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Fort Amsterdam is a historic fort on the island of Saint Martin, near the
The triangular colonial stone fort was built by the Dutch in 1631 as defense for their colonial outpost and seaport at Sint Maarten. Located near Great Bay and Little Bay, it was captured by the Spanish only two years after it was built. The Spaniards occupied it as a military outpost supported by San Juan, Puerto Rico until the end of the long Eighty Years War in 1648.
In 1644 the Dutch attempted to recapture the fort. A sizeable expedition led by the Dutch Governor of Curaçao, Aruba and Bonaire (later governor of New Amsterdam ew York, Peter Stuyvesant made a bloody and unsuccessful attempt to retake the fort and colony but was repelled by the Spaniards. Stuyvesant led the charge, making it all the way to the top of the northwestern rampart, but was severely wounded in the attempt. As a result he lost his leg which was later replaced with a wooden peg leg. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Saint_Martin
At the end of the war the partition agreement and Treaty of Westphalia was signed by the
Fort Amsterdam is a historic fort on the island of Saint Martin, near the Sint Maarten
Sint Maarten () is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean. With a population of 41,486 as of January 2019 on an area of , it encompasses the southern 44% of the divided island of Saint Martin, while the northe ...
town of Philipsburg.
History
The triangular colonial stone fort was built by the Dutch in 1631 as defense for their colonial outpost and seaport at Sint Maarten. Located near Great Bay and Little Bay, it was captured by the Spanish only two years after it was built. The Spaniards occupied it as a military outpost supported by San Juan, Puerto Rico until the end of the long Eighty Years War in 1648.
In 1644 the Dutch attempted to recapture the fort. A sizeable expedition led by the Dutch Governor of Curaçao, Aruba and Bonaire (later governor of New Amsterdam ew York, Peter Stuyvesant made a bloody and unsuccessful attempt to retake the fort and colony but was repelled by the Spaniards. Stuyvesant led the charge, making it all the way to the top of the northwestern rampart, but was severely wounded in the attempt. As a result he lost his leg which was later replaced with a wooden peg leg. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Saint_Martin
At the end of the war the partition agreement and Treaty of Westphalia was signed by the Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands ( Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiograph ...
Spain and France in 1648. The island, and therefore the Fort, briefly changed hands many times between the Dutch Republic, England and France during the colonial era but has been primarily Dutch for most of its history.
Today, the fort is small, and in a decaying state of repair, but still worth visiting and commands a great view of the harbor. There are several rusting 19th century cannon in place, and several informational maps and signs illustrating the development of the fort and its history.
Important Bird Area
The fort is on a peninsula about 2.5 km long and is a registered historical site, consisting of several ruins. There is a breeding colony ofbrown pelican
The brown pelican (''Pelecanus occidentalis'') is a bird of the pelican family, Pelecanidae, one of three species found in the Americas and one of two that feed by diving into water. It is found on the Atlantic Coast from New Jersey to the mout ...
s, of up to 60 nests, on the west side of the point, on a slope below the fort. The 278 ha site has been identified as an Important Bird Area
An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations.
IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Inte ...
by BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...
. The vegetation is characterized by thorny scrubland
Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It ...
of ''Acacia macracantha
''Vachellia macracantha'' is a species of tree in the family Fabaceae. Its native range spans from southern Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of ...
'' and '' A. tortuosa'', reaching over 2 m in height.BirdLife International. (2011). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Fort Amsterdam, Sint Maarten. Downloaded from on 2011-12-26.
See also
* History of St. Martin * Franco-Dutch treaty on Saint Martin border controls * Treaty of ConcordiaReferences
Designated Monuments in Sint Maarten Important Bird Areas of the Dutch Caribbean Amsterdam (Sint Maarten) {{SintMaarten-stub