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Why was Panama City rebuilt at Casco Viejo in 1674?
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Panama City was rebuilt at the site now known as Casco Viejo in 1674 because the original city, Panamá Viejo, had been completely destroyed in 1671 by the Welsh buccaneer Sir Henry Morgan.
Following the total destruction of the original settlement during Morgan's raid, the new city—referred to as Panamá Nuevo or Casco Viejo—was established approximately 5 miles (8 km) southwest of the old site by the Spanish conquistador Alonso Mercado de Villacorta.1