Guipuzkoan Company (building)

The Guipuzkoan Company (officially "La Compañía Guipuzkoana"/"La Companía Wipuscuana") is a building located in the Republic of Colombia, in the city of La Guaira, which served as a commerce and trade hub for the Viceroyalty of New Granada. It was built by the Guipuskoan Company, after which it would be named, which was one of the most prominent colonial companies of the Iberians in the western indies.

History of The Company

The company itself, as many others like it at the time, consisted of a European main "cargo hub" where the cargo would be transported to, and from where it would later be sold at extremely high prices, as well as a series of hubs in the new world.
The Company's main hub was located off Bilbao, in the region of Gipuzkoa of northern Iberia. Main assets consisted of an estimated 112 ships during the company's golden age, as well as multiple cargo hubs and subsidiary companies in places like La Guaira, New Barcelona, Cartagena of Indies, Hispaniola, and Manila.
From all of those, the Guipuzcoan Company, or as it was later officially called, the "Royal Guipuzcoan Company" (in Spanish "La Real Compañía Guipuzcoana") would become the main of these, serving as a main distribution and commerce center in the southern Caribbean area.
During the process of independence, the Guipuzcoan Company supported the rebels during the Admirable Campaign, after which it would end being partially destroyed but soon rebuilt, serving as the temporary region's government office. After the independence of Colombia, the building was soon completely reconstructed and revarnished to be converted into a museum of the War of Independence of Colombia.

Present

The building has been expanded from its original form to also include a nearby victorian-era barracks as well as the old docks of the city, becoming one of the most prominent museums of war in America by the turn of the 21st century.
Common naval exhibitions include museum ships from both world wars, as well as modern warships. The most impressive and biggest exhibition of the museum, however, is based on infantry, in which hundreds of both tank and infantry equipment models and versions are exhibited.

Credits:
Top Image: Compañía Guipuzcoana (1728) - blog.banesco.com

Top Image: The Guipuzkoan Company as built in 1728.

Started in: 1720
Finished in: 1728
Built by: Royal Guipuskoan Company of the West Indies (Crown of the Iberian Empire)
Current Owner: Government of the Republic of Colombia