# Kyk-over-al Fort Built at the Three Rivers (1616)

URL: https://allhistories.com/guyana/timeline/1616-kyk-over-al-fort-built-at-the-three-rivers
Location: Kyk-over-al Island, Essequibo, Guyana
Themes: main-event

In 1616 the Dutch settler Joost van der Hooge began building a fort on a small island where the Essequibo, Cuyuni and Mazaruni rivers meet. It became known as Kyk-over-al, meaning see over all, because of its view of the river approaches. It served as trading post, residence and seat of the first Dutch administration in Essequibo. The site was inland and easy to defend, and it controlled the river traffic that carried goods from the interior. Funding came from Zeeland merchants and later from the West India Company. By 1672 the fort was a two-storey brick building with a powder magazine. Smaller buildings grew around it, and the fort was abandoned in 1748. Kyk-over-al is the oldest known Dutch administrative centre in Guyana and gives the country one of its foundational colonial sites. Its ruins were declared a National Monument in 1999. Its brickwork was also used in 1897 as evidence in the border dispute with Venezuela. Visitors can still see the brick ruins on the island today.

## Why it matters
Kyk-over-al became the first lasting Dutch administrative centre in Guyana, controlling the gateway to the interior.

Ruler at the Time: [Adriaen Groenewegen](https://allhistories.com/guyana/rulers/adriaen-groenewegen)

## Sources
- [Fort Kyk-Over-Al](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Kyk-Over-Al)
- [History](https://www.britannica.com/place/Guyana/History)
- [Essequibo (colony)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essequibo_(colony))