Cartago, Costa Rica

... More

earthquakes in 1823 and 1910 destroyed most of the historic buildings. Today, Cartago is Costa Rica's third-largest urban area with a population of 120,000.

The Spanish settled in Cartago when moving inland to escape English pirates who were raiding the tropical coast. Their Meskito allies, who were escaped slaves intermarried with local Natives, accompanied the Spanish. Cartago's early conditions were very tenuous.

Cartago became known as a "Moving City", as time and again the settlers were forced to load the town onto their backs and resettle in a new location in order to escape erupting volcanoes. By the 18th C the city had settled in its present location.