Project plan for a new fort at Paramaribo, nr. 5

Title Leupe: Project d' une Nouvelle Forteresse.

In the early 18th century, possibilities to improve the defences of Surinam were explored. After a plan to build a new large fort at the confluence of the Surinam and Commewijne Rivers was discarded by the governor and council of Surinam, they instead invited Isaac Tourton (1678-1742) to make a design for a fort to replace Zeelandia, of which the result in six variants is shown in this series (VEL2030A1-6). Here a star-shaped design with five bastions is shown.

The six plans with Tourton’s report of 8 July were sent to the Directors in Amsterdam, with the note that Governor and Councillors endorsed Tourton’s personal preference for plan number six. One day later the Directors received a missive in which Tourton included the ground plan of the present state of the fort, VEL2067A, and his worked out detail map of plan number 6. An improved version of the latter sent in 1712, on which the orientation of the planned fort had been slightly altered, is reproduced on VEL2068. The accompanying profile on VEL2067B below is the original drawn in 1710.

North is lower left.

Scale-bar of 150 Toises, each 6 Rhenan feet. Which for all five designs equals = [approximately 1 : 1,950].