Fort de Rocher
Encyclopedia
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
island of Tortuga. It was built and utilized by buccaneer
Buccaneer
The buccaneers were privateers who attacked Spanish shipping in the Caribbean Sea during the late 17th century.The term buccaneer is now used generally as a synonym for pirate...
s as the primary defense of the island to prevent encroachment of Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
forces. The fortress lies in ruin today, with only the foundations remaining.
History
Tortuga was a disputed island in the early seventeenth century. The Spanish laid claim to it, but EnglishEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
settlers were the primary occupants. Every few years the Spanish would sail over and chase away the settlers, reclaiming the island, then vacate it. As soon as the Spanish warships were out of sight, the settlers would return.
In 1640 a French engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
named Jean La Vasseur raided the island with a force of between fifty and one-hundred men, claiming the primary port as theirs. Aware of the predations of the Spanish, La Vasseur had Fort de Rocher constructed overlooking the harbor, thus fortifying it from further foreign assault. With its cannons drawing a steady aim at any vessels approaching the harbor the fort gave La Vasseur a high degree of control over the island. In the early 1640s La Vasseur was made governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
of Tortuga, but the information conflicts as to when specifically that was (some accounts claim he was governor before arriving on the island, and others say he claimed power after building the fort).
The erection of the fort concerned the Spanish. Shortly after construction was complete an invading force launched from Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo, known officially as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic. Its metropolitan population was 2,084,852 in 2003, and estimated at 3,294,385 in 2010. The city is located on the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the Ozama River...
and sailed into the harbor of Tortuga. The French guns sank one of the vessels and scattered the rest. The Spaniards who managed to land marched into an ambush
Ambush
An ambush is a long-established military tactic, in which the aggressors take advantage of concealment and the element of surprise to attack an unsuspecting enemy from concealed positions, such as among dense underbrush or behind hilltops...
, and then retreated.
The victory greatly increased the reputation of La Vasseur, Tortuga and its bucanneers. The lawful lawlessness of the place appealed to all of the seafaring brigands in the Caribbean. La Vasseur opened the port to outlaws of all nations in exchange for a percentage of the wealth of every vessel anchoring there. All pirates needed a safe place to berth and a town that was respectful of their careers was a prime one. Tortuga quickly became the first great pirate outpost.
The reports about La Vasseur’s rule vary widely. The one common thread among them, though, is that in 1653 he was assassinated by two of his trusted lieutenants. As the story goes La Vasseur had stolen away one of his lieutenant’s mistresses and abused her. The two men schemed to get him out of the fort where they could perform the threachery unseen. While inspecting a warehouse, the jilted lover wounded him with a musket
Musket
A musket is a muzzle-loaded, smooth bore long gun, fired from the shoulder. Muskets were designed for use by infantry. A soldier armed with a musket had the designation musketman or musketeer....
first and then both men finished him off with daggers. The story may or may not be true, but it is widely accepted that La Vasseur was assassinated by his own men in 1653.
With La Vasseur dead, the French assigned Chevalier de Fontenay as governor of Tortuga. As a leader, de Fontenay didn’t take the safeguarding of the port as seriously as La Vasseur did. The Spanish were able to see the fort’s influence decline and in 1654, while many of the buccaneers were at sea or off hunting, they raided the port
Capture of Fort Rocher
The Capture of Fort Rocher took place on 9 February 1654, during the Anglo-Spanish War. Equipped with one siege battery, a Spanish expedition of 700 troops attacked the buccaneer stronghold of Tortuga, capturing the fort and 500 prisoners including 330 buccaneers and goods valued at approximately...
. The Spanish were rebuffed, but they mounted a second attack later in the year. This time they knew the strengths and weaknessess of the fortress, and managed to get artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
placed on the hillside above it. After a siege
Siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition or assault. The term derives from sedere, Latin for "to sit". Generally speaking, siege warfare is a form of constant, low intensity conflict characterized by one party holding a strong, static...
of about nine days, the buccaneers who had holed up in the fort surrendered
Surrender (military)
Surrender is when soldiers, nations or other combatants stop fighting and eventually become prisoners of war, either as individuals or when ordered to by their officers. A white flag is a common symbol of surrender, as is the gesture of raising one's hands empty and open above one's head.When the...
and were banished from the island. The Spanish reclaimed the island, demolished much of the fort, and then vacated back to Santo Domingo. The fort was allowed to decay into history and today only its foundations remain.
Geography
On the south-east side of Tortuga is a natural harborHarbor
A harbor or harbour , or haven, is a place where ships, boats, and barges can seek shelter from stormy weather, or else are stored for future use. Harbors can be natural or artificial...
. The harbor is protected by reef
Reef
In nautical terminology, a reef is a rock, sandbar, or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water ....
s and is flanked on the west by a Mangrove
Mangrove
Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...
thicket and the town of Cayonne, and on the east by the town of Basse Terre. The remains of the fort are on the hillside, about 1/3 mile (or 1.6 km) above the harbor or Basse Terre. Its approximate location is 20°,-72.7°, and using Google Maps you can see the remains of the coastal battery outlined by vegetation.
Description
Fort de Rocher was built circa 1640 by Jean La Vasseur, an engineer by trade. It was built around a steep rock which stood thirty feet high and which was central on a plateauPlateau
In geology and earth science, a plateau , also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau...
from the hillside. The plateau was relatively flat-topped and La Vasseur built terraces
Terrace (agriculture)
Terraces are used in farming to cultivate sloped land. Graduated terrace steps are commonly used to farm on hilly or mountainous terrain. Terraced fields decrease erosion and surface runoff, and are effective for growing crops requiring much water, such as rice...
and breastwork
Breastwork
Breastwork may mean:#A form of temporary fortification#Surgical alteration of the breast...
s all along its edges and into the hillside, enough to accommodate hundreds of men. Star fort
Star fort
A star fort, or trace italienne, is a fortification in the style that evolved during the age of gunpowder, when cannon came to dominate the battlefield, and was first seen in the mid-15th century in Italy....
s were being employed in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
at this time, so Fort de Rocher was built with two star-points, or redan
Redan
Redan is a term related to fortifications. It is a work in a V-shaped salient angle toward an expected attack...
s, facing the coast. The hillside was cleared of trees to give a nearly 180° view of the waterfront. The fortress boasted 24 guns overlooking the harbor and its environs. It also housed a natural water spring.
Atop the mighty rock which dominated the fortress, La Vasseur placed his reduit
Reduit
A reduit is a fortified structure such as a citadel or a keep into which the defending troops can retreat when the outer defences are breached...
, which he named Dovecote. There was only one path that allowed entrance up into the building. The first half of that path was a stone stairway carved into the rock itself. The second half was by a ladder that was lowered from the top. The building was used a storehouse for food, guns, and ammunition, and also acted as La Vasseur’s abode.
It is rumored that La Vasseur had a cruel streak. Some sources claim that he had an iron cage built that was used as a prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
. It wasn’t tall enough for a person to stand upright, nor was it long or wide enough for a person to lie down. The cage was dubbed "Little Hell" and it was housed inside Dovecote.
The fortress stood against many assaults. Its existence and toughness provided a principal base of operations for pirates of the Caribbean. The fact that it was only defeated through the treachery of La Vasseur’s own trusted men is testimony to its strength.
See also
- BuccaneerBuccaneerThe buccaneers were privateers who attacked Spanish shipping in the Caribbean Sea during the late 17th century.The term buccaneer is now used generally as a synonym for pirate...
s - Piracy in the CaribbeanPiracy in the Caribbean] The era of piracy in the Caribbean began in the 16th century and died out in the 1830s after the navies of the nations of Western Europe and North America with colonies in the Caribbean began combating pirates. The period during which pirates were most successful was from the 1690s until the 1720s...
- Port RoyalPort RoyalPort Royal was a city located at the end of the Palisadoes at the mouth of the Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1518, it was the centre of shipping commerce in the Caribbean Sea during the latter half of the 17th century...
- Tortuga
