Fort Amsterdam is a fort located in

Willemstad Willemstad ( , ; ; en, William I of the Netherlands, William Town, italic=yes) is the capital city of Curaçao, an island in the southern Caribbean Sea that forms a Countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, constituent country of the Kingdo ...

Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coast ...

. It was constructed in 1634 by the

Dutch West India Company The Dutch West India Company ( nl, Geoctrooieerde Westindische Compagnie, ''WIC'' or ''GWC''; ; en, Chartered West India Company) was a chartered company of Dutch merchants as well as foreign investors. Among its founders was Willem Usselincx ( ...

(WIC) and served not only as a military fort but also as the headquarters of the WIC. Currently it serves as the seat of the government and governor of Curaçao. The fort is named after the Amsterdam chamber of the WIC and was considered the main of eight forts on the island.

History

Construction, design and use

In the 1630s the Dutch West India Company was searching for a new outpost in the Caribbean. The company set its sight on Curaçao, which was then a Spanish possession. In 1634 the Dutch admiral

Johannes van Walbeeck Jan, Johan or Johannes van Walbeeck (1602, Amsterdam – after 1649) was a Dutch navigator and cartographer during a 1620s circumnavigation of the earth, an admiral of the Dutch West India Company, and the first governor of the Netherlands Antille ...

, together with 200 soldiers, landed on the island and fought the 32 Spanish troops, who surrendered on 21 August 1634, after resisting for three weeks. Van Walbeeck ordered the construction of a fort at the mouth of the

Sint Anna Bay Sint Anna Bay (Dutch: ''Sint Annabaai'') is a deep channel approximately one mile long and up to 1,000 feet wide, located on the island of Curaçao between the two parts of Willemstad, Punda and Otrobanda. The bay opens into the Caribbean Sea at t ...

. Dutch soldiers and slaves from Angola built the fort, which became the headquarters of the WIC from the outset. Conditions in the fort were poor however, due to a lack of drinking water and food. Soldiers almost started a mutiny that a raise in pay and improved rations quelled. In 1635 or 1636 the construction of the fort was completed. Most of the population then went to live in the fort, with the city of Willemstad eventually growing outside of it. The fort was designed with three meter wide walls and five

bastion A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fi ...

s, however only four were built. The fort had cannons that were located primarily to seaward. In 1804 a cannonball fired by British captain John Bligh, of , hit the church. Bligh led a small squadron that captured the fort in February 1804. The ball is still embedded in the southwestern wall of the fort church.

Raid

On 8 June 1929 the Venezuelan rebel

Rafael Simón Urbina Rafael Simón Urbina López ( Puerto Cumarebo, 1897 - Caracas, 13 November 1950) was a Venezuelan rebel who fought against the dictatorship of Juan Vicente Gómez. Biography Early battles Implicated in a 1919 conspiracy to overthrow President G� ...

, with 250 soldiers, captured the fort. The Venezuelans plundered weapons, ammunition, and the island's treasury. They also managed to capture the Governor of the island, , and hauled him off to Venezuela on the stolen American ship ''Maracaibo''. Following the raid the Dutch government decided to permanently station marines and ships on the island.

Current use

The fort is currently part of the 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 ...

Historic Area of Willemstad, Inner City and Harbour, Curaçao. The offices of the cabinet and governor of Curaçao are located in the fort. There are also some government offices and a museum of the Protestant community located in the Fort Church. File:Fort Amsterdam, Punda, gouvernement, interieur - 20652093 - RCE.jpg, Interior of the governor apartments, 1954, Dutch Cultural Heritage Agency Fort Amsterdam, Punda, gouvernement, interieur - 20652092 - RCE.jpg, Interior of the governor apartments,1954, Dutch Cultural Heritage Agency File:FORT AMSTERDAM CHURCH, WILLEMSTAD, CURACAO.jpg, The fort church. Fort Amsterdam, Fortkerk, interieur gezien vanuit westelijke galerij - 20652431 - RCE.jpg, Interior of the fort church in 1954. Dutch Cultural Heritage Agency

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fort Amsterdam (Curacao)

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

Buildings and structures in Willemstad Dutch West India Company Buildings and structures completed in 1634 1630s in the Caribbean 1634 establishments in the Dutch Empire 1634 establishments in North America Museums in Curaçao World Heritage Sites in Curaçao