The Forts of Old San Juan: Guardians of the Caribbean (Teaching with Historic Places)

Remains of Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. National Park Service

The ancient stone walls rise majestically above the blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean, simultaneously towering over the harbor entrance and casting their silhouette into the colonial city of Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. Tunnels and staircases wind through the interior, leading back to the time when the fort provided the keystone to protection of the Spanish Empire that spread across the Caribbean.

These massive masonry defenses, which were begun in the 16th century, today exist as the oldest European style fortifications within the territory of the United States. Now one of the most beautiful spots in Puerto Rico, the battlements illustrate the remarkable work of Spanish military engineers and recall more than 400 years of history in the Americas. The San Juan National Historic Site, as it is now called, represents the past so well that the United Nations has designated it as a World Heritage Site because of its "outstanding, universal" cultural value. Use this lesson plan to learn more about Old San Juan. (Click on the image for the full lesson plan.)

Essential Question

What was Puerto Rico's strategic value before the 20th century?

Objective

1. To explain the strategic importance of Puerto Rico as part of Spain's plan to defend its empire in the Caribbean;
2. To understand the evolution of the Spanish strongholds, in particular San Juan's development from a primitive post to a "plaza fuerte" or stronghold;
3. To examine how the 1898 Treaty of Paris affected Puerto Rico;
4. To learn how historic structures provide a link between the "old" and the "new;”
5. To investigate a historic site in their community.

Background

Time Period: 1500s-1800s
Topics: This lesson could be used in history, social studies, and geography courses in units on colonization or European settlement and trading patterns in the Western Hemisphere.

Grade level

Middle School: Sixth Grade through Eighth Grade

Subject

Literacy and Language Arts, Social Studies

Lesson Duration

90 Minutes

Common Core Standards

6-8.RH.2, 6-8.RH.3, 6-8.RH.4, 6-8.RH.5, 6-8.RH.6, 6-8.RH.7, 6-8.RH.8, 6-8.RH.9, 6-8.RH.10, 9-10.RH.1, 9-10.RH.2, 9-10.RH.3, 9-10.RH.4, 9-10.RH.5, 9-10.RH.6, 9-10.RH.7, 9-10.RH.8, 9-10.RH.9, 9-10.RH.10