The city of Campeche was founded in 1540 by the Spanish and built on top of the Mayan city of Canpech.
It is the capital city of the State of Campeche. Due to frequent attacks by both Dutch and English pirates
the government in 1686 commissioned Louis Bouchard de Becour to begin defensive work to wall the city.

In 1999 the city was declared a Unesco World Heritage Site