Dutch plans for de defense of the Demarara estuary date to the 1770s, but were never realised. When, in February 1781, the British conquered the colony during the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War, they did fortify the rivier mouth, apparently drawing on the Dutch plans. When, one year later, the French conquered the colony, they demolished that fort and built a new one, named Fort le Dauphin, closer to the mouth of the river. When in 1783 the colony was returned to the Netherlands, the fort came to be known as Willem Frederik and Kroonprins.
The main French fortification was located approximately where indicated. On the west bank, there was a supporting battery named 'La Reine'.
