Place · city

Cartagena, Colombia

1533 · 16th century · Also known as Cartagena de Indias

Cartagena de Indias is a port city on the Caribbean coast of Colombia, founded by Pedro de Heredia in 1533. It was the main Spanish port of the New Kingdom of Granada, a stop of the treasure fleets and a leading market of the transatlantic slave trade, protected by massive fortifications. It withstood a large British attack under Admiral Edward Vernon in 1741, and its walled old town is a World Heritage Site.

Cartagena, Colombia
Image: Sgonzalezb · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 3 state histories

ZenúKingdom of MurciaNew Kingdom of Granada

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Cartagena, Colombia. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/cartagena-colombia
MLA
“Cartagena, Colombia.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/cartagena-colombia. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Cartagena, Colombia.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/cartagena-colombia.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Cartagena, Colombia’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/cartagena-colombia (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻