Map of the post Marowijne

Titel Leupe: Situatie der Post Prins Willem Frederic, aan de zyde van de rivier Marowyne, aangelegd door H.L.C.Bernhardy.

This map shows the military post constructed in mid-18th century on the western bank of the mouth of the Marowijne. From the second part of that decade, when the French laid emphatic claim to the area between the Sinnamary and Marowijne, the post was periodically strengthened. Its importance grew significantly after 1766, when the French built a small fort or redoubt on the eastern bank of the Marowijne, even though this area until then had not yet been brought under cultivation. This had the effect of making it easier for the Suriname troops to desert to the other side of the river , whereas previously the inhospitability of the land across the border would have prevented them from doing so. When it was rebuilt in 1793 by the military engineer Bernhardi it became a much bigger triangle, consisting of three small corner forts or bastions linked by a palisade, each of which could be defended separately.

Apparently, this map showing the new design, a copy by J.F. Roux of originals by Bernhardi, was part of a series related to the reinforcement of various coast posts ordered in 1793. The map shows the location of the fort in respect to the river at different tides. By 1793, the post Marowijne had been renamed Fort Prince Willem Frederik in honour of the eldest son and heir of Stadtholder Willem V, later King Willem I, who was born in 1772.

North is upper right.

Scale-bar of 15 chains of 66 Rhineland feet: = [approximately 1 : 1,530].