Fort Sommelsdijk was a fort in

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 in 1686 at the confluence of the Commewijne and Cottica rivers. Later it was used as a mission post and hospital. In 1870, it lost its function and was only used a military outpost. In the 21st century, the fort was taken over by nature.

History

In 1683, Cornelis van Aerssen van Sommelsdijck became the first Dutch governor of Suriname. He built a plantation near the confluence of the Commewijne and Cottica rivers. On 7 March 1685, the

Court of Policy The Court of Policy was a legislative body in Dutch and British Guiana until 1928. For most of its existence it formed the Combined Court together with the six Financial Representatives. History The Court of Policy was established in 1732 by the ...

decided to build a fort at the location, and construction started in 1686. The fort was named after van Aerssen van Sommelsdijck. On 10 October 1712,

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 ...

captured the

Meerzorg Meerzorg (Sranan Tongo: Ansu) is a town and resort (municipality) in Suriname, located on the eastern bank of the Suriname River, directly opposite the capital Paramaribo. Its population at the 2012 census was 12,405. Since 2000 it has been connect ...

plantation for France, and threatened

Paramaribo Paramaribo (; ; nicknamed Par'bo) is the capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people (2012 census), almost half of Suriname's ...

across the

Suriname River The Suriname River (Dutch: ''Surinamerivier'') is 480 km long and flows through the country Suriname. Its sources are located in the Guiana Highlands on the border between the Wilhelmina Mountains and the Eilerts de Haan Mountains (where it i ...

. The governor and the councillors fled to Sommelsdijk from where they negotiated a ransom for the colony. In 1715, it was decided to strengthen Sommeldijk. In 1745, France threatened war on the Netherlands as part as of the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's W ...

, therefore, it was decided to build

Fort Nieuw-Amsterdam Fort Nieuw-Amsterdam is a fort in Suriname built from 1734 to 1747 at the confluence of the Suriname and Commewijne rivers. It is open to the public as an open-air museum. History The necessity of improving the fortifications of the colony of ...

at the confluence of the Suriname and the Commewijne River in order to better protect the plantations. In 1748, it was decided to abandoned Sommelsdijk as a fort, and only use it as a military outpost. In 1785, the

Moravian Church The Moravian Church ( cs, Moravská církev), or the Moravian Brethren, formally the (Latin: "Unity of the Brethren"), is one of the oldest Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination, denominations in Christianity, dating back to the Bohem ...

received permission to reuse the fort as a missionary post. In 1789, a hospital was established at the location. The mission post was abandoned in 1818, and the hospital closed in 1870.

References

{{Authority control Commewijne District

Sommelsdijk Sommelsdijk is a village on the island of Goeree-Overflakkee, South Holland, the Netherlands, and part of the municipality of the same name. Sommelsdijk has (1 January 2022) 7,195 inhabitants which makes it the second largest settlement after Midd ...

History of Suriname