, also referred to as or simply (), is a fort located in the port of Pipas, parish of Nossa Senhora da Conceição, in the city and municipality of

Angra do Heroísmo Angra do Heroísmo (), or simply Angra, is a city and municipality on Terceira Island, Portugal, and one of the three capital cities of the Azores. Founded in 1478, Angra was historically the most important city in the Azores, as seat of the Roma ...

, on the south coast of

Terceira Island Terceira () is a volcanic island in the Azores archipelago, about a third of the way across the North Atlantic Ocean at a similar latitude to Portugal's capital Lisbon, with the island group forming an insular part of Portugal. It is one of the ...

in the

Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...

History

The fort was built in 1580 on a small hill that forms the extreme ESE of the

Bay of Angra Bay of Angra () is a natural bay within the coastal extent of the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo, on the Portuguese island of Terceira in the archipelago of the Azores. Within an average depth of , the bay has been of historical importance to ...

, in the historic center of the city. It was built at the suggestion of Isidoro de Almeida and designed by

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Tomaz Benedito de Pesaro in an Italian style. This fortress was finished in the time of El-Rei D. Sebastião. Unusually, the fort could participate in a crossfire with São Benedicto (Spanish name for the Fortress of São João Baptista), on

Monte Brasil Monte Brasil is the remnants of a tuff volcano (and peninsula) connecting the south coast of Terceira in the central Azores, overlooking the city of Angra do Heroísmo. Monte Brasil is flanked by two bays: the Bay of Angra (named for the city) to ...

. This fort represented a new concept for coastal protection. It was the city's first major maritime fortification. It crossed its fires with the Fortress of São João Baptista on

, in defense of Pipas, at the time the most important anchorage and shipyard of the island for the

Portuguese India Armadas The Portuguese Indian Armadas (; meaning "Armadas of India") were the fleets of ships funded by the Crown of Portugal, and dispatched on an annual basis from Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal to Portuguese India, India. The principal destination w ...

in the ''

carreira da Índia The Portuguese Indian Armadas (; meaning "Armadas of India") were the fleets of ships funded by the Crown of Portugal, and dispatched on an annual basis from Portugal to India. The principal destination was Goa, and previously Cochin. These a ...

'' and the fleets of

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, in transit to the

Kingdom of Portugal The Kingdom of Portugal was a Portuguese monarchy, monarchy in the western Iberian Peninsula and the predecessor of the modern Portuguese Republic. Existing to various extents between 1139 and 1910, it was also known as the Kingdom of Portugal a ...

. The importance of its position derived from the ease with which it could protect the bay. On

Maundy Thursday Maundy Thursday, also referred to as Holy Thursday, or Thursday of the Lord's Supper, among other names,The day is also known as Great and Holy Thursday, Holy and Great Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Sheer Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries. is ...

1641, on March 28, in the context of the revolt against the dominant Spanish presence, it was conquered by the company of ordinances of Ribeirinha, commanded by Manuel Jaques de Oliveira. The fort became a hotel, part of the

Pousadas de Portugal Pousadas de Portugal () is a chain of luxury, traditional or historical hotels in Portugal. Formerly run by the Portuguese State, they are now run by the Pestana Group, which in September 2003 won a public bid for the sale of 37.6% of parent com ...

group.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forte de Sao Sebastiao

Fort Sao Sebastiao A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lat ...

Sao Sebastiao