Fort George is situated on the Titchfield Peninsula in the town of

Port Antonio Port Antonio () is the capital of the parish of Portland on the northeastern coast of Jamaica, about from Kingston. It had a population of 12,285 in 1982 and 13,246 in 1991. It is the island's third largest port, famous as a shipping point for ...

, in the parish of

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

. The proposal for a fort in Port Antonio was first discussed in 1728, when a committee of the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible g ...

met to consider measures to be taken in the face of a possible

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

invasion. In 1729,

Christian Lilly Christian Lilly (died 1738) was a German military engineer. Biography Lilly commenced his military career in the service of the Dukes of Zelle and Hanover in 1685, and was under the command of Prince Frederick Augustus and of Lieutenant-general ...

was assigned the task of building a fort which, after being built, became known as Fort George in honour of King George I of Great Britain. Lilly had built some of the walls at the

Royal Citadel, Plymouth The Royal Citadel in Plymouth, Devon, England, was built in the late 1660s to the design of Sir Bernard de Gomme. It is at the eastern end of Plymouth Hoe overlooking Plymouth Sound, and encompasses the site of the earlier fort that had been bu ...

, and the

bastion A bastion 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 fire from the ...

at Fort George was designed as a smaller version of the Citadel. Fort George’s construction served a dual purpose, first as a source of defence against foreign invasion and, second, to deal with the menace of the

maroons Maroons are descendants of Africans in the Americas and islands of the Indian Ocean who escaped from slavery, through flight or manumission, and formed their own settlements. They often mixed with Indigenous peoples, eventually evolving into ...

in the area. The area between Fort George and Fort Haldane in nearby

Port Maria Port Maria () is the capital town of the Jamaican parish of Saint Mary Parish, Jamaica, Saint Mary. Originally named "Puerto Santa Maria", it was the second town established by Spanish settlers in Jamaica. The ruins of Fort Haldane, built 1759, ...

had a very large population of freedom fighters in the mid-eighteenth century. One of the most notable was Tacky, who led an insurgency, known as Tacky's rebellion against the British which lasted over five months. Fort George was built to hold 22 guns including 8 large cannons, and has walls ten feet thick. The fort was used during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

as a training base and supply depot for the British Navy. The

barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

of the fort now house classrooms for the Titchfield High School. Much of the fort has been lost over the almost 300 years since its original construction, and all that remains are the Munitions Building, the defence walls and a line of cannons.http://www.jamaicatravelandculture.com/destinations/portland/port_antonio/fort_george.htm Ref to cannons

References

External links

Aerial view
{{National Heritage Sites in Jamaica Buildings and structures in Portland Parish Tourist attractions in Portland Parish Museums in Jamaica Monuments and memorials in Jamaica Forts in Jamaica 1729 establishments in the British Empire