Old Fort of Nassau

Fort Nassau was a large fortified position on the island of New Providence in the Bahamas, situated just uphill from the town of Nassau. From its perch on the cliff, the fort could overlook both of the town's harbors as well as the surrounding ocean, making it a perfect location from which to defend the island.

History


Fort Nassau was first built in 1697 by the British, in response to a devastating joint Spanish-French assault in 1684, in which the governor was killed and several townspeople fled. To protect the island from future incursions, King Charles II dictated an act to rebuild the town and construct a fort nearby to defend it. Named Fort Nassau, after King William III of Orange-Nassau, the fort was built and armed with 22 nine-pound cannons. The town was rebuilt on the hillside below it, and also took the name Nassau (it had previously been known as Charles Town before the Spanish attack). However, the Spanish soon attacked again in 1702, and the fort was heavily damaged. Many of the cannons were immobilized in the battle, and the British barely won the encounter.

In the following years, piracy grew rampant on the island, and it became a haven for captains such as Benjamin Hornigold, Edward Thatch, Mary Read, and Edward Kenway, among others. When the pirates set up their own government on the island, they took the fort as their own, making it their base of operations. However, King George I sent reinforcements in 1715, and the British were able to reclaim the fort, which was beginning to fall into disrepair.

Eventually, the Templar Woodes Rogers, recently-appointed Governor of the Bahamas, arrived on the island in 1718, presenting an ultimatum to the pirates: accept full pardons and return to England, or face execution. While presenting this deal, he met with the pirate leaders in the fort, where Edward Kenway infiltrated and eavesdropped on the meeting.

From 1718 onward, the fort remained in British control as the pirates were pushed from the island and the Spanish attacks were repeatedly fought off. In 1897, with the threats of piracy and invasion almost non-existent, the fort was rendered obsolete and was torn down to make room for the rapidly-expanding city. Today the British Colonial Hilton Bahamas hotel stands on the fort's former site, though some foundation stones are still visible outside.