Enemy at the gates. A study of local adaptions in Dutch 17th Century fortifications around the Atlantic

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Colonial Forts in Comparative, Global, and Contemporary Perspective", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

The Dutch West India Company (WIC) presented their Grand Design in 1621. With enormous investments they intended to establish their power around the Atlantic. The presence, or absence, of an aggressive enemy defined the way of building fortifications. In northeast Brazil, they encountered their arch enemies Portugal and Spain. The project Atlas of Dutch Brazil showed the Dutch built, overbuilt, or reused at least seventy-nine solid strongholds along the Brazilian coastline. In North America, the Dutch allowed themselves to let go the strict instructions of the WIC, thanks to the absence of a serious enemy. The thirty-seven defense works, built in New Netherland can better be seen as trading posts for the trade with the Native Americans. Later, the defense works had to be enforced because of the threat of the English and the Swedes. This presentation shows the different ways of construction, as a result of recent historical-archaeological research.  

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Colonial Forts in Comparative, Global, and Contemporary Perspective   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2023

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow