FORT FREDERIK HENDRIK
You’d think that it wouldn’t have taken till 1973 to discover that the ruins at Vieux Grand Port were not actually of Dutch origin, as has long been believed––since the 19th century in fact––but of French origin. That’s not to say the Dutch weren’t around: The Dutch East India Company stopped at the island on long journeys back in the 16th century. But it was the excavation of a French bayonet, pieces of pottery, and some iron nails that hammered the truth home.
