Fort Fincastle is a

fort 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 La ...

located in the city of

Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Austria * Nassau (Groß Sankt Florian), incorporated village of Groß Sankt Florian Bahamas *Nassau, The Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upp ...

on the island of

New Providence New Providence is the most populous island in The Bahamas, containing more than 70% of the total population. On the eastern side of the island is the national capital, national capital city of Nassau, Bahamas, Nassau; it had a population of 246 ...

The Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of ...

. It was built to provide protection to Nassau. The fort, which is shaped like a

paddle steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine driving paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, whereby the first uses were wh ...

, was built in 1793 by

Lord Dunmore Earl of Dunmore is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. The title Earl of Dunmore was created in 1686 for Lord Charles Murray, son of John Murray, 1st Marquess of Atholl. The title passed down through generations, with various earls serving ...

to protect Nassau from pirates. He named it Fort Fincastle, after his second title, Viscount Fincastle. Built on Society and Bennet's Hills, the fort overlooks the city of Nassau,

Paradise Island Paradise Island is an island in the Bahamas formerly known as Hog Island. The island, with an area of (2.8 km2/1.1 sq mi), is just off the shore of the city of Nassau, which is itself on the northern edge of the island of New Providence ...

, and the eastern approaches to New Providence. It is often accessed via the Queen’s Staircase by visitors on foot. It mounted two 24-pounders, two 32-pounders, two 12-pounder

cannons A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during t ...

and one

howitzer The howitzer () is an artillery weapon that falls between a cannon (or field gun) and a mortar. It is capable of both low angle fire like a field gun and high angle fire like a mortar, given the distinction between low and high angle fire break ...

and served as a lighthouse until September 1817 when it was replaced by the lighthouse on Paradise Island (and was subsequently used as a signal station).

References

Buildings and structures in Nassau, Bahamas New Providence History of the Colony of the Bahamas Forts in the Bahamas Piracy in the Atlantic Ocean 1793 establishments in the British Empire {{Bahamas-struct-stub

See also

References