By the late seventeenth century, sugar-rich Barbados had become one of the most important of Britain's overseas possessions. To protect against possible invasion, defensive forts were erected along the calm south and west coasts, with the biggest of them protecting Carlisle Bay and the capital, Bridgetown. In 1705, work was begun on a major land fort near the capital, known as St Ann's Fort and designed to offer back-up protection. By 1780, as Barbados developed, the British decided to make the island the regional centre for their West Indian troops, and more and more army buildings were put up around the fort.Today, this part of the city's outer zone, just a couple of kilometres south of the centre, is known as the Garrison area . Chock-full of superb Georgian architecture, it remains one of Bridgetown's most evocative districts. It retains the most attractive of the island's colonial military buildings including, in a restored jail, the Barbados Museum . A short walk from the museum, the Barbados Gallery of Art merits a quick visit.