This is the old Dutch fort, built in the 17th century, guarding the river Essequibo (Guyana).
To survive, any fort had to be unobtrusive, well inland, heavily-armed and easy to defend. This one even had a vigilant name: Kijk-over-al, or ‘Watch over all’.
This is the old Dutch fort, built in the 17th century, guarding the river Essequibo (Guyana).
To survive, any fort had to be unobtrusive, well inland, heavily-armed and easy to defend. This one even had a vigilant name: Kijk-over-al, or ‘Watch over all’.
Nature has spent the last three hundred years throttling the fort. Huge roots are now levering up the masonry, and a large mango tree has sunk its claws deep inside the rock. My guide said it was a very old tree. Perhaps once it had supplied the garrison with fruit, and now it was prising it apart. An account of 1669 describes a dinner here of ‘roasted water-hare’ washed down with barrels of brandy and mum. It must have been like life on a petrified ship. The crew had spent their time learning Carib, and, at some stage, the commandant had married an Amerindian princess.
Now, all that remains of the grandeur is this large brick arch. In architectural terms, it isn’t so much a door as an exclamation mark. It declares that this is the beginning of a great Dutch world. From here, plantations will spread out downstream, fifty miles to the sea. But not just yet. At the time of the water-hare dinners, this river was still deeply infested with English pirates.
