Even as the Citadel was still under construction, the circumstances of the colony had changed so significantly that its raison d'etre had melted away. In these circumstances, the British administrators of Mauritius were increasingly reluctant to divert money and workers towards its completion. Fort Adelaide was a fitting symbol of British strength, but the show of force which it represented was scarcely needed, and the great building slowly decayed over the following one and a half centuries.