Fort Zeelandiais afortressinParamaribo,Suriname.In 1640 the French built a wooden fort on the spot which, during British colonial period, was reinforced and becameFort Willoughby.It was taken by the Dutch in 1667 and renamed Fort Zeelandia.[1]
| Fort Zeelandia | |
|---|---|
| Part ofSuriname | |
 Fort Zeelandia in Paramaribo | |
  Fort Zeelandia | |
| Coordinates | 5°49′31″N55°09′00″W/ 5.8252°N 55.149872°W |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1651 |
History
editSurinam,a small English colony, was established in 1650 by MajorAnthony Rowseon behalf of the governor ofBarbados,Francis Willoughby.In 1651 the English reinforced the abandoned French fort near present-day Paramaribo, calling it Fort Willoughby.
In 1667 the Dutch AdmiralAbraham Crijnssencaptured Fort Willoughby from forces under Lieutenant-GovernorWilliam Byam.The battle lasted only three hours before British munitions were exhausted. Crijnssen renamed the captured fort Fort Zeelandia,[2][3]creatingthe Dutch colony of Surinam.Crijnssen also recaptured the Essequibo-Pomeroon Colony.[4][5][6]
Over the years, it started to become obsolete as a military asset and, in 1772, there were even plans to tear it down.[7]
After Surinamese independence in 1975, under the military government ofDési Boutersein the 1980s, Fort Zeelandia was the location of the "December murders"of 1982 and was used to hold andtorturepolitical prisoners.[7][8]
TheSurinamese Museumis located in Fort Zeelandia. The museum has a large collection ofethnographica.Its collections containarcheology,visual arts,colonial furniture, textiles and historical photos.[9]
TheNola Hatterman Art Academyis located in the former commander's house.[10]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^"Suriname - Paramaribo".
- ^Rodway, James (1888)."Chronological History of the Discovery and Settlement of Guiana..."
- ^Huyghues-Belrose, Vincent (2007)."The early colonization of Tobago: Bibliographical and archival material in Martinique and France".Études Caribéennes(8).doi:10.4000/etudescaribeennes.1032.
- ^Rodway, James (1888)."Chronological History of the Discovery and Settlement of Guiana..."
- ^"On this day 25 February".
- ^Marley, David F. (11 February 2008).Wars of the Americas.Abc-Clio.ISBN9781598841015.
- ^ab"Fort Zeelandia".City of Paramaribo.Retrieved28 May2020.
- ^"Wat zijn de Decembermoorden".NPO Focus(in Dutch).Retrieved28 May2020.
- ^"Stichting Surinaams Museum".Amazonia Museum Network(in Dutch).Retrieved28 May2020.
- ^"Onderwijs".Nola Hatterman(in Dutch).Retrieved9 June2020.
External links
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