Photography by Samantha Demangate
Campeche, Mexico, remains a relatively quiet colonial city in the Yucatan’s west coast. The city is alive with architecture that harkens to its Spanish past, Mayan culture, and is home to Mexico’s oldest celebration of Carnival. But besides its peaceful and scenic streets are the legendary pirate battles that forever altered naval history.
After a short bus ride from Merida, we arrived on a searing December morning. Campeche was a city we were looking forward to visiting. Immediately, we felt the overwhelming kindness and hospitality we’ve come to expect in Mexico. New Year’s was approaching and Christmas decorations and festivities still livened the historic center. People from all over Mexico crowded into the Centro Historico, a place littered with vendors, elote stands, and street performers. The city’s energy was contagious, and we enjoyed every second of it.
Narrow streets run in a checkerboard pattern within the city’s towering walls. The buildings contained in this fortress are full of every shade of pastel color imaginable. Campeche was built after the Spaniards, led by Francisco de Montejo, forcefully took much of the Yucatan after several failed battles. Within a couple of years, the city was built atop the ancient Mayan city of Can Pech. The settlement became officially known in New Spain as San Francisco de Campeche in 1540. Campeche would become prosperous from the exploitation of logwood, a tiny tree that creates one of the best known red dyes in the world. Within years, the economy boomed and buildings sporting luxurious facades, richly adorned churches, and stores selling fine luxury items sprang up within the center of town, filled with an affluent population just waiting to get robbed. This, according to many sources, was the catalyst to one of the most successful assemblies of buccaneers in history.
In 1663, Campeche’s vulnerable coast was exploited by a group of marauders in one of the most successful pirate raids in history. Led by English Vice Admiral Christopher Myngs and Dutch privateer Edward Mansvelt, the raid attracted the help of over 1400 pirates, including the famous Captain Morgan. Myngs developed a reputation as a vicious leader after successfully raiding Santiago de Cuba a year prior and when word went out about his next target, there was no shortage of sailors who wanted a piece of the plunder. During the night, men from 14 ships landed a short distance from the fortified beaches of Campeche. Upon sunrise, the Spanish troops caught sight of the fleet’s smaller ships and sounded an alarm. By then, it was too late. The pirates, led by Myngs and Mansvelt, fought the much smaller Spanish defenders who were held up on rooftops, trying to utilize what little high ground they had. Within hours, Myngs was injured and his crew carried him off to his ship, victorious. The surviving Spanish agreed to terms of surrender, which entailed having hundreds of pirates plunder the city for all it was worth. Campeche would forever be known as the poster child for pirate raids going forward and one of the catalysts for the fortifications of coastal settlements in the Americas.
Walking around Campeche’s fortifications, you can understand the impact of the raid. Although never repeated, the raid inspired the Spanish government to erect an impenetrable defensive barrier equipped with cannons, fortresses, and well-trained guards. Just a few kilometers to the North and South of the city are two large fortresses turned museums — Museo de Arqueología Subacuática Fuerte de San José, a wonderful museum on naval history and aquatic sciences and the Museo Arqueológico de Campeche, Fuerte de San Miguel, a museum housing Mayan artifacts and 19th century cannons. Both museums perfectly chronicle the region’s history and culture.
Exploring museums and architecture under the intense heat of tropical Mexico will make anyone hungry and when it comes to pleasing regional specialties, Campeche delivers. Cazón, or shark meat, is a staple that is found everywhere and most famously prepared as Pan de Cazon, a delicious thick tortilla layered with flaky shark meat and adorned with a rich tomato sauce. Many family dinners and restaurant specialties evolve around fried shrimp breaded in coconut and grilled octopus. Even with these savory specialities, our daily food missions wouldn’t be complete without scouring the central markets and alleyways for tropical fruits. Mangos, mamays, black sapotes, and limitless other varieties of tropical fruits were almost too plentiful. Even during the dry season, the hot and fertile lands produce an abundance of amazing produce.
Just before New Years, we spent the day wandering around the lesser visited neighborhoods surrounding the walled city center. We serendipitously met a stray dog who escorted us through town and even after visiting a museum for hours, she waited for us until we patted her head and got in a taxi. The following day, five kilometers away at the botanical garden on the other end of the city, she magically came from nowhere, brushed my leg, and plopped down in front of us, paws spread out, staring us in the face.
All the workers grabbed her food and water and gave her a few warm pets on her head. “She comes here everyday along with a few of her friends and we feed them,” said the groundskeeper. There we sat, chatting about the strays and the city and other random topics with strangers and a dog. Simple moments like these always overshadow the sights and paid experiences we come for. Yes, tales of pirates and Mayan Kingdoms are intellectually attractive to first-time visitors, but like anywhere else, the simple times spent with the people and animals who call this home become the highlights we reflect on. When we left the botanical garden, she stayed back, happy and taken care of by strangers. That night, we walked the entirety of Campeche’s boardwalk. A cool sea breeze serenaded the families, joggers, and fisherman sitting on the breakwall. “What would you do if pirates attacked us?” I asked my girlfriend. We just smiled and stared out into the gulf.
For more photography by Samantha Demangate visit her website at samitographi.com
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