Fort Shirley is a historic military outpost on the Caribbean island of Dominica. It was built by the British in 1765, and was named for Sir Thomas Shirley.^[1] The fort was the location of the 1802 revolt of the 8th West India Regiment.^[2] Today, Fort Shirley is part of Cabrits National Park, which was established as a national park in 1986.^[2][3]

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Fort Shirley
Cabrits National Park, Dominica
Mountain top view of Fort Shirley
Fort Shirley Show map of Dominica Fort Shirley Show map of Caribbean
Coordinates	15.5834°N 61.4735°W / 15.5834; -61.4735
Type	Fortification
Site history
Built	1765
In use	No
Materials	Stone and brick

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Fort Shirley is located on a peninsula just north of Portsmouth, in an area known as Prince Rupert's Head.^[4][5] The fort overlooks two bays: Prince Rupert's Bay and Douglas Bay.^[2]

The British began Fort Shirley's construction in 1765 as a garrison to defend north Dominica.^[2] The fort was named for Sir Thomas Shirley, Governor of the Leeward Islands at the time.^[1] From 1778 to 1784, the fort was extended by the French during their occupation of Dominica.^[2] The fort was built of brick and stone in the Georgian architectural style. It consisted of more than 50 buildings,^[6][2] including seven gun batteries, seven cisterns, powder magazines, and ordnance storehouses, as well as barracks that could house over 600 men.^[6][2][7]

In April 1802, the revolt of the 8th West India Regiment took place at Fort Shirley.^[8][9] African soldiers, who were recruited as slaves and stationed at Fort Shirley, mutinied and took over the garrison for three days.^[2] They did so in protest of poor conditions, lack of pay, and fears of being sold back into slavery.^[10][2] The revolt influenced the Mutiny Act 1807,^[2][11] under which all serving soldiers recruited as slaves in the West India Regiments of the British Army were freed.^[12]

By the 1850s, the fort had fallen out of use. It was abandoned in 1854,^[6][13] but remained in the hands of the British Admiralty.^[2] In 1901, the fort's ownership was transferred to the government of the Dominica and it remained designated as Crown Land.^[2] The fort and the land around were sometimes used as a quarantine station and agricultural station,^[14][2] as well as an experimental teak forestry project.^[14]

After years of deterioration, Dr. Lennox Honychurch began restoration of the fort's structures in 1982.^[2][15] Several of the buildings have been completely restored, while ruins of the rest can be found scattered around the peninsula.^[15][16]