Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park is a

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

, a well-preserved fortress on a hill on the island of St. Kitts in the Federation of St. Christopher (St. Kitts) and Nevis in the Eastern Caribbean. It was designed by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

military engineers, and was built and maintained by enslaved Africans. It is one of the best preserved historical fortifications in the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

. The complex of fortifications were constructed on Brimstone Hill, a very steeply sloping hill situated close to the sea on the Western, Caribbean coast of St. Kitts.

Early history

Cannon were first mounted on Brimstone Hill in 1689 during the

Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...

, by Jean-Baptiste du Casse, when the French used them to capture the English Fort Charles. The English, under Sir Christopher Codrington, used the same tactic to recapture the fort a year later. From then on, the English used the hill as a fortress, mounting 24-pound cannon, taking advantage of its 972-foot height. In 1711 and 1731, lightning destroyed the

gunpowder magazine A gunpowder magazine is a magazine (building) designed to store the explosive gunpowder in wooden barrels for safety. Gunpowder, until superseded, was a universal explosive used in the military and for civil engineering: both applications re ...

. By 1736, the fort had 49 guns. Since 1795, 40 members of "The St. Christopher Corps of Embodied Slaves" served at the fort, armed with pikes and

cutlass A cutlass is a short, broad sabre or slashing sword with a straight or slightly curved blade sharpened on the cutting edge and a hilt often featuring a solid cupped or basket-shaped guard. It was a common naval weapon during the early Age of ...

es. By 1780, the fortress was considered impregnable, "The

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

of the Caribbean". On 11 Jan.

1782 Events January–March * January 7 – The first American commercial bank (Bank of North America) opens. * January 15 – Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris (financier), Robert Morris goes before the United States Con ...

, the French under Admiral Comte François Joseph Paul de Grasse and François Claude Amour, marquis de Bouillé, laid

siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

to the fort. During the siege, the adjacent island of

Nevis Nevis ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea that forms part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies. Nevis and the neighbouring island of Saint Kitts constitute the Saint Kitts and Nevis, Federation of Saint Kitts ...

surrendered, and guns from Fort Charles and other small forts there were brought to St. Kitts for use against Brimstone Hill. British Admiral Hood could not dislodge de Grasse, and after a month of siege, the heavily outnumbered and cut-off British garrison surrendered. However, a year later, the

Treaty of Paris (1783) The Treaty of Paris, signed in Paris by representatives of King George III of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and representatives of the United States on September 3, 1783, officially ended the American Revolutionary War and recognized ...

restored St. Kitts and Brimstone Hill to British rule, along with the adjacent island of

. Following these events, the British carried out a program to augment and strengthen the fortifications, and Brimstone Hill never again fell to an enemy force. The French navy tried to recapture the fort in 1806 but failed.Brimstone Hill Fortress
. Sean Spurr. Caribbean.org.uk. Accessed 16 Oct 2012. French Admiral Édouard Thomas Burgues de Missiessy raided the island and succeeded in blowing up the powder magazine in 1805. Following the end of the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

, the local militias throughout the Caribbean were disbanded in 1838. The fort was abandoned by the British in 1853, and the militia disbanded in 1854. The structures gradually started to decay through vandalism and natural processes.

20th century

Stabilization and restoration of the remaining structures of the fortress started in the early 1900s. In 1973,

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

reopened the first area to be completely restored, which was the Prince of Wales Bastion. In 1985,

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

unveiled a plaque naming Brimstone Hill as a

National Park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

. Legislation in 1987 officially declared Brimstone Hill to be a

, and it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999.

21st century

Areas that can be toured on Brimstone Hill include the Fort George Citadel (which includes the Fort George Museum), the Western Place of Arms and the Eastern Place of Arms, all accessed via a steep walk up from the main parking area via a set of ramps and steps. Other areas include the Magazine Bastion that was breached by the French in 1782, ruins of the Royal Engineers' Quarters, ruins of the Artillery Officers' Quarters, Infantry Officers' Quarters, and the Orillon Bastion. In 2019,

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

was given a tour of the fortress by local historian Leonard Stapleton.

Gallery

Brimstone Hill from the sea, St. Kitts.JPG, A view of Brimstone Hill from the sea File:Saint Kitts - Brimstone Hill Fortress 01.JPG, Fort George Citadel File:Saint Kitts - Brimstone Hill Fortress 03.JPG, Cannon and the island of Sint Eustatius File:Saint Kitts - Brimstone Hill Fortress 04.JPG, Building at the orientation centre File:Saint Kitts - Brimstone Hill Fortress 05.JPG, Dilapidated bastion File:2016 02 FRD Caribbean Cruise Brimstone Hill Fortress S0986540.jpg File:2016 02 FRD Caribbean Cruise Brimstone Hill Fortress S0337084.jpg

References

External links

Official website of Brimstone Hill Fortress National ParkPictures of Brimstone Hill
{{authority control Forts in Saint Kitts and Nevis National parks of Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts (island) British forts 1690 in the Caribbean 1690 establishments in the British Empire 1690 establishments in North America 1690s establishments in the Caribbean Protected areas established in 1987 1987 establishments in Saint Kitts and Nevis Tourist attractions in Saint Kitts and Nevis World Heritage Sites in Saint Kitts and Nevis