Fort Zeelandia (Paramaribo)
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Fort Zeelandia is a
fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
in
Paramaribo Paramaribo (; ; nicknamed Par'bo) is the capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people (2012 census), almost half of Suriname's po ...
,
Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the nor ...
. In 1640 the French built a wooden fort on the spot, which during the British colonial days was reinforced and became Fort Willoughby. It was taken by the Dutch in 1667 and renamed Fort Zeelandia.


History

Surinam, a small Dutch colony was established in 1650 by Major Anthony Rowse on behalf of the governor of
Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estima ...
, Francis Willoughby. In 1651 the English reinforced the abandoned French fort near present-day Paramaribo, calling it Fort Willoughby. In 1667 the Dutch Admiral Abraham Crijnssen took Paramaribo from forces under Lieutenant-Governor William Byam in a battle which lasted only three hours as British munitions were exhausted. Crijnssen also recaptured the Essequibo-Pomeroon Colony Crijnssen renamed the Surinamese fort to Zeelandia. Over the years, it started to become obsolete as a military object and in 1772, there were even plans to tear it down. After the Surinamese independence in 1975, during the military government of
Dési Bouterse Desiré Delano "Dési" Bouterse (; born 13 October 1945) is a Surinamese military officer, politician, convicted murderer and drug trafficker who served as President of Suriname from 2010 to 2020. From 1980 to 1987, he was Suriname's ''de facto ...
in the 1980s, Fort Zeelandia was the location of the "
December murders The December murders (Dutch: ''Decembermoorden'') were the murders on 7, 8, and 9 December 1982, of fifteen prominent young Surinamese men who had criticized the military dictatorship then ruling Suriname. Thirteen of these men were arrested on De ...
" of 1982 and was used to hold and
torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts ...
political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although nu ...
s. The Surinamese Museum is located in Fort Zeelandia. The museum has a large collection of ethnographica. Its collections contain
archeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts ...
,
visual arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile art ...
, colonial furniture, textiles, and historical photos. The Nola Hatterman Art Academy is located in the former commander's house.


See also

*
Fort Nieuw-Amsterdam Fort Nieuw-Amsterdam is a fort in Suriname built from 1734 to 1747 at the confluence of the Suriname and Commewijne rivers. It is open to the public as an open-air museum. History The necessity of improving the fortifications of the colony ...


References


External links


Fort Zeelandia at the City of Paramaribo

Surinamese Museum
(in Dutch) {{Authority control Buildings and structures completed in 1651 Zeelandia Buildings and structures in Paramaribo History of Suriname Tourist attractions in Suriname 1651 establishments in the Dutch Empire