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Fort Amsterdam is a historic fort on the island of
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 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.
Fort Amsterdam is a historic fort on the island of Saint Martin Saint Martin may refer to:
People
* Saint Martin of Tours (c. 316–397), Bishop of Tours, France
* Saint Martin of Braga (c. 520–580), archbishop of Bracara Augusta in Gallaecia (now Braga in Portugal)
* Pope Martin I (598–655)
* Saint Mart ...
, near the Sint Maarten 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 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 of brown pelicans, 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 anImportant 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 Int ...
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 dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, Herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or ...
of ''Acacia macracantha
''Vachellia macracantha'' is a species of tree in the family Fabaceae. Its native range spans from southern Florida to South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemispher ...
'' 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
The Franco-Dutch treaty on Saint Martin border controls, sometimes shortened to the Franco-Dutch treaty and in full the Treaty between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the French Republic on the control of persons entering Saint Martin through t ...
* Treaty of Concordia
The Treaty of Concordia, or the Partition Treaty of 1648, was signed on March 23, 1648, between the Kingdom of France and the Dutch Republic and divided the island of Saint Martin.
Signature
The treaty was signed by the two governors of the islan ...
References
Designated Monuments in Sint Maarten Important Bird Areas of the Dutch Caribbean Amsterdam (Sint Maarten) {{SintMaarten-stub