San Felipe Castle

San Felipe Castle is an eighteenth-century star fort protecting Puerto Cabello in Venezuela. It was named in honour of Philip V, King of Spain at the time of its construction in the 1730s. It has an alternative name Castillo Libertador, explained by its connection with Simón Bolívar, known as El Libertador (The Liberator) because of his role in Latin American independence.

History
At the time of the castle's construction, Puerto Cabello was a trading centre of the Guipuzcoan Company of Caracas. The castle was intended to protect the settlement and its important harbour from piracy and conflicts with rival colonial powers. The castle resisted British attack in the Battle of Puerto Cabello (1743). Despite this victory, the Spanish continued to strengthen fortifications of Puerto Cabello and built another fort, Solano Castle, above the town. At the beginning of the nineteenth century San Felipe Castle was involved in the Venezuelan War of Independence. The castle was held briefly by the forces of the First Republic of Venezuela. In 1812 Simón Bolívar, then a colonel in the independist forces, was appointed commandante of Puerto Cabello. He left after a royalist rebellion broke out. In 1821 the Spanish retreated to the castle after their defeat at the decisive Battle of Carabobo.

The castle came under Anglo-German attack in the Venezuela Crisis of 1902-1903 and according to press reports was left in ruins.

Use as a prison
The prisoners held in the castle have included the poet Andrés Eloy Blanco, who wrote a poem about it, Barco de Piedra (1937).