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Fort Jesus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fort Jesus is a Portuguese fort built in 1593 on Mombasa Island to guard the Old Port of Mombasa, Kenya. It is built in the shape of a man (viewed from the air), and was given the name of Jesus in an obvious religious reference.
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Between 1631 and 1875 the fort was won and lost nine times by the nations contesting control of Mombasa. It was declared a historical monument in 1958. Today it houses a museum.
The fort was designed by an Italian architect, Jao Batisto Cairato, who was the Chief Architect for Portuguese possessions in the East. Today, it is one of the finest examples of 16th century Portuguese military architecture, which has been influenced and changed by both the Omani Arabs and the British[1]. The fort quickly became a vital possession for anyone with the intention of controlling Mombasa Island or the surrounding areas of trade. When the British colonised Kenya, they used it as a prison, until 1958, when they converted it into a historical monument. James Kirkman was then assigned to excavate the monument, which he did (with a large use of external historical documents) from 1958 to 1971 [2].
1498 - Portuguese reach Mombasa, but sail on to Malindi.
1589 - Turks build a small fort at Mombasa.
1593 - Portuguese pull out of Malindi, begin to build Fort Jesus.
1631 - Sultan of Mombasa stabs Portuguese captain, takes over fort.
1632 - Unsuccessful attempts by Portuguese to retake fort; Sultan's nerve fails; he quits Portuguese reoccupation.
1661 - Sultan of Oman sacks Mombasa, but fears to attack fort.
1696 - Sultan of Oman lays siege to fort.
1697 - Portuguese in fort dying from starvation and plague.
1698 - Fort falls to Omani Arabs after two & three quarter years siege.
1728 - Garrison mutinies against Arabs; Portuguese reoccupy.
1729 - Omani Arabs retake fort; Portuguese leave for good.
1741 - Omani governor of fort, al-Mazrui, declares independence.
1746 - Al-Mazrui murdered by Omanis, his brother kills the assassins, becomes governor
1824 - Al-Mazrui governor seeks and gets British protection.
1826 - British protection withdrawn.
1828 - Sultan of Oman & Zanzibar (Sayid Said) regains fort.
1829 - Al-Mazrui forces starve out Sultans garrison.
1833 - Al-Mazrui forces in fort withstand bombardment by Sultan.
1837 - The last al-Mazrui governor submits to Sultan.
1875 - Fort bombarded by British ships to quell mutiny by al-Akida.
1895 to 1958 - Fort used as government prison.
The only entrance to Fort Jesus is up a steep incline and a flight of steps leading to the court yard. Ancient cannons and pyramids of cannon balls bear witness to the vicious wars between the Portuguese and the Arabs of a bygone age.
The Fort, whose imposing structure is placed on different levels, was so built to be virtually impregnable. Inside it, there is a Museum with a vast collection of archaeological findings, which is a popular destination for foreign and local tourists receiving hundreds of thousands of visitors a year. As well as a tourist destination the Fort is important as a host for numerous research programmes, a Conservation Lab, and Education Department and an Old Town Conservation Office.
 Windows of the inner buildings |
 Juxtaposition of decayed and survived |
 Obvious influence of Portuguese architecture |