Fort San Andres
Encyclopedia
Fort San Andrés was one of the oldest forts built for the defense of Port of Spain
, Trinidad and Tobago
. Originally built on an offshore rock in the harbour, the site is now inland due to reclamation of the surrounding land. After the British
captured Trinidad in 1797 the fort fell into disuse. A new building, built on the foundations of the old fort housed the Commercial Newsroom, and later the harbour-master's office. The building housed various government offices, but when the Police Service Traffic Branch vacated the building in 1995 the decision was made to restore the building to its 1845 appearance and convert it to a museum of the City of Port of Spain. Several of the original cannons are still present and the foundations bear the date 1785.
The fort may have been built as early as 1757, but the first reference to the fort is in 1777. It saw action when the British captured Trinidad in 1797, but was unable to prevent them from landing.
Port of Spain
Port of Spain, also written as Port-of-Spain, is the capital of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the country's third-largest municipality, after San Fernando and Chaguanas. The city has a municipal population of 49,031 , a metropolitan population of 128,026 and a transient daily population...
, Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
. Originally built on an offshore rock in the harbour, the site is now inland due to reclamation of the surrounding land. After the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
captured Trinidad in 1797 the fort fell into disuse. A new building, built on the foundations of the old fort housed the Commercial Newsroom, and later the harbour-master's office. The building housed various government offices, but when the Police Service Traffic Branch vacated the building in 1995 the decision was made to restore the building to its 1845 appearance and convert it to a museum of the City of Port of Spain. Several of the original cannons are still present and the foundations bear the date 1785.
The fort may have been built as early as 1757, but the first reference to the fort is in 1777. It saw action when the British captured Trinidad in 1797, but was unable to prevent them from landing.