Editing Fort Jesus

{{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.

==Historical significance==

Fort Jesus was captured and recaptured at least nine times between 1631, when the Portuguese lost it to Sultan [[Yusuf ibn al-Hasan]] of Mombasa, and 1895, it fell under [[British Empire|British]] rule and was converted into a prison. After the Portuguese recaptured it from the Sultan in 1632, they refurbished it and built more fortifications, subsequently making it harder for the fort to fall. The fort was subject to [[Siege of Fort Jesus|an epic two-year siege]] from 1696 to 1698 by the [[Omani Arabs]], led by [[Saif bin Sultan]]. The capture of the fort marked the end of Portuguese presence on the coast, although they briefly captured and re-occupied it between 1728 and 1729 with the help of the Swahili [[city-state]]s. The fort fell under local rule from 1741 to 1837, when it was again captured by the Omanis and used as a barracks, before its occupation by the British in 1895, after the establishment of the [[East Africa Protectorate]] (which later became, in 1920, the [[Kenya Colony|Colony and Protectorate of Kenya]]).

==Preservation and legacy==

In 1958, Fort Jesus was declared a national museum. In 2011, it was declared a [[World Heritage Site]] by [[UNESCO]] and highlighted as one of the most outstanding and well-preserved examples of 16th-century Portuguese military fortifications.<ref name="unesco" /> The fort is Mombasa's most visited tourist attraction.

==Overview==
Between 1631 and 1875, the fort was won and lost nine times by the nations contesting control of Kenya. The Omanis took the fort in 1698 after a [[Siege of Fort Jesus|notable siege]] of almost three years. It was declared a historical monument in 1958. Today it houses a museum.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mwakio |first=Philip |title=Mombasa’s Fort Jesus could soon fall into the sea, warns agency |url=https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2000171688/fort-jesus-could-soon-fall-into-the-sea-warns-agency |access-date=2023-09-04 |website=The Standard |language=en}}</ref>

The fort was designed by a [[Duchy of Milan|Milanese]] architect, [[:pt:Giovanni Battista Cairati|Giovanni Battista Cairati]], who was the Chief Architect for Portuguese possessions in the East. It was the first European-style fort constructed outside of [[Europe]] designed to resist [[cannon]] fire.<ref>Gilbert, Erik, and Jonathan T. Reynolds. ''Africa in World History: From Prehistory to Present.'' New Jersey: Pearson Education, 2008, p. 225</ref> Today, it is one of the finest examples of 16th-century Portuguese military architecture, which has been influenced and changed by both the [[Omani]] Arabs and the British.<ref name="autogenerated1974">Kirkman, J. 1974. ''Fort Jesus: A Portuguese Fortress on the East African Coast'' Clarendon Press: Oxford</ref>
The fort quickly became a vital possession for anyone with the intention of controlling [[Mombasa]] Island or the surrounding areas of trade. When the British [[East Africa Protectorate|colonized Kenya]], they used it as a prison, until 1958, when they converted it into a historical [[monument]]. James Kirkman was then assigned to excavate the monument, which he did (with a large use of external historical documents) from 1958 to 1971.<ref name="autogenerated1974"/>

The architecture of the fort represents the rough outline of a person lying on their back, with their head towards the sea. The height of the walls is 18 meters. The original Portuguese fort had a height of 15 meters, but the Oman Arabs added 3 meters upon capturing the fort.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Onjoro |first=Veronica N. |title=IN MY TOWN FORT JESUS MOMBASA |url=https://www.academia.edu/13707826/IN_MY_TOWN_FORT_JESUS_MOMBASA}}</ref>

The fort combines Portuguese, Arab, and British elements (these being the major powers that held it at different times in history). The Portuguese and British presence is preserved in the presence of their respective cannons. The Portuguese cannons had a range of 200 meters and were longer than the British cannons, which had a range of 300 meters. Oman Arabs marked their occupancy with numerous inscriptions from the Koran on the wooden door posts and ceiling beams. The [[Five Pillars of Islam|Muslim tradition of five pillars]] is also portrayed throughout the fort, with a former meeting hall supported by five stone pillars to the ceiling.

Some of the historical structures still standing in the fort include Oman House, which was the house of the sultan who governed the East African coast. Others are an open water cistern by the Portuguese for harvesting rainwater, and a 76-foot deep well sunk by the Arabs (but its water was too salty to be used for anything but washing).

The fort was declared a World Heritage site by [[UNESCO]] in 2011.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-05-17 |title=UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Kenya {{!}} TripLegend |url=https://triplegend.com/en/magazine/unesco-worldheritage-kenia |access-date=2023-09-04 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=The story of Fort Jesus - UNESCO & KTB |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ8I-kmR_Oo |access-date=2023-09-04 |language=en}}</ref>

==Current status==
Today, Fort Jesus is a popular destination for foreign and local tourists and serves as a tourist destination, the fort is important as a host for numerous research programs, a Conservation Lab, an Education Department, and an Old Town Conservation Office.

<gallery class="center">
File:Fort Jesus.jpg|Interior
File:2022FtJesus.jpg|Outer wall
Image:Building in Fort Jesus.jpg|Building inside the fort
Image:Fort_Jesus,_Mombasa1.jpg|Windows of the inner buildings
Image:Fort_Jesus,_Mombasa2.JPG|Juxtaposition of decayed and survived
Image:Fort_Jesus,_Mombasa3.jpg|Obvious influence of Portuguese architecture
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131104034821/http://www.museums.or.ke/content/blogcategory/48/76/ Fort Jesus Museum]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050913135813/http://website.lineone.net/~yamaguchi/tourism/fortj.html Brief History of Fort Jesus]

{{Forts and fortresses of the Portuguese empire}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1596]]
[[Category:World Heritage Sites in Kenya]]
[[Category:Forts in Kenya|Jesus]]
[[Category:History of Kenya]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Mombasa]]
[[Category:Museums in Kenya]]
[[Category:Portuguese forts]]
[[Category:Mombasa County]]
[[Category:Portuguese colonial architecture in Kenya]]
[[Category:Monuments and memorials in Kenya]]
[[Category:1596 establishments in Africa]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Mombasa]]