Jaffna fort, Sri Lanka
The Jaffna fort in northern Sri Lanka was originally built by the Portuguese in 1618.
Forces under the command of the Dutch East India Company who captured the fort in 1658 renovated it in 1680.
It was subsequently occupied by the British, who replaced the Dutch as the island’s colonial rulers from 1796 until independence in 1948.
The fort, the second biggest in Sri Lanka after the one in Galle, was damaged during the long civil war between government forces and Tamil separatists that ended in 2009.
Efforts have since been made to carry out restoration work.
The Dutch fort on the island of Mannar, also in northern Sri Lanka, is smaller and not as well preserved.
It was originally built by the Portuguese in 1560, captured by the Dutch in 1658, then rebuilt in 1696.
The British also occupied it from 1795.
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