Fort Jesus ( Portuguese: ''Forte Jesus de Mombaça'') 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 on

Mombasa Island Mombasa Island is a coral outcrop located on Kenya's coast on the Indian Ocean, which is connected to the mainland by a causeway. Part of the city of Mombasa is located on the island, including the Mombasa_Old_Town, Old Town. History The old ...

. Designed by the Italian architect Giovanni Battista Cairati, it was built between 1593 and 1596 by order of King Felipe II of Spain, who also reigned as King Filipe I of Portugal and the Algarves, to guard the Old Port of

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital status in 1907. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

. Fort Jesus is the only fort maintained by the Portuguese on the

Swahili coast The Swahili coast () is a coastal area of East Africa, bordered by the Indian Ocean and inhabited by the Swahili people. It includes Sofala (located in Mozambique); Mombasa, Gede, Kenya, Gede, Pate Island, Lamu, and Malindi (in Kenya); and Dar es ...

and is recognised as a testament to the first successful attempt by a Western power to establish influence over the

Indian Ocean trade Indian Ocean trade has been a key factor in East–West exchanges throughout history. Long-distance maritime trade by Austronesian trade ships and South Asian and Middle Eastern dhows, made it a dynamic zone of interaction between peoples, cu ...

. Cairati, inspired by Italian architect Pietro Cataneo, designed the fort, with the master builder being Gaspar Rodrigues. This was Cairato's last overseas work. Although the design of Fort Jesus is an example of

Renaissance architecture Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of Ancient Greece, ancient Greek and ...

, the masonry techniques, building materials, and labor are believed to have been provided by the local

Swahili people The Swahili people (, وَسوَحِيلِ) comprise mainly Bantu, Afro-Arab, and Comorian ethnic groups inhabiting the Swahili coast, an area encompassing the East African coast across southern Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, and northern Mozambi ...

. The fort, built in the shape of a man viewed from the air, is roughly square with four bulwarks at its corners and is considered a masterpiece of late

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

military fortification.

Historical significance

Fort Jesus was captured and recaptured at least nine times between 1631, when the Portuguese lost it to Sultan Yusuf ibn al-Hasan of Mombasa, and 1895, it fell under

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 ...

rule and was converted into a prison. After the Portuguese recaptured it from the Sultan in 1632, they refurbished it and built more fortifications, subsequently making it harder for the fort to fall. The fort was subject to an epic two-year siege from 1696 to 1698 by the Omani Arabs, led by

Saif bin Sultan Saif bin Sultan () was the fourth of the Yaruba dynasty Imams of Oman, a member of the Ibadi sect. He ruled from 1692 to 1711, during which Omani presence became firmly established on the coast of East Africa. Early years Saif bin Sultan was th ...

. The capture of the fort marked the end of Portuguese presence on the coast, although they briefly captured and re-occupied it between 1728 and 1729 with the help of the Swahili

city-state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world throughout history, including cities such as Rome, ...

s. The fort fell under local rule from 1741 to 1837, when it was again captured by the Omanis and used as a barracks, before its occupation by the British in 1895, after the establishment of the

East Africa Protectorate East Africa Protectorate (also known as British East Africa) was a British protectorate in the African Great Lakes, occupying roughly the same area as present-day Kenya, from the Indian Ocean inland to the border with Uganda in the west. Cont ...

(which later became, in 1920, the

Colony and Protectorate of Kenya The Colony and Protectorate of Kenya, commonly known as British Kenya or British East Africa, was part of the British Empire in Africa from 1920 until 1963. It was established when the former East Africa Protectorate was transformed into a Brit ...

Preservation and legacy

In 1958, Fort Jesus was declared a national museum. In 2011, it was declared a

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 ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

and highlighted as one of the most outstanding and well-preserved examples of 16th-century Portuguese military fortifications. The fort is Mombasa's most visited tourist attraction.

Overview

Between 1631 and 1875, the fort was won and lost nine times by the nations contesting control of Kenya. The Omanis took the fort in 1698 after a notable siege of almost three years. It was declared a historical monument in 1958. Today it houses a museum. The fort was designed by a

Milanese Milanese (endonym in traditional orthography , ) is the central variety of the Western dialect of the Lombard language spoken in Milan, the rest of its metropolitan city, and the northernmost part of the province of Pavia. Milanese, due to t ...

architect, Giovanni Battista Cairati, who was the Chief Architect for Portuguese possessions in the East. It was the first European-style fort constructed outside of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

designed to resist

cannon 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 th ...

fire. Today, it is one of the finest examples of 16th-century Portuguese military architecture, which has been influenced and changed by both the

Omani Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

Arabs and the British.Kirkman, J. 1974. ''Fort Jesus: A Portuguese Fortress on the East African Coast'' Clarendon Press: Oxford The fort quickly became a vital possession for anyone with the intention of controlling

Island or the surrounding areas of trade. When the British colonized Kenya, they used it as a prison, until 1958, when they converted it into a historical

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...

. James Kirkman was then assigned to excavate the monument, which he did (with a large use of external historical documents) from 1958 to 1971. The architecture of the fort represents the rough outline of a person lying on their back, with their head towards the sea. The height of the walls is 18 meters. The original Portuguese fort had a height of 15 meters, but the Oman Arabs added 3 meters upon capturing the fort. The fort combines Portuguese, Arab, and British elements (these being the major powers that held it at different times in history). The Portuguese and British presence is preserved in the presence of their respective cannons. The Portuguese cannons had a range of 200 meters and were longer than the British cannons, which had a range of 300 meters. Oman Arabs marked their occupancy with numerous inscriptions from the Koran on the wooden door posts and ceiling beams. The Muslim tradition of five pillars is also portrayed throughout the fort, with a former meeting hall supported by five stone pillars to the ceiling. Some of the historical structures still standing in the fort include Oman House, which was the house of the sultan who governed the East African coast. Others are an open water cistern by the Portuguese for harvesting rainwater, and a 76-foot deep well sunk by the Arabs (but its water was too salty to be used for anything but washing). The fort was declared a World Heritage site by

in 2011.

Current status

Today, Fort Jesus is a popular destination for foreign and local tourists and serves as a tourist destination, the fort is important as a host for numerous research programs, a Conservation Lab, an Education Department, and an Old Town Conservation Office. File:Fort Jesus.jpg, Interior File:2022FtJesus.jpg, Outer wall Image:Building in Fort Jesus.jpg, Building inside the fort Image:Fort_Jesus,_Mombasa1.jpg, Windows of the inner buildings Image:Fort_Jesus,_Mombasa2.JPG, Juxtaposition of decayed and survived Image:Fort_Jesus,_Mombasa3.jpg, Obvious influence of Portuguese architecture

References

External links

Fort Jesus Museum

{{Authority control Buildings and structures completed in 1596 World Heritage Sites in Kenya

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

History of Kenya Buildings and structures in Mombasa Museums in Kenya Portuguese forts Mombasa County Portuguese colonial architecture in Kenya Monuments and memorials in Kenya 1596 establishments in Africa Tourist attractions in Mombasa