Editing Fort Jesus (section)

{{Short description|Fort located on Mombasa Island, Kenya}}
{{Expand French|Fort Jesus|date=December 2015|topic=struct}}
{{EngvarB|date=March 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2014}}
{{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site
|WHS         = Fort Jesus, Mombasa
|Image       = Fort Jesus at the Mombasa Island.jpg
|Criteria    = Cultural: ii, v
|ID          = 1295
|Year        = 2011
|Area        = 2.36 ha
|Buffer_zone = 31 ha
|Location    =[[Mombasa]], [[Kenya]]
|Coordinates = {{coords|4|03|46|S|39|40|47|E|display=inline,title}}

|locmapin    = Kenya
}}
{{History of Kenya}}

'''Fort Jesus''' ([[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]: ''Forte Jesus de Mombaça'') is a [[fortification|fort]] located on [[Mombasa Island]]. Designed by the Italian architect [[Giovanni Battista Cairati]],<ref>{{cite book|last1=Parker|first1=Geoffrey|title=The Military Revolution: Military Innovation and the Rise of the West, 1500-1800|date=18 April 1996|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cIFiNRH3oWsC&pg=PA13|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521479585|access-date=2 May 2017}}</ref> it was built between 1593 and 1596 by order of [[Felipe II of Spain|King Felipe II of Spain]], who also reigned as King Filipe I of Portugal and the Algarves, to guard the Old Port of [[Mombasa]]. Fort Jesus is the only fort maintained by the [[Portugal|Portuguese]] on the [[Swahili coast]] and is recognised as a testament to the first successful attempt by a Western power to establish influence over the [[Indian Ocean trade]].<ref name="unesco">{{cite web | url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1295 | title=Fort Jesus, Mombasa | work=UNESCO World Heritage Centre | access-date=1 January 2017}}</ref>

Cairati, inspired by Italian architect [[Pietro Cataneo]], designed the fort, with the master builder being Gaspar Rodrigues. This was Cairato's last overseas work. Although the design of Fort Jesus is an example of [[Renaissance architecture]], the masonry techniques, building materials, and labor are believed to have been provided by the local [[Swahili people]]. The fort, built in the shape of a man viewed from the air, is roughly square with four bulwarks at its corners and is considered a masterpiece of late [[Renaissance]] military fortification.