Description20191123 Guyana 0200 Fort Island sRGB (49295237188).jpg
Ruins of Fort Zeelandia. Fort Island in the Essequibo River delta was originally called Flag Island due to a large flag that was a guide to ships. In 1740 the Dutch commenced building a small brick fort with African slave labor to replace a rotting wooden redoubt from 1726. The fort was named Fort Zeelandia as many of the area’s original settlers had come from the County of Zeeland in the Netherlands. The lower story was a warehouse for provisions and powder magazines while the upper story was living quarters for soldiers. The roof held mortars and swivel guns. The southwestern bastion was an armory. Flag Island was renamed Fort Island in 1775. Although initially a very substantial defense, by 1781 the fort had deteriorated and was captured by the British, taken over by the French the next year, and then back in Dutch hands two years later. The fort had entered into a long period of decline by 1796.
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