Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park is a

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

, a well-preserved fortress on a hill on the island of St. Kitts in the Federation of St. Christopher (St. Kitts) and Nevis in the

Eastern Caribbean The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS; French: ''Organisation des États de la Caraïbe orientale'', OECO) is an inter-governmental organisation dedicated to economic harmonisation and integration, protection of human and legal ri ...

. It was designed by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

military engineers, and was built and maintained by enslaved

African African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

s. It is one of the best preserved historical fortifications in the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

. The complex of fortifications were constructed on Brimstone Hill, a very steeply sloping hill situated close to the sea on the Western, Caribbean coast of St. Kitts.

Early history

Cannon were first mounted on Brimstone Hill in 1689 during the

Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War (1688–1697), often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg, was a conflict between France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarch ...

, by Jean-Baptiste du Casse, when the French used them to capture the English Fort Charles. The English, under Sir Christopher Codrington, used the same tactic to recapture the fort a year later. From then on, the English used the hill as a fortress, mounting 24-pound cannon, taking advantage of its 972-foot height. In 1711 and 1731, lightning destroyed the

gunpowder magazine A gunpowder magazine is a magazine (building) designed to store the explosive gunpowder in wooden barrels for safety. Gunpowder, until superseded, was a universal explosive used in the military and for civil engineering: both applications requ ...

. By 1736, the fort had 49 guns. Since 1795, 40 members of "The St. Christopher Corps of Embodied Slaves" served at the fort, armed with

pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...

s and

cutlass A cutlass is a short, broad sabre or slashing sword, with a straight or slightly curved blade sharpened on the cutting edge, and a hilt often featuring a solid cupped or basket-shaped guard. It was a common naval weapon during the early Age of ...

es. By 1780, the fortress was considered impregnable, "The

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

of the Caribbean". On 11 Jan. 1782, the French under Admiral Comte

François Joseph Paul de Grasse François Joseph Paul, Comte de Grasse, Marquis of Grasse-Tilly SMOM (13 September 1722 – 11 January 1788) was a career French officer who achieved the rank of admiral. He is best known for his command of the French fleet at the Battle of th ...

and

François Claude Amour, marquis de Bouillé François Claude Amour, marquis de Bouillé (19 November 1739 – 14 November 1800) was a French general. After distinguishing himself in the Seven Years' War, he was appointed governor of Guadeloupe in 1768. His most well-known military exploits ...

, laid

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...

to the fort. During the siege, the adjacent island of

Nevis Nevis is a small island in the Caribbean Sea that forms part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies. Nevis and the neighbouring island of Saint Kitts constitute one country: the Federation of Saint Kitts and Ne ...

surrendered, and guns from Fort Charles and other small forts there were brought to St. Kitts for use against Brimstone Hill. British Admiral Hood could not dislodge de Grasse, and after a month of siege, the heavily outnumbered and cut-off British garrison surrendered. However, a year later, the

Treaty of Paris (1783) The Treaty of Paris, signed in Paris by representatives of George III, King George III of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and representatives of the United States, United States of America on September 3, 1783, officially ended the Ame ...

restored St. Kitts and Brimstone Hill to British rule, along with the adjacent island of

. Following these events, the British carried out a program to augment and strengthen the fortifications, and Brimstone Hill never again fell to an enemy force. The French navy tried to recapture the fort in 1806 but failed.Brimstone Hill Fortress
. Sean Spurr. Caribbean.org.uk. Accessed 16 Oct 2012. French Admiral

Édouard Thomas Burgues de Missiessy Édouard-Thomas de Burgues, comte de Missiessy (23 April 1756, Forcalquier, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence – 24 March 1837, Toulon) was a French naval officer and admiral. He joined the navy in April 1766, as a volunteer aboard his father's ship ...

raided the island and succeeded in blowing up the powder magazine in 1805. Following the end of the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

, the local militias throughout the Caribbean were disbanded in 1838. The fort was abandoned by the British in 1853, and the militia disbanded in 1854. The structures gradually started to decay through vandalism and natural processes.

20th century

Stabilization and restoration of the remaining structures of the fortress started in the early 1900s. In 1973,

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

reopened the first area to be completely restored, which was the Prince of Wales Bastion. In 1985,

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

unveiled a plaque naming Brimstone Hill as a

National Park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

. Legislation in 1987 officially declared Brimstone Hill to be a

, and it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999.

21st century

Areas that can be toured on Brimstone Hill include the Fort George Citadel (which includes the Fort George Museum), the Western Place of Arms and the Eastern Place of Arms, all accessed via a steep walk up from the main parking area via a set of ramps and steps. Other areas include the Magazine Bastion that was breached by the French in 1782, ruins of the Royal Engineers' Quarters, ruins of the Artillery Officers' Quarters, Infantry Officers' Quarters, and the Orillon Bastion.

Gallery

Brimstone Hill from the sea, St. Kitts.JPG, A view of Brimstone Hill from the sea File:Saint Kitts - Brimstone Hill Fortress 01.JPG, Fort George Citadel File:Saint Kitts - Brimstone Hill Fortress 03.JPG, Cannon and the island of Sint Eustatius File:Saint Kitts - Brimstone Hill Fortress 04.JPG, Building at the orientation centre File:Saint Kitts - Brimstone Hill Fortress 05.JPG, Dilapidated bastion File:2016 02 FRD Caribbean Cruise Brimstone Hill Fortress S0986540.jpg File:2016 02 FRD Caribbean Cruise Brimstone Hill Fortress S0337084.jpg

References

External links

Official website of Brimstone Hill Fortress National ParkPictures of Brimstone Hill
{{authority control Forts in Saint Kitts and Nevis National parks of Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts (island) British forts 1690 in the Caribbean 1690 establishments in the British Empire 1690 establishments in North America 1690s establishments in the Caribbean Protected areas established in 1987 1987 establishments in Saint Kitts and Nevis Tourist attractions in Saint Kitts and Nevis World Heritage Sites in Saint Kitts and Nevis