Fort San Diego

Fort San Diego (El Fuerte de San Diego) stands on a hill e. of the main plaza in Old Acapulco, overlooking the city's harbor and port facilities. Originally constructed in 1616 as a series of ramparts to ward off Sir Francis Drake and other marauding pirates, the fort was extensively damaged by an earthquake and rebuilt in 1776 in the shape of a five-point star. In 1813, in the midst of Mexico's War of Independence, Gen. José María Morelos attacked the fort; after a 4-month siege the Spanish capitulated, giving up not only a lucrative trading base but their most important fortress on the Pacific coast.