El Fortín Conde de Mirasol

The construction of the Fortín Conde de Mirasol began around 1845 by the order of the Count of Mirasol, don Rafael Aristegui y Velez, Governor of Puerto Rico.

The construction took longer and cost more than originally estimated and was not completed until 1855. Queen Isabel II, upon being asked time and time again for more money, was heard to question “if the walls of the fort were made of gold.”

Fortín Conde de Mirasol has the distinction of being the last fort built by the Spanish.

The fort served to consolidate Spanish control over Vieques and dissuade the British, French, Dutch and Danes from attempting to establish colonies on the island. It also served to protect the island from raids by pirates and privateers.

The fort was equipped with cannons and housed the island’s militia. It was also the island’s jail.

In 1864, black workers from the English colonies at the Hacienda Resolución staged a protest demanding that one of their fellow workers who was arrested and jailed by the sugar plantation owner be released. The Spanish military intervened. The protestors were incarcerated at the fort.

In 1874, hundreds of black workers at the Playa Grande sugar central rebelled against their mistreatment by the plantation owners and the government. The Spanish Civil Guard intervened, killing one worker and wounding several others. The protest lasted several weeks. Men, women and children attacked the soldiers with sticks and stones and burned the sugar fields. Dozens were arrested and incarcerated at the fort.

Under United States rule, in 1915, workers organized a strike against the sugar barons demanding a raise in salary from 50 cents a day to $1.00 a day and a reduction of the workday from 14 hours a day to eight hours a day. The plantation owners called in the police, who killed several strikers and wounded many others. Dozens were arrested and incarcerated at the fort.

Around 1900, the United States government, then in control of Vieques, installed a seismographic station at the fort. The North Americans used the fort primarily as a jail until the 1940s when the fort was abandoned and fell into disrepair. Several attempts were made to restore and paint the fort but even these projects were under funded and no real progress was made until a campaign by the Yaureibo Cultural Center of Vieques pressured the Puerto Rican Institute of Culture to begin a restoration in 1989, which was completed in 1991.

Today, the fort serves as a museum, housing the Vieques Museum of Art and History and the Vieques Historic Archives. Visitors will be treated to finely displayed exhibits of archeology, architecture, history and art as well as to magnificent views from the beautifully landscaped museum grounds.

Admission to the museum is free but donations are encouraged. There is a small shop on the main floor.

The Fort is open to the public Wednesday to Sunday 10:00AM – 4:00 PM.

Museum Fort Count Mirasol, Institute of Puerto Rican Culture, Magnolia 471, Vieques, Puerto Rico 00765 - Tel (787) 741 8651 or (787) 741 1717, e-mail bieke@prdigital.com.”