Fort Nieuw-Amsterdam is a

fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

built from 1734 to 1747 at the confluence of the

and Commewijne rivers. It is open to the public as an

open-air museum An open-air museum (or open air museum) is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts out-of-doors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is “the unconfined atmosphere� ...

History

The necessity of improving the fortifications of the colony of Suriname was underscored when French buccaneers under the leadership of

Jacques Cassard Jacques Cassard (30 September 1679 – 1740) was a French naval officer and privateer. Biography Born on 30 September 1679 to a family of merchants of Nantes, Cassard began a career as a sailor at age 14 on the merchantmen owned by his fa ...

attacked the colony in 1712. Fort Sommelsdijk, which was situated further upstream the Commewijne River at its confluence with the

Cottica River Cottica River (Sranan Tongo: ''Kotika-liba'') is a river in the northwest of Suriname. It originates in the hills surrounding town of Moengo and flows westwards and enters the Commewijne River Commewijne River (Sranan Tongo: ''Kawina-liba'') is ...

was fortified for this purpose in 1715, but it was clear something more substantial needed to be done to defend the colony against foreign attacks. It was eventually decided to build a new fort at the confluence of the Suriname and Commewijne rivers. When Fort Nieuw-Amsterdam was completed in 1747, Fort Sommelsdijk was downgraded to a military outpost. Between 1863 and 1967, the fort was used as a

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

. It is the location of the decommissioned

lightvessel A lightvessel, or lightship, is a ship that acts as a lighthouse. They are used in waters that are too deep or otherwise unsuitable for lighthouse construction. Although some records exist of fire beacons being placed on ships in Roman times, t ...

'' Suriname-Rivier'', which is permanently moored in a wet dock inside the fort. After the

independence of Suriname The early history of Suriname dates from 3000 BCE when Native Americans first inhabited the area. The Dutch acquired Suriname from the English, and European settlement in any numbers dates from the 17th century, when it was a plantation colony ...

, a monument was erected in the fort.

Notes

References

Gallery

File:Cannon near Fort Nieuw Amsterdam in Suriname (30451879073).jpg, Cannon near the fort File:Former Prison (14373320841).jpg, Former prison File:Onafhankelijksmonument bij Fort Nieuw-Amsterdam.JPG, Independence monument

External links

Fort Nieuw Amsterdam.sr
(in Dutch) {{Coord, 5, 53, 17, N, 55, 05, 30, W, region:SR_type:landmark_source:dewiki, display=title Commewijne District Nieuw-Amsterdam History of Suriname Military installations established in 1747 Museums in Suriname Tourist attractions in Suriname

History

See also

Notes

References

Gallery

External links