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The continuance of incursions by pirates made necessary some further provision for the defence of the city. In 1589, La Fuerza was enlarged and strengthened, and the construction of Morro Castle was begun. To this work was added La Punta, the little fortress on the western shore of the entrance, at the point of the angle now formed by the Prado and the Malecon.
Upon this ground they issued the said four decrees, to attain their object, in order that the said archbishop should send them the acts, so that it might be ascertained whether or not he had committed fuerza, or else should send these with his notary; but he refused to obey the decrees.
The fiscal of your Majesty considered this a matter for complaint, saying that it was not in the said archbishop's power to do this, as the matter did not concern him. The case came before this Audiencia as one of fuerza.
The latitude of the citadel, or Fuerza de Santiago, is 14° 36' N., longitude 127° 15' E. of Cadiz, or in latitude 14° 36' 8'' N., and longitude 120° 53 1/2' E. of Greenwich.
The other points of vantage were quickly occupied and the Haitian general, finding himself shut up in the fort "La Fuerza" without hope of successful resistance, surrendered and was permitted to withdraw with his officers.
Many of his prisoners mysteriously disappeared, and popular rumor points out one of the lower platforms of the fort "La Fuerza," where an aguacate tree formerly grew, as the place where prisoners were shot at night, their bodies being thrown to the sharks at the base of the cliff. Some of the dictator's suspects were assassinated in the public streets.
These are: The Torreon de Vigia, a martello tower placed on the inlet of San Lazaro opposite La Reina. The old fort called La Fuerza, built three hundred and fifty years ago, near the present Plaza de Armas, and now used for barracks and public offices.
This case was decidedly within the cognizance of this royal Audiencia, and to its organization and civil jurisdiction belongs the removal of the fuerza with which the prelate had oppressed Don Geronimo.
In 1589, La Fuerza was enlarged, and the construction of the Morro and of La Punta, the fortress at the foot of the Prado, was begun. The old city wall, of which portions still remain, was of a later period. Despite these precautions, the city was repeatedly attacked by pirates and privateers. Some reference to these experiences will be made in a special chapter on the city.
On the tenth of May, Father Antonio Borja presented before the royal Audiencia a plea of fuerza, in order that he might make known the injury which the archbishop had done to the Society and the royal patronage.
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