Peñíscola, fortificación y puerto (1641-1643)

Abstract

The period indicated corresponds to an era that combines the scarcity of resources of the seventeenth century with the need to strengthen the defense of the northern border. The French threat and the Catalan war made it imperative to reinforce a frontier whose only modern fortification (until Traiguera's was built) languished for lack of repair. At the same time, the coast remains susceptible to attack by the Berber Corsican, thus requiring an investment in watchtowers and coastal fortification. Peñíscola is still the key to the northern defense of the kingdom, and during the period studied there are projects, both for repairs and improvement of the fortification and the completion of a port, which is what Peñíscola had always needed (the first project dates from 1606) to be the strong point that the Hispanic monarchy and the Kingdom of Valencia desired.