Building a Fort

This chapter examines the construction of Fort Napier and the maintenance of the Natal garrison in Pietermaritzburg. The arrival of the garrison in Pietermaritzburg marked the beginning of the transformation of the settlement from a Trekker hoofdplaats into a Victorian colonial capital in an African context. The design and construction work on Fort Napier was largely done by the military, but it had a profound influence on the city and the embryonic colony. The fort was also used as the base from which the small garrison began extending its influence over the colony and its hinterland. This chapter provides a background on British Army Lieutenant Charles James Gibb's planning for the construction of the fort, to be named in honor of Sir George Napier, the governor of the Cape Colony. It also considers the disputes over the expenditure on the construction of the fort, along with the permanence of the Natal garrison in relation to High Commissioner Sir Harry Smith's imperial policies in South Africa.