Saint James the Greater Fortress

Tete, Tete, Mozambique

Military Architecture

Located 600 km from the mouth of the Zambezi this fortress was built in 1575, by initiative of Vasco Fernandes Homem and restored in 1686. It had the usual square shape, in plan, with four bastions at the corners, and is about 80 to 90 metres on each side. In 1837 it underwent new repair works (by commander Manuel Correia Monteiro, to sustain the attacks from the Vatuas), being significantly ruined in the late 19th century; it was restored as an historical monument in 1942.

• José Manuel Fernandes