Benguela, Angola, Sept. 29, 2024 (Lusa) — The redoubt of St Peter, a centuries-old Portuguese structure built in the municipality of Catumbela, in the Angolan province of Benguela, is crying out for restoration. Otherwise, its history will be erased due to its state of disrepair.
Erected on a hill on the banks of the Catumbela River by Portuguese forces, it displays the following description at the entrance: ‘It was built at the expense of the inhabitants of Benguela, in honour of the worthy City Council. The continuous insults made to the whites by the natives of this district led to the construction of this stronghold. The garrisons of the brigs Mondego and Tâmega and the corvette Relâmpago, commanded by Chief F. A. Glz Cardodo will submit them by order of the Governor General, the Honourable Pedro Alexandrino da Cunha, F. X. Lopes Major of the Army, laid out and built the first stone on 5 October 1846’.
The origin of this structure is told by Angolan historian and tourist guide Jorge Augusto, 62, retired and the first person responsible for culture in Catumbela, according to whom the fort of St Peter was built to suppress the revolts in Catumbela.
‘In the past, the Portuguese who settled in Benguela, faced with the unhealthy location of the Benguela settlement, became concerned and demanded that those in charge find a better place that offered better sanitary conditions. Among several locations, this was the most ideal,’ he said.
This is how, around 1618, the historian continued, the Portuguese, led by Cerveira Pereira, expelled the local traditional authorities, who lived on both banks of the Catumbela River. This led to many clashes, which lasted from 1618 until 1647.
Another inscription reads: ‘This redoubt was classified as a monument of public interest by decree no. 8579 of 17 June 1954, and restored from April to June of the same year, when Captain José Agapito da Silva Carvalho was governor general’.
Today, that structure - which, according to another headline, received a ‘Visit by the President of the Portuguese Republic General Francisco Higino Craveiro Lopes to the Fort of S. Pedro da Catumbela, built in 1846-1847, by his great-grandfather, at the time Major Francisco Xavier Lopes, 17 June 1954’ - requires a new act of restoration.
Jorge Augusto said that the 4 de Abril Bridge, the newest of the four over the Catumbela River, was completely roofless when it was built and inaugurated in 2009.
Jorge Augusto explained that, at the time of the bridge's construction, there was also a project to transform the redoubt into something he couldn't explain, but the idea didn't go ahead.
‘That's why the roof was removed. There was a project to make something of it, but the Ministry of Culture disapproved, which is why it was left without a roof. (...) It was still in good condition; it had roof tiles and beams. They removed them and piled them up inside the space, but the friends of others took everything, and it stayed like that,’ he lamented.
Despite its state of disrepair, the fort is visited mainly by national students and academics but also by foreign tourists who come to Benguela, said the historian, who was pleased that the history of the place ‘has had echoes abroad’, referring to the American visitors who arrive on cruise ships.
If it continues like this, without any garrison, in a state of abandonment, there is a risk that its history will be erased, said Jorge Augusto.
‘If it were rehabilitated, we would have that security, but since it's in rubble like this, nobody has thought about its safety yet,’ he added.
With attention now turning to the Lobito Corridor, the railway infrastructure linking Angola to the mining areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia, the tour guide argued that there is an urgent need to restore spaces like this, tourist attractions, and ‘a tax to go into the state coffers'.
And as history repeats itself, the site has once again served as a military garrison. In one of its compartments, a plaque inside the military building reads ‘Command of the 3rd CIA’.
When asked what it meant, Jorge Augusto explained that in 1992, during the post-election conflict, an artillery command was placed there to garrison the bridge so it wouldn't be destroyed.
From there, you can also see the first colonial administrator's first residence, built in 1770 and inaugurated in 1836 by decree of Queen Maria II of Portugal, which is also in an advanced state of disrepair.
‘[It was] the chief's house, there was a settlement here. The Portuguese had the idea of moving the settlement of Benguela to this place. Catumbela used to be called Asseiceira and they wanted to cohabit with the Europeans, but the natives didn't accept this and continued to attack the settlement, so the Portuguese had to send three ships to reinforce them and they managed to defeat the resistance of the elders,’ he said.
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