Plan of Fort Oranje on Saint Eustatius

Title Leupe: Plan van het fort Orange op het Yland St. Eustatius, opgenomen en geteekend door Overmeer.

This is one of the two only surviving ground plans from the time of the New WIC that show the chief fortification, Fort Oranje, in present-day Oranjestad, in some detail. This fort was originally constructed in 1636, utilizing the foundations of an older French fort on the same site. Sint Eustatius was then granted as a patroonship to Pieter van Corselles, a man from Zeeland of Flemish descent who had also been involved in the colonization of Tobago by the Zeelanders a few years earlier. Under his direction, Fort Oranje was built on a square ground plan with a bastion at each of the four corners. The following century saw the fortress fall apart until new renovations started from 1737 on. This draft was drawn after the renovations which took place after the British and French occupation of the island between 1781-1784. Like in other colonies of the West Indies, the States-General ordered recommendations to be made for the improvement of the administration and defence. This site plan of Fort Oranje by the naval officer Jan Weijer van Overmeer Fisscher was part of the resulting report.

Scale-bar of Ten Rhineland Rods = [approximately 1 : 275].