Colonial Forts in Comparative, Global, and Contemporary Perspective

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Colonial Forts in Comparative, Global, and Contemporary Perspective," at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Fortifications were critical material emplacements established by Dutch, English, French, Portugese, Spanish, and Russian settlers to assert their ownership claims and defend their interests in prospective colonies throughout the world. Often established in frontier settings, forts played various roles in colonial ambitions and served as defensive strongholds, commercial centers, and political symbols. These polysemic settlements exhibited change over time (16th -19th centuries) and took various forms in different geographic places in response to environmental conditions, competition with rivals, and relations with indigenous groups. This material and social variation has led to a range of interpretations and acts of remembrance in the contemporary world. In this symposium we use archaeology to provide a historical, global, and comparative perspective on colonial fortifications. The papers demonstrate how material approaches have had a profound influence on the ways in which archaeologists and the general public imagine, commemorate, and celebrate fortified settlements.