The rich history behind Fort Jesus and ruthless fights over its control

On 3rd August 1492, Christopher Columbus, the famous explorer from Genoa, and his fleet of three ships, the Santa Maria, the Pinta and the Nina set sail from the Spanish port city of Palos de la Frontera, across the Atlantic to find a westward sea passage to the Orient.

Europeans had long enjoyed a safe land passage, the Silk Road, to the Indies (south and east Asia) and China but with the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, the land route was no longer safe.

The principal goods from the Indies and China were spices and silk. Traders often stood to gain as much as 7,000 per cent return on their outlay by bringing these goods to Europe. This fact was not lost on Christopher Columbus who was also a shrewd, if not ruthless, businessman and he lobbied frantically for funding for his expedition, eventually winning the support of the Spanish Crown despite much opposition from scientists who believed, quite rightly, that Columbus had made a mistake by underestimating the circumference of the earth in his calculations.

Ten weeks later, on 12th October, 1492, Columbus and his crew landed on an island, which later came to be known as the Bahamas. Believing (or just being economical with the truth on the part of Columbus) they had reached the Indies, the newcomers dubbed the indigenous peoples “Indians”, when in fact this was a totally New World. This unintentional “discovery” was to change the course of world history.

Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira, the Portuguese explorer was the first European to reach India by sea via the southern cape of Africa. After many years of seafarers trying to reach the Indies by sea, with the loss of many lives and vessels through shipwrecks and attacks, Vasco da Gama reached Calicut on 20th May, 1498. Calicut was dubbed the “City of Spices” in India for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices.

It was not all plain sailing for Vasco da Gama as he discovered there was already a vibrant sea trade amongst the Arabs, Indians, Chinese and the Swahili along the east coast of Africa from modern day Mozambique to the southern tip of Somalia. This trade had been going on from as early as the first century.

In Arab-controlled Mozambique, Vasco da Gama was forced to flee by a hostile crowd after they became suspicious of his intentions, firing his cannons into the city in retaliation. The expedition resorted to piracy in Mombasa port, looting Arab merchant vessels that were generally unarmed.

During his second and third voyages Vasco da Gama used his superior fire power and heinous human rights abuses to subdue his enemies in the Indian Ocean and for the next 100 years the Portuguese were masters of the region. In the course of this period, the Portuguese had an unfortified factory in Malindi as their main base.

It was not until the Turkish raids of 1585 and 1588 that the Portuguese decided to build a fort at Mombasa harbour. At the orders of King Philip 1 of Portugal, it was built between 1593 and 1596 to guard the Old Port of Mombasa. On 11th April, 1593 the fort was dedicated and named “Fortaleza de Jesus Mombaca” by Mateus de Mendes de Vasconcelos (who was then Captain of the coast and resided in Malindi).

Designed by Milanese architect Giovanni Battista Cairati, the Chief Architect for Portuguese possessions in the East and inspired by Italian architect Pietro Cataneo, the plan is a quadrilateral with four bastions: St. Felipe, St. Alberto, St. Mathius and St. Mateus. The main gate is near St. Mathias bastion.

Although the design of Fort Jesus is considered a masterpiece of late renaissance military fortification architecture, much of the masonry techniques, building materials and labour are believed to have been provided by the local Swahili people.

Relations between the Portuguese and the Sultan of Mombasa began to deteriorate after the departure of the first captain Mateus. In 1631, the Sultan of Mombasa, the Goa-educated Muhammad Yusif entered the fort and took the Portuguese by surprise, killing the captain, Pedro Leitao Gamboa and the whole Portuguese population of Mombasa (45 men, 35 women and 70 children). Between 1631 and 1895 Fort Jesus was captured and recaptured between the Arabs and Portuguese a total of nine times. After the Portuguese recaptured it in 1632, they refurbished it and built more fortifications making it more difficult to penetrate.

Ultimately the fort was subject to an epic siege by the Omani Arabs led by Saif bin Sultan, from 1696-98 marking the end of Portuguese dominance at the coast. The Portuguese recaptured the fort briefly between 1728 and 1729 with the help of Swahili States. The fort came under local control when the people of Mombasa recaptured it in April 1729 before the Omanis re-took it in 1837 converting it into barracks.

When Kenya was proclaimed a Protectorate on 1st July, 1895 the fort fell under British command and was converted into a prison.

Today the fort combines Portuguese, Arab and British elements and is the most visited tourist attraction in Mombasa. The most noticeable feature are the 56 Portuguese and British cannons which are beautifully restored and mounted in the courtyard with some facing the Indian Ocean as they would have done during engagement. The British cannons are known as carronades and have a shorter barrel than the Portuguese cannons. Oman Arabs marked their presence with numerous inscriptions from the Koran on the walls. Other historical structures include the Oman House, open water cistern used by the Portuguese and a well sunk by the Arabs for washing. There is a museum with exhibits from this and other sites along the coast. Fort Jesus was declared a national monument in 1962.

As in other coastal sites, ocean currents have seriously undermined the foundations at Fort Jesus. It is estimated that the cost of restoration is Sh200 million. The Kenya Government has recently released money to carry out temporary repairs and the Omani government is restoring the Omani House.

This precious historical monument is in dire need of restoration and preservation.

Happy New Year!

The author is a retired banker and motorcycle enthusiast. E-mail [email protected]