Hostilities between the British and the Dutch continued for years after the British took New Amsterdam in 1664 and established the colony of New York. In Hampton Roads, Dutch ships destroyed a fleet of tobacco ships at the mouth of the James River in 1667 and another fleet in Lynnhaven Bay in 1673. After the 1673 attack, the Virginia Assembly authorized construction of a fort in Lower Norfolk County to protect British settlements from possible future Dutch attacks. The new fort was built here, several years before the town of Norfolk was established, at a site then called Foure Farthing Pointe. The act specified that it be built in the form of a half moon. It was armed with demi-cannons and culverins because of the broad expanse of the river at this location. The culverin was an early long cannon capable of shooting an 18 pound 5 inch ball accurately for about 1300 yards. Building the fort cost Lower Norfolk County 35,000 pounds of tobacco.
