Campeche

''Campeche is the name of a city and a state in Mexico. This article is about the city. For the state, see: State of Campeche.

The City of Campeche

The city of Campeche is located at latitude 19.85°N , longitude 90.53°W, on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico. The city's population estimate for 2002 was 230,910 people.

The city of Campeche was founded in 1540 by Spanish Conquistadores as San Francisco de Campeche atop the preexisting Maya city of Canpech or Kimpech. The Pre-Columbian city was described as having 3,000 houses and various monuments, of which little trace remains.

The city retains many of the old colonial Spanish city walls and fortifications which protected the city (not always successfully) from pirates and buccaneers. The state of preservation and quality of its architecture earned it the status of a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999.

Campeche was the principal port of Yucatán until the mid 19th century, when it was overtaken by Sisal and then Progreso. It was historically the second largest and most important city in the Peninsula (after Mérida) until the end of the 20th century and the increased development in Quintana Roo. In the 1840s the city had a population of about 21,000.