Fort Charlotte

Fort Charlotte commands a limestone ridge just west of downtown Nassau, recognizable by its vast, waterless moat carved directly into the bedrock. Spanning one hundred acres, this massive British-colonial stronghold is actually three interconnected fortifications: Fort Charlotte in the east, Fort Stanley in the center, and Fort D'Arcy in the west. The complex was built between seventeen eighty-seven and eighteen nineteen under the direction of Lord Dunmore, then the British colonial governor, to protect the island from rival empires and piracy. It is named in honor of Queen Charlotte, the wife of King George the Third.