in 1662, the then governor of jamaica, lord windsor, received royal instructions to protect the "caimanes islands ... by planting and raising fortifications upon them"; the fortification, however, was not constructed until 1790. fort george was built using local coral rock and limestone ironshore with its design being based largely on the english fortifications of the time. the oval base of the fort measured approximately 57 feet by 38 feet. there were eight embrasures for cannons around the sides of the fort and a mahogany gate on the fort's landward side. the walls of fort george ranged in thickness from two feet on its landward side to five feet on its seaward side, with the walls being about five feet in height.