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| − | {{Infobox World Heritage Site
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| − | | WHS = Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park
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| − | | Image =
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| − | | State Party = {{SKN}}
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| − | | Type = Cultural
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| − | | Criteria = iii, iv
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| − | | ID = 910
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| − | | Region = [[List of World Heritage Sites in the Americas|Latin America and the Caribbean]]
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| − | | Year = 1999
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| − | | Session = 23rd
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| − | | Link = http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/910
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| − | }}
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| − | '''Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park''' is a [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]] of historical, cultural and architectural significance: a monument to the ingenuity of the [[United Kingdom|British]] military engineers who designed it and to the skill, strength and endurance of the [[Africa]]n slaves who built and maintained it. One of the best preserved historical fortifications in [[the Americas]], it is located on the island of [[St. Kitts]] in the Federation of [[Saint Kitts and Nevis|St. Christopher (St. Kitts) and Nevis]] in the [[Eastern Caribbean]].
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| − | [[Image:StKitts_Brimstomhill.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Battle of Saint Kitts, 1782, as described by an observer in a French engraving titled "Attaque de Brimstomhill".]]
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| − | Cannon were first mounted on Brimstone Hill in 1690, when the British used them to recapture [[Fort Charles (Saint Kitts)|Fort Charles]] from the French. The French had not considered it possible to transport cannon up the steep and thickly wooded sides of Brimstone Hill. The construction of the fort then carried on intermittently for just over 100 years. In its heyday, the fort was known as 'The [[Gibraltar]] of the West Indies', in reference to its imposing height and seeming invulnerability. In 1782, the French, under Admiral Comte [[François Joseph Paul de Grasse]] laid [[siege]] to the fort. During the siege, the adjacent island of [[Nevis]] surrendered, and guns from [[Fort Charles (Nevis)|Fort Charles]] and other small forts there were brought to St. Kitts for use against Brimstone Hill. British [[Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood|Admiral Hood]] [[Battle of St. Kitts|could not dislodge de Grasse]], and after a month of siege, the heavily outnumbered and cut-off British garrison surrendered. However, a year later, the [[Treaty of Paris (1783)]] restored St. Kitts and Brimstone Hill to British rule, along with the adjacent island of [[Nevis]]. Following these events, the British carried out a program to augment and strengthen the fortifications, and Brimstone Hill never again fell to an enemy force.
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| − | The fort was abandoned by the British in the mid 19th century, and the structures gradually decayed through vandalism and natural processes. Stabilization and restoration of the remaining structures started in the early 1900s, and in 1987 Brimstone Hill was officially declared to be a [[National Park]]. It was declared a World Heritage Site in 1999.
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| − | ==External links==
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| − | * [http://www.brimstonehillfortress.org The official Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park homepage]
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| − | * [http://donwiss.com/pictures/SKB-2000/ Many pictures of Brimstone Hill]
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| − | [[Category:Geography]]
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| − | {{Credit|257135388}}
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