Cartagena's defenses were the product of repeated attack rather than a single year of emergency construction. Fortification work began around the city's sixteenth-century foundation, and Francis Drake captured it in 1585. Italian engineer Battista Antonelli then contributed to a major strengthening program, yet a French privateer sacked the port again in 1697. A further renewal continued into 1732, so Lezo and Eslava inherited a mature defensive system that they improved rather than created from scratch.
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Two earlier captures drove Cartagena's defenses
Francis Drake's 1585 capture and a French privateer's 1697 sack helped turn Cartagena into a repeatedly renewed fortified port before Lezo's final preparations.