We took the tour of fort Frederik which is now a museum was built between 1752 and 1760 and named in honour of the reigning Danish monarch Frederik V. It stands on the site of an earlier fortification, fort James built by the English during the 1640s. Attacked and captured by the Spanish in 1650, and later used by the French in 1650 - 1695.
The present structure was designed to encourage the settlement of Frederiksted serving as a refuge in the event of invasion or slave insurrection, as well as to protect the shipping in Frederiksted roads from privateers. It also lent it's support to the sugar industry on St Croix, which was to prove to be the islands economic mainstay for over two hundred years. The fort now serves as the government of the Virgin Islands museum on St Croix.