The Bougainvillea clinic, built on the foundations of Road Town Fort.
Road Town Fort is a colonial fort which was erected on Russell Hill in Road Town, Tortola in the British Virgin Islands above the town's main wharf. In historical records it is sometimes referred to as Fort Road Town. The fort subsequently fell into ruin, and in the 1960s the Bougainvillea clinic (known locally as the Purple Palace for fairly obvious reasons) was built on top of the old structure.[1] The strong room of the original fort, which was once the Territory's treasury, still survives today, and is now used as a storeroom by the clinic.
However, the main fortification was built by the British in the late 18th century around the outbreak of the American War of Independence as part of the general upgrade of the fortifications of Road Town, and it was garrisoned throughout the Napoleonic Wars. After the end of the Napoleonic Wars, and the abolition of slavery the fort was eventually abandoned as the Territory sank into economic decline, and the expense of its upkeep could no longer be justified.
Road Town Fort formed part of a formidable defensive network of forts around Road Town erected at this time. Road Town itself was triangulated with Fort Burt in the western entrance to the harbour, Fort George at the eastern entrance, Road Town Fort in the middle above the main jetty, and Fort Charlotte set high above on Harrigan's Hill.
Some of the original walls remain visible from Main Street below.
It is possible that the Road Town Fort was built on the remains of an earlier Dutch stockade; it is known that two forts erected by the British in Road Town were built on what were thought (by them) to be earlier Dutch sites, but they are believed to be Fort Burt and Fort George. However, some historians are less sure about Fort Burt (as it does not tie in with Spanish records relating to their attacks on Tortola in the 17th century) and it may be that one of the former Dutch stockades lies under Road Town Fort. Fort Charlotte was built on an earlier Dutch look-out post.
Road Town Fort never actually engaged in combat. The combination of the formidable martial defences of Road Town, and relatively small strategic and economic importance of Tortola persuaded both foreign colonial powers and privateers and pirates alike to focus on other targets within the region. Given the prevalence of the attacks on Road Town by Spanish privateers prior to the re-fortification of Road Town, the Road Town Fort could be said to have fulfilled its role it was intended for despite the absence of battle.
The clinic is a private clinic, and there is no general public access to the remains of the structure. However, from Main Street below, looking up, one can still see some of the remains of the outer wall.
↑ The clinic was built by a British surgeon, Dr Robin Tattersall; Dr Tattersal's then-wife, Jill Tattersall is noted local historian who has written widely on the history of the Territory, although never, ironically, on Road Town Fort.
The history of the British Virgin Islands is usually, for convenience, broken up into five separate periods:
The Netherlands began its colonization of the Americas with the establishment of trading posts and plantations, which preceded the much wider known colonization activities of the Dutch in Asia. While the first Dutch fort in Asia was built in 1600 in present-day Indonesia, the first forts and settlements along the Essequibo River in Guyana date from the 1590s. Actual colonization, with the Dutch settling in the new lands, was not as common as by other European nations.
Road Town, located on Tortola, is the capital and largest town of the British Virgin Islands. It is situated on the horseshoe-shaped Road Harbour in the centre of the island's south coast. The population was about 15,000 in 2018.
Jost Van Dyke is the smallest of the four main islands of the British Virgin Islands, measuring roughly 8 square kilometres. It rests in the northern portion of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. Jost Van Dyke lies about 8 km (5 mi) to the northwest of Tortola and 8 km (5 mi) to the north of Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Little Jost Van Dyke lies off its eastern end.
Road Harbour, located in Road Town, Tortola, is the commercial seaport of the British Virgin Islands. There are a number of smaller marinas around the harbour, such as the Road Reef Marina and the Fort Burt Marina, an overnight small boat anchorage, customs and immigration offices. Inter island ferries stop at the ferry dock on the NW edge of Road Harbour next to Customs. Road Harbour is deep and large enough to handle many of the cruise ships that make Tortola a port of call.
Fort Beaufort, officially renamed KwaMaqoma in March 2023, is a town in the Amatole District of South Africa's Eastern Cape Province, and had a population of 25,668 in 2011. The town was established in 1837 and became a municipality in 1883. The town lies at the confluence of the Kat River and Brak River between the Keiskamma and Great Fish Rivers. KwaMaqoma serves as a mini-'dormitory' for academic staff and students of Fort Hare University, based in the nearby town of Alice, and is also close to Sulphur Springs.
The Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, sometimes called the Beef Island Bridge, is a bridge, 70 meters (230 ft) long, that links Beef Island with Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. The original bridge was opened in 1966, and was replaced by a new bridge in 2003.
Fort Purcell is a ruined fort near Pockwood Pond on the island of Tortola in the British Virgin Islands.
Joost van Dyk was a Dutch privateer who was one of the earliest European settlers in the British Virgin Islands in the seventeenth century, and established the first permanent settlements within the Territory. The islands of Jost Van Dyke and its smaller neighbor Little Jost Van Dyke, as well as Little Dix Bay on Virgin Gorda island, are named after him.
Fort Charlotte is a fort built on Harrigan's Hill, Tortola, British Virgin Islands. The fort was named after Queen Charlotte.
Fort Burt is a colonial fort that was erected on the southwest edge of Road Town, Tortola in the British Virgin Islands above Road Reef Marina. The site is now a hotel and restaurant of the same name, and relatively little of the original structure remains. However, one of the original cannons has survived and stands on the veranda of the hotel, vigilantly looking over the harbour.
Fort George is a colonial fort which was erected on the northeast edge of Road Town, Tortola in the British Virgin Islands above Baugher's Bay. The site is now a ruin.
Piracy in the British Virgin Islands was prevalent during the so-called "Golden Age of Piracy", mainly during the years of 1690-1730. Privateering was also widely practised in the jurisdiction throughout frequent colonial wars, not least by emancipated slaves who, with in preference to back-breaking labour in the fields for pitiful wages, took enormous risks to capture fortunes on the seas with the sanction of the Crown. In 1808, Patrick Colquhoun, a prize agent for the Territory spoke of "the most daring outrages which are frequently committed by people of colour."
Fort Recovery is a fort on the West End of Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. In historical records, the fort is often referred to as Tower Fort, and the area around the fort is still referred to as "Towers" today. A hotel is now built around the Tower.
Willem Hunthum was a Dutch merchant and the last legally recognised Dutch owner of Tortola in what later became the British Virgin Islands. Hunthum was regarded as either Patron or "Governor" of the Territory from 1663 to 1672 when control of the islands passed to the British in the Third Anglo-Dutch War. Hunthum died at some point between 1672 and 1678.
The Cooten Bay ruin is a ruin in Cooten Bay, on the north side of Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. The ruin probably dates from the sugar plantation era, although the fortification of the property with cannon may suggest an earlier date. It is presumed that it was abandoned during the economic collapse of the British Virgin Islands during the mid-19th century, when many plantations were abandoned.
The Whelk Point Fort was a colonial fort erected on the southeast part of Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. The fort fell into disrepair and ruin, and relatively little of the original structure remains. In 1992 a house was built over the original foundations of the fort, but the remains of the barracks can still be seen on the land behind the house. The ruins are on private property and are not generally accessible to the public.
The Dutch Virgin Islands is the collective name for the enclaves that the Dutch West India Company had in the Virgin Islands. The area was ruled by a director, whose seat was not permanent. The main reason for starting a colony here was that it lay strategically between the Dutch colonies in the south and New Netherland. The Dutch West India Company was mainly affected by the competition from Denmark, England and Spain. In 1680 the remaining islands became a British colony.
Healthcare in the British Virgin Islands is predominantly provided by private healthcare providers with an overlay of public support. There is a single public hospital in the British Virgin Islands - Peebles Hospital in Road Town on Tortola. There is also one private hospital - the Bougainvillea clinic. On Anegada, Virgin Gorda and Jost Van Dyke, there are day clinics to serve non-emergency medical needs of residents of those islands. Although there is periodic discussion about the possibility of building another hospital on Virgin Gorda, to date there has been no commitment to doing so. For emergency medical evacuations from other islands a boat is maintained.
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