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Real Felipe Fortress
The Real Felipe Fortress was built to defend the main Peruvian port and the city of Lima from pirates and corsairs during colonial times. The fortress was pivotal in the 1866 naval battle between a Spanish fleet sent to South America to "reclaim" its colonies and land batteries in the coast of Peru. The Real Felipe Fortress is currently the Peruvian Army Museum, displaying historical uniforms, weapons and other military paraphernalia.
History
Originally, the city of Lima, capital of the Viceroyalty of Peru, was protected by a surrounding wall. However, an earthquake that destroyed many parts of the wall in 1746 convinced the Viceroy Jose Antonio Manso de Velasco, Count of Superunda, that building a fortress in the port of Callao was the only solution to keep Lima safe.
The name Real Felipe was chosen to honor the king Philip V of Spain.
The fortress was designed by the French architect and mathematician Luis Godin. The construction started on January 21, 1747 and is considered to be one of the biggest fortifications built by Spain. It was completed after 30 years under the supervision of the Viceroy Manuel de Amat y Juniet in 1774.
The fortress was first used to contain the rebellions seeking the Independance of Peru(see Peruvian War of Independence).
External links
Satellite photo of Real Felipe Fortress
Real Felipe Fortress' website(Spanish)
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Real Felipe Fortress
