Acla was a Spanish colonial town founded by order of the Governor of

Castilla de Oro Castilla de Oro or del Oro () was the name given by the Spanish settlers at the beginning of the 16th century to the Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined ...

, Pedrarias Dávila, in 1515. It was located on the central coastline of the modern-day Guna Yala, to the northeast of Panamá. The town's name means '' bones of men'' in the indigenous language. The name comes from the large number of bones strewn about the nearby plains, which supposedly came from the conflicts between two indigenous brothers who fought to become

chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

s of the region. The town was established principally to be the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

anchor of a trail that was planned to lead to a future town on the

Gulf of San Miguel The Bay of San Miguel () is a bay of the Gulf of Panama, located on the Pacific coast of Darién Province in eastern Panama. The bay is located at . It is fed by the Tuira River. At its southern end is Cape Garachiné A cape is a clothing ...

on the Pacific Ocean, which had recently been discovered by Vasco Núñez de Balboa. This town is mostly famous because it was the site of the judgement and

decapitation Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the i ...

of Núñez de Balboa in 1519 at the hands of Governor Dávila. Due to the unhealthy nature of the climate and terrain surrounding the town, and especially after the founding of Panama City and Nombre de Dios a few months later, it was slowly abandoned until it was left totally deserted in 1532. However, a document from the General Archive of Indies (Archivo General de Indias) documenting a
Asault to the town of Acla
dates back to May 31st, 1535.

References

History of Panama Populated places established in 1515 1515 establishments in the Spanish Empire {{GunaYala-geo-stub