the island. It
remained the almost defenseless point of attack for the nations with
which Spain was constantly at war, and this small but bright pearl in
her colonial crown was preserved only by fortunate circumstances on
the one hand and the loyalty of the inhabitants on the other.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 35: Protectors or proteges--literally, "godfathers."]

CHAPTER XVI

DEFENSELESS CONDITION OF THE ISLAND--CONSTRUCTION OF
FORTIFICATIONS AND CIRCUMVALLATION OF SAN JUAN

1555-1641

San German disappeared for want of means of defense, and if the French
privateers of the time had been aware that the forts in San Juan were
without guns or ammunition it is probable that this island would have
become a French possession.

The defenses of the island were constructed by the home authorities in
a very dilatory manner. Ponce's house in Caparra had been fortified in
a way so ineffective that Las Casas said of it that the Indians might
knock it down butting their heads against it. This so-called fort soon
fell in ruins after the transfer of the capital to its present site.
There is no information of what became of the six "espingardas" (small
ordnance or hand-guns) with which it had been armed at King
Ferdinand's expense. They had probably been transferred to San Juan,
where, very likely, they did good service intimidating the Caribs.

In 1527 an English ship came prowling about San Juan bay, la Mona, and
la Espanola, and this warning to the Spanish authorities was
disregarded, notwithstanding Blas de Villasante's urgent request
for artillery and ammunition.

[Illustration: Inner harbor, San Juan.]

After the burning of San German by a French privateer in August, 1537,
Villasante bought five "lombardas" (another kind of small ordnance)
for the defense of San Juan. In 1529 and 1530 both La Gama, the acting
governor, and the city officers represented to the emperor the
necessity of constructing fortifications, "_because the island's
defenseless condition caused the people to emigrate_."

It appears that the construction of the first fort commenced about
1533, for in that year the Audiencia in la Espanola disposed of some
funds for the purpose, and Governor Lando suggested the following year
that if the fort were made of stone "it would be eternal." The
suggestion was acted upon and a tax levied on the people to defray the
expense.

This fort must have been concluded about the year 1540, for in that
same yea