Militar and Weapons

This gunsmith’s shop, founded in 1934 under the name of Gunsmith Company of Cuba, was attacked on April 9, 1958 by members of the July 26 Movement led by Fidel Castro as part of the actions to overthrow Fulgencio Batista’s dictatorship.

La Punta just like El Morro was designed to protect the entrance to the Havana Bay that became an important and strategic entranceway to the harbor since the settlement of the town.

The authorities of the island took steps in order to have a new fortress. In 1558 arrived in Havana the engineer Bartolomé Sánchez, appointed by the king Felipe II. The construction of the fort was delayed because of disagreements among the governor, the neighbors whose lots were expropriated for the works and the engineer himself. The arrival of a new master builder on the same year had a sorry ending. It wasn’t until 1577 that the Real Fuerza was finished, thanks to the work of black slaves and Mexican money.