Campeche, Mexico

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ancient and modern, romantic relics of the colonial period mingling with the modern districts which have arisen in recent years. The current oil boom has unfortunately blighted both the city and the countryside around.

History The first European to land here was the Spanish conquistador Hernández de Córdoba in 1517. The settlement from which the city later grew was founded by Francisco de Montejo the Younger ("El Mozo") in October 1540. As the 16th c. progressed Campeche (from the Mayan Ah-kin-pech, "place of the snake and the tick") developed into the principal port on the Yucatán peninsula. In both 16th and 17th centuries it suffered repeated attack by pirates, of which the assaults by William Park (1697), Diego El Mulato (1631), Laurent van Graff ("Lorencillo", 1672 and 1685) and L'Olonois ("El Olonés) were the most devastating. Over and over again sections of the town were destroyed and its people decimated (underground passages in which the women and children took refuge can still be seen today). Between 1686 and 1704, a defensive wall 2.5km/1.6mi long, 2.5 m (8 ft) wide and up to 8 m (26 ft) high, together with eight forts, was built around the town, finally rendering it safe from further pirate attack. In 1777 Charles III of Spain granted Campeche full civic status. In 1807 a cyclone destroyed many of its buildings. In 1867 the city became the capital of the Republic's new state of Campeche.