The First Cathedral on America\u2019s Pacific Coast

Iosvany Hernández Mora,Bethany Aram,Juan G Martín

doi:10.1007/s41636-020-00275-z

Iosvany Hernández Mora, Bethany Aram + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s41636-020-00275-z

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Abstract

New research dispels the idea that Panamá Viejo was initially founded one-half mile from the site of its visible present-day ruins. The archaeological and historical evidence, subjected to interdisciplinary analysis, demonstrates that the city remained on the same main plaza next to its natural port from its founding 500 years ago until its destruction in 1671. The data reconsidered and newly uncovered also suggest reasons for previous misinterpretations of the city’s early foundational history. Unlike many colonial cities and towns, Panamá Viejo did not move during its first century of existence. However, its main church, which became the bishopric’s cathedral in 1524, did relocate after 1541. The new evidence establishes and confirms the original location of the first cathedral on America’s Pacific Ocean to the south of Panamá Viejo’s main plaza and explains its move to an elevated, rocky area on the eastern side of the same plaza over 20 years later. Excavations undertaken in 2018 have confirmed the original building’s location a mere 50 m from the visible ruins of the cathedral, the tower of which remains a symbol of Panamanian identity today.

Highlights

A number of early Spanish settlements in the Americas were moved shortly after their original founding, including Santo Domingo and the “City of the Kings,” or Lima
Unlike other settlements, the city established by Pedrarias Dávila in 1519 was not moved for over 150 years
Conscious of the 500-year commemoration (1519– 2019), our interdisciplinary research team has sought to illuminate the city’s founding as well as the lives and deaths of its first European and African residents with attention to the presence of Native Americans, who had inhabited the area since A.D. 600 (Mendizábal 2004)

Summary

Introduction

A number of early Spanish settlements in the Americas were moved shortly after their original founding, including Santo Domingo and the “City of the Kings,” or Lima. In and around Panamá Viejo’s main plaza, but not in Coco del Mar, early colonial burials have been found in proximity to the pre-Hispanic ones.

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Conclusion