Fort Amsterdam

Fort Amsterdam is a fort on the southern tip of Manhattan that is no longer standing today. Its construction, which began in 1620, marks the official founding date of New York City.

Fort Amsterdam was the administrative headquarters of the Dutch when they founded Manhattan, but changed hands eight times through various battles, and changed name to Fort James, then Fort Willem Hendrick, back to Fort James, then to Fort William, Fort Anne and Fort George.

The Americans took over Fort Amsterdam on Evacuation Day, in 1783. In 1790 they demolished it. However, realising they need a fort to protect Manhattan, they built a new one at Castle Clinton, just before the War of 1812. The site of Fort Amsterdam is today the Alexander Hamilton US Custom House.

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

Songs about Penang

About this website

Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.