In Trinidad, New Hopes for an Old Fort

Above: the view from Fort Abercromby (Photo: TIS)

Trinidad is looking to an 19th-century British fort as a way of expanding tourism.

Fort Abercromby, which was built by the British in 1804 as part of the fortification of Trinidad, is located in Las Cuevas, a popular tourist destination in the country, but one which has fallen into disrepair after years of relative neglect.

Part of the challenge for the tourism authority, which visited the site and met with local officials on Monday, is to renovate the fort into a working tourist site — meaning everything from preventing soil erosion to refurbishing its antiquated cannons. Several other cannons are at the bottom of the ocean floor nearby.

According to Rawlie Mitchell, head of the Historical and Preservation Unit at Trinidad’s Ministry of Works, said his group was willing to work with the tourism authority to restore the fort’s walls while maintaining the site’s historical character.

“This initiative is all with the view of establishing Trinidad and Tobago as a high-quality destination for heritage tourism,” said Melba Dedier, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Tourism.

While Fort Abercromby never experienced any military action,in 1805 it saw a strange twist of events. One night, an officer on the fort saw a large fleet approaching and sounded the alarm. The officers decided to burn the huts, spike the guns and the entire garrison of three officers and 50 soldiers retreated over the hills to nearby St Joseph. Ironically, the fleet turned out to be that of Lord Nelson on its way to take part in the Battle of Trafalgar. The fort was never repaired.

–Trinidad Information Service