Cape Verde · 19th century
Forte Duque de Bragança is a ruined fort located on the islet Ilhéu de Sal Rei off the northwestern coast of the island of Boa Vista, Cape Verde. The fort was named after the Duke of Bragança. The fort overlooks a stretch of coast where the anchorage required defending from piracy and coastal raiding, which were common in the Atlantic Ocean at the time. The island produced salt, which attracted international trade and wealth. It was sacked in 1815 and 1817; this led to the construction of a fort in 1818. Today in ruins, the fort has been partly excavated archaeologically by the University of Cambridge.
Text adapted from “Forte Duque de Bragança” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Forte Duque de Bragança ranks #6,722 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #2 of the 3 mapped in Cape Verde. Founded 1818, it is older than 11% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 717 atlas entries founded in the 19th century. See how Cape Verde compares in the castle statistics.
View on the interactive castle map →