The history of Fort Jesus

FLORENCE RADULL
Correspondent | Friday March 8, 2013 00:00

The fort was designed by an Italian architect and engineer, Joao Batista Cairato, who was the Portuguese's leading military architect in India at the time. It covers two acres of land and was designed with a central court with four bastions or supports at the four corners and a rectangular projection facing the sea.

From the air the architecture of the fort represents the rough outline of a person lying on their back with their head towards the sea.  Fort Jesus became a vital possession for any country with the intention of controlling the island of Mombasa and its surrounding areas for trade. It bears testimony to the first successful attempt by Western Civilization to rule the Indian Ocean trade routes, which until then had remained under Eastern influence.Between 1631 and 1875 the fort exchanged hands nine times between the nations contesting control of this strategically located port.

Some of the exchange of command was peaceful but in most cases it involved fighting or sieges to effect a take-over. The fort which is today one of the finest examples of 16th Century Portuguese military architecture has been influenced and changed over the years by the Omani Arabs, the British, the Turks and the Persians, who at one time or another gained ownership.

When Kenya became a British Protectorate on July 1, 1895, the fort was converted into a prison.It is currently a popular destination for both local and foreign tourists and its grounds also house a conservation laboratory and education department, and an Old Town Conservation office.

It was declared a Historical monument in 1958 and a museum was built on the premises and opened to the public in 1960. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2011.