Cartagena

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Cartagena Major seaport in se Spain, on the Mediterranean Sea. Founded in c.255 bc by the Carthaginians, the settlement later fell to the Romans. Moors captured it in the 8th century, but the Spanish regained it in the 13th century. In 1585, Francis Drake destroyed the city. It is the site of the medieval Castillo de la Concepción and a modern naval base. Industries: shipbuilding, lead, zinc, iron. Pop. (2000) 179,930.

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