 The original structure is believed by some to have been built at an unascertained date by the original Dutch settlers of the islands to protect slave pens that were built in Port Purcell below.It is likely that the initial structure was built in response to a massacre of the inhabitants of the original settlement in Baugher's Bay in 1625.However, the main fortification was built (or rebuilt) by the British in the late 18th century around the outbreak of the American war of independence as part of the general upgrade of the fortifications of Road Town.