Cartagena
Cartagena names 2 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below.
Cartagena or CARTHAGENA
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
or CARTHAGENA, a fortified town and seaport of Spain, in the province of and 31 miles S. S. E. of Murcia, with a harbor which is one of the largest and safest in the Mediterranean, sheltered by lofty hills. The town is surrounded by a wall; the principal streets are spacious and regular. When Spain was in a more flourishing condition Cartagena carried on a more extensive commerce than now, having also a greater population. It is still a naval and military station, with an arsenal, dockyards, etc. Lead smelting is largely carried on, and there are in the neighborhood rich mines of excellent iron. Esparto grass, lead, iron ore, oranges, etc., are exported. Formerly very unhealthy, it has been greatly improved by draining. Cartagena was founded by by the Carthaginians under Hasdrubal about 288 B. C., and was called New Carthage. It was taken by Scipio Africanus, 210 B. C., and was long an important Roman town. It was ruined by the Goths, and revived in the time of Philip II. 'Pop. about 105,000.
Cartagena capital of the state of Bolivar
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
capital of the state of Bolivar, Republic of Colombia; on a sandy island off the N. coast, to the S. W. of the mouth of the Magda- , and communicates by four bridges lena with its suburb, Jessemani, on the mainland. Though it has the best harbor on the coast, its trade has greatly fallen off since the rise of Sabanilla. The streets are narrow, with high houses, but the place is well built, and possesses a college, a handsome cathedral, and several churches. Founded in 1533, it was burned by Drake in 1585, but in 1741 repulsed an attack by Admiral Vernon. In 1815 the royalist General Morillo reduced the place by hunger, after a brave defense, but in 1821 it was again freed from the Spanish yoke. Pop., about 37,000.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Collier's dated the Spanish city's founding by Hasdrubal to "about 288 B.C."; modern scholars put Carthago Nova's founding around 228-227 BC, and in 1988 workers uncovered a Roman theatre of about 6,000 seats beneath the old cathedral quarter, unknown when the entry was written and open to visitors since 2008. Cartagena in Spain remains the main base of the Spanish Navy's fleet, but the lead and iron mining that Collier's stressed has ended, and the population has roughly doubled to over 200,000. In Colombia, Collier's saw a city of 37,000 whose "trade has greatly fallen off since the rise of Sabanilla" (now Barranquilla); today Cartagena has close to a million people, and the walled old town it described was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984, making tourism the city's largest business alongside oil refining and container shipping.
Written for this edition, 2026.