fort featured an extensive tunnel system to travel throughout the fort. The walls of the fort contained several sentry boxes called garitas that were used to help protect the perimeter of the fort.

Fort San Cristobal saw its first attack in 1797 as San Juan was invaded by British troops. A troop of over 7,000 British soldiers under the commanded for Sir Ralph Abercromby invaded the island in one of th largest invasions. The Spanish troops were able to successfully defend the city and avoid British occupation.

In 1855the fort was temporarily taken under control by Spanish rebels. The mutiny by the San Cristobal artillery brigade only last for 24 hours but during that time, the rebels turned the cannons around to face the city causing fear and panic among the citizens.

Following almost 100 peaceful years, the need to fortify the city was no longer a priority and a large portion of the forts walls were demolished to allow the city to expand. The walls from San Cristobal to the harbor were taken down to accommodate the expansion of the city.

But in 1898, the city was under attack once again, this time against the Americans. On May 10 Puerto Rico entered the Spanish-American War by firing upon the USS Yale. Sixth months later, the Spanish transferred control of Puerto Rico to the American in the Treaty of Paris.

The fort remained an active military base under the control of the United States through the World Wars. In 1961, the military troops were moved out of the fort and the property was transferred to the Unites States Park Service.

Today the fort joins Fort san Felipe del Morro, El Canuelo and the remaining walls of Old San Juan as part of the San Juan Historic Site. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966 and became one of only 12 national parks to reach the World Heritage Site designation by the United Nations in 1983.

For more photos of the fort, visit my Fort San Cristobal photo page.

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