Fort D'El-Rei

Fort D’El Rei, (Fortim D'El-Rei in Portuguese), also known as Mindelo Fort (Forte do Mindelo in Portuguese) is located in Mindelo, on the Island of São Vicente in Cape Verde.

Fort D'El-Rei
Fortim D'El-Rei
Mindelo, Cape Verde in Cape Verde
Coordinates16°53′26″N 24°59′35″W
Site information
Open to
the public		Yes
Conditionruins
Site history
Built1852-1853[1]

It was built between 1852 and 1853 and is the oldest construction in the city, having been built to defend the Porto Grande harbour.[1][2] It had 4 18 caliber guns and three 3 caliber guns.[3] It has a wide panoramic view over the city and the bay.

The fortlet is roughly square in shape, with a 30 meters side and a central courtyard in a single storey plan.[1]

In 1924 it housed the ports signal station.[4] It served as a civil jail between 1930 and 1970, purpose which it lost once the Central Jail of Mindelo was built.[1] In 1934, militia descended from the fortlet onto the city on a food riot incited by a local carpenter, Ambrósio.[5] It's been the object of a possible restoration plan to be used for tourism.[1] As of 2012 it was in ruins.[1]

See also

References
  1. Fortim D' El-Rei, Mindelo, Porto Grande, Ilha de São Vicente, Cabo Verde at hpip.org
  2. Christiano José de Senna Barcellos: Subsidios para a historia de Cabo Verde e Guiné, Volumes 5-7, Typographia da Academia Real das Sciencias, 1911, p.256
  3. Christiano José de Senna Barcellos: Subsidios para a historia de Cabo Verde e Guiné, Volumes 5-7, Typographia da Academia Real das Sciencias, 1911, p.275
  4. United States Office of Naval Intelligence: Port Directory of the Principal Foreign Ports, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1928, p.461.
  5. Aisling Irwin, Colum Wilson: Cape Verde, Bradt Travel Guides, 2011, p. 268.


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