a fortress that guarded against approaches and dominated the seaport of
Callao,
west Peru. It is a gateway to Lima and is Peru's
major seaport. Founded in the eighteenth century the fortress was protected by a
moat (a deep, wide trench usually filled with water) and high walls, with one side of its great stone walls resting in the Pacific Ocean. The only entrance was a huge gate with a drawbridge. Taken over by the Spanish during the liberation of
South America during the 1800s, this was the last stronghold of the Spanish
Royalist forces in
South America. The Spanish
General Rodil refused to surrender the
fort, despite the offering of generous
terms for him and his men by Simon
Bolivar. Rodil held the fortress until defeat in 1826 even though Peru achieved independence from Spain in 1821.