Fort Amsterdam (subsequently named Fort James, Fort Willem Hendrick, Fort James (again), Fort William, Fort Anne and Fort George) was a fort on the southern tip of Manhattan that was the administrative headquarters for the Dutch and then British rule of New York from 1625 until being torn down in 1790 after the American Revolution. Manhattan Island, in New York Harbor, is much the largest part of the Borough of Manhattan, one of the Five Boroughs which form the City of New York In this article the inhabitants of the thirteen colonies that supported the American Revolution are primarily referred to as "Americans" with occasional references to "Patriots"
The construction of the fort marked the official founding date of New York City as recognized by the Seal of New York City. The City of New York The Seal of the City of New York, adopted in an earlier form in 1686 bears the legend SIGILLUM CIVITATIS NOVI EBORACI which means simply "The Seal of the
Guns at the fort formed the original battery that is today called Battery Park (New York). Battery Park is a 25-acre (10 hectare public park located at the Battery the southern tip of the New York City borough of Manhattan, facing
In October 1683 what would become the first session of the New York legislature convened at the fort.
The fort was to change hands eight times in various battles including the Battle of Long Island in the American Revolution when volleys were exchanged between the fort and British emplacements on Governor's Island. Background On March 17 1776 the British fleet retreated to Halifax Nova Scotia to refit after the end of the year-long Siege of Boston. This article is about Governors Island in New York For other uses see Governors Island (disambiguation Governors Island is a 172- Acre (69 ha island
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History
Dutch Rule (1625-1664)
The fort was the nucleus of the New Amsterdam settlement with a mission of protecting New Netherland colony operations in the Hudson River against attack from the English and the French. New Amsterdam (Nieuw Amsterdam was a 17th-century Dutch colonial settlement that later became New York City. New Netherland (Dutch Nieuw-Nederland, Latin Novum Belgium or Nova Belgica) 1614–1674 is the name of the former Dutch territory on the eastern coast The Hudson River, called Muh-he-kun-ne-tuk, the Great Mohegan by the Iroquois, or as the Lenape Native Americans called it in Unami England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics.
Around 1620, the Dutch East India Company contacted the English architect Inigo Jones asking him to design a fortification for the harbor. The Dutch East India Company ( Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie or VOC in old-spelling Dutch, literally "United East Indian Iñigo Jones ( July 15, 1573 &ndash June 21, 1652) is regarded as the first significant British architect, and the first to bring Jones responded in a letter with a plan for a star-shaped fortification made of stone and lime and surrounded by a moat and defended with cannons. | NOTE Throughout this article "cannon" is used as BOTH the || singular and plural Jones advised the company against constructing a timber fort out of haste.
The building of the fort commenced in 1625, under the direction of Willem Verhulst, the second director of the New Netherland colony and his chief engineer Cryn Fredericksz. Willem Verhulst was the second director of the Dutch West India Company. New Netherland (Dutch Nieuw-Nederland, Latin Novum Belgium or Nova Belgica) 1614–1674 is the name of the former Dutch territory on the eastern coast Cryn Fredericks (or Kryn Fredericks) was the chief engineer of the New Netherland colony in 1625 and 1626 By the end of the year, Fredericksz had surveyed the site. He returned to the Dutch Republic in November of 1626. At the time, Manhattan was only lightly settled, as most of the Dutch West India Company operations were upriver along the Hudson in order to conduct trading operation for beaver pelts. Manhattan Island, in New York Harbor, is much the largest part of the Borough of Manhattan, one of the Five Boroughs which form the City of New York Dutch West India Company ( Dutch: Geoctroyeerde Westindische Compagnie or GWC; English: Chartered West India Company was a company of The Hudson River, called Muh-he-kun-ne-tuk, the Great Mohegan by the Iroquois, or as the Lenape Native Americans called it in Unami The American Beaver ( Castor canadensis) is a large semi-aquatic Rodent native to Canada, much of the United States, and parts of northern
Despite Jones' plea in his letter, the plan for the masonry fortification was abandoned, however, out of the need for a hasty completion. This was due primarily to:
- the looming threat from England and France, which were also conducting beaver trade operations in North America. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. England, in particular, had laid claim to the region as well.
- the growing threat of the Mohawk-Mahican War in the upper Hudson Valley,which itself was partially the result of the fur trade operations there. For the Magazine, see Hudson Valley (magazine
- the fact that the company was not turning a good profit, and thus the cost of a masonry fort was deemed too high.
- the lack of labor and natural resources to construct a proper masonry fort.
British Rule (1664-1673)
No shots were fired when on August 27, 1664, when the Dutch were surrendered the fort and Manhattan in what amounted to one of the skirmishes in the bigger Second Anglo-Dutch War. The Second Anglo-Dutch War was fought between England and the United Provinces from 4 March, 1665 until 31 July, 1667. The fort was renamed Fort James in honor of James II of England. James II of England and Ireland James VII of Scotland (14 October 1633 &ndash 16 September 1701 was King of England, King of Scots, Later that same year James New Amsterdam was renamed New York in recognition of James title as Duke of York. For the nursery rhyme see The Grand Old Duke of York. The title Duke of York is a title of Nobility in the British Peerage
Dutch Rule (1673-1674)
In August 1673, the Dutch brought in a fleet of 21 ships and recaptured Manhattan. The fort was renamed Fort Willem Hendrick in honor of the Dutch leader who was Stadtholder and Prince of Orange. William III or William of Orange (14 November 1650 &ndash 8 March 1702 He is informally known in Northern Ireland and Scotland as "King Billy" A Stadtholder ( Dutch: stadhouder, " steward " or literally "place-keeper" or "stead-holder" in older Dutch in the Low Prince of Orange is a Title of Nobility, originally associated with the Principality of Orange, now in southern France. New York was renamed New Orange. The Dutch attack was part of the bigger Third Anglo-Dutch War. The Third Anglo-Dutch War or Third Dutch War ( Dutch: Derde Engelse Oorlog or Derde Engelse Zeeoorlog) was a military conflict between In 1674 the fort and New Orange was turned back over to the British in the Treaty of Westminster (1674) which ended the war (the Dutch got Suriname). The Treaty of Westminster of 1674 was the Peace treaty that ended the Third Anglo-Dutch War. Suriname ( Dutch: Suriname; Sranan Tongo: Sranan) officially the Republic of Suriname (traditionally spelled Surinam by
British Rule (1674-1689)
The British once again named the area "New York" and returned the Fort James name. During this period, the Thomas Dongan, 2nd Earl of Limerick who was the royal governor of New York convened the first legislature of New York in October 1683 for a meeting at the fort. Thomas Dongan, 2nd Earl of Limerick (1634 – December 14, 1715) was a member of Irish Parliament, Royalist military officer during the Dongan was also the first to establish canons called batteries just to the south of the fort.
Colonist Rule (1689-1691)
In 1689 German born colonist Jacob Leisler seized the fort in what was called Leisler's Rebellion and enacted a government of direct popular representation. Jacob Leisler (ca 1640 - May 16, 1691) was a German -born American colonist Leisler's Rebellion was an uprising in late 17th century colonial New York, in which militia captain Jacob Leisler seized control of lower New York from 1689 By some counts, he also moved to redistribute wealth to the poor.
British Rule (1691-1776)
Leisler's rule ended in 1691 when British sovereign William III of England sent troops to evict him. William III or William of Orange (14 November 1650 &ndash 8 March 1702 He is informally known in Northern Ireland and Scotland as "King Billy" The fort had earlier been named for Willem when he was head of the Dutch government. He was to become the sovereign of the English government by the overthrow of James in the Glorious Revolution. The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, was the overthrow of King James II of England (VII of Scotland in 1688 by a union The fort was then renamed with a new Anglicized Fort William name. [1]
The fort was to continued be named for subsequent British sovereigns: Fort Anne (for Anne of Great Britain) and Fort George for the succession of George monarchs (George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United Kingdom). Anne (6 February 1665 – 1 August 1714 became Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702 succeeding William III of England and II of George I (George Louis German Georg Ludwig; 28 May 1660 &ndash 11 June 1727 For the first year of his life George was the only heir to his father's and three childless George II (George Augustus 10 November 1683 &ndash 25 October 1760 was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg ( George III (George William Frederick 4 June 1738 George III's long reign was marked by a series of military conflicts involving his kingdom much of the rest of Europe and places
92 guns were added to the battery in 1756.
Colonist Rule (1776)
The fort became the target of American rioting following the Stamp Act 1765 in which the guns at the battery were spiked. The Stamp Act of 1765 (short title Duties in American Colonies Act 1765; 5 George III c
In the American Revolution the colonists under George Washington seized the fort in 1776. In this article the inhabitants of the thirteen colonies that supported the American Revolution are primarily referred to as "Americans" with occasional references to "Patriots" George Washington (February 22 1732 December 14 1799 served as the first President of the United States of America (1789&ndash1797 and led the During the Battle of Long Island, guns from the fort engaged British frigates starting on July 12. Background On March 17 1776 the British fleet retreated to Halifax Nova Scotia to refit after the end of the year-long Siege of Boston. Between September 2 and 14, the fort and British guns on Governors Island exchanged volleys. This article is about Governors Island in New York For other uses see Governors Island (disambiguation Governors Island is a 172- Acre (69 ha island
British Rule (1776-1783)
The British recaptured the fort along with lower Manhattan in September and were to rule New York from the fort throughout the war.
American Rule (1783-1790)
The Americans took over the fort in Manhattan on Evacuation Day in 1783. The fort was torn down in 1790 and turned into a promenade. However the need for new fortifications soon became apparent and in 1798 guns were placed in temporary fortifications on the Battery. Eventually a new fort Castle Clinton would be built just before the War of 1812. Castle Clinton or Fort Clinton was once a circular sandstone Fort now located in Battery Park at the southern tip of Manhattan, New The War of 1812 was fought between the United States of America and the British Empire, particularly Great Britain and her North American colonies [2]
The fort's site is now occupied by the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House, which currently houses the George Gustav Heye Center, part of the National Museum of the American Indian. The Alexander Hamilton US Custom House (originally US Custom House) is a building in New York City, built 1902 - 1907 by the federal government to house the The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian is a museum dedicated to the life languages literature history and arts of the native peoples of the Western Hemisphere
References
External links
- Fort George
- Map of Fort George 1773. See Map # 1
- Fort Amsterdam is at coordinates Coordinates:
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