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EncyclopediaPortobeloPortobelo, Porto Bello (both: pôr"tōbel'ō) [key], or Puerto Bello (pwār'tō bā'yō) [key], town, central Panama, on the Caribbean Sea. The site, an excellent harbor, was visited by Columbus. The town was founded in 1597. A thriving colonial city, it was connected by a stone highway with Panama city; both ports were the points of transshipment for riches from the Spanish Pacific domains. Believed impregnable—Sir Francis Drake died of fever before he could capture it and was secretly buried in the bay—Portobelo was, nevertheless, sacked by English buccaneers (William Parker in 1601, Sir Henry Morgan in 1688, and Edward Vernon in 1739). With the building of the trans-Panama railroad (1848–55) and finally the digging of the Panama Canal, Portobelo declined. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. More on Portobelo from Infoplease:
- Edward Boscawen - Boscawen, Edward Boscawen, Edward , 1711–61, British admiral. He was a popular naval hero, ...
- Edward Vernon - Vernon, Edward Vernon, Edward, 1684–1757, British admiral. He entered the navy in 1700 and ...
- Sir Francis Drake: Early Career - Early Career He was born in Devonshire, the son of a yeoman, and was at an early age apprenticed to ...
- Sir Francis Drake: Hostilities with Spain - Hostilities with Spain In 1585, Drake commanded a fleet that sacked Vigo in Spain and burned ...
- Encyclopedia: Panama Political Geography - Encyclopeadia articles concerning Panama Political Geography.
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