Port Royal
Port Royal was the centre of
shipping commerce in
Jamaica in the
17th century. During this time, it gained a reputation as both the "richest and wickedest city in the world". It was notorious for its gaudy displays of wealth and loose morals, and was a popular place for
pirates to bring and spend their treasure. During the 17th century the
British actively encouraged and even paid
buccaneers based at Port Royal to attack Spanish and French shipping.
An
earthquake on
June 7,
1692 largely destroyed Port Royal, causing two thirds of the city to sink into the
Caribbean Sea. After this disaster, its commercial role was taken over by the city of
Kingston.
Situated at the western end of the
Palisadoes sand spit that protects Kingston Harbour, Port Royal was well-positioned as a harbor. Originally claimed by the Spanish,
England acquired it in
1655. By
1659, two hundred houses, shops, and warehouses surrounded the fort.
For much of the period between the English conquest of Jamaica and the earthquake, Port Royal served as the capital of Jamaica; after the 1692 earthquake,
Spanish Town overtook this role, later followed by Kingston.
Port Royal, located along the shipping lanes going to and from
Spain and
Panama, provided a
safe harbour for
pirates. The
buccaneers found Port Royal appealing for several reasons. Its proximity to
trade routes allowed them easy access to prey. The harbour was large enough to accommodate their ships and provided them a place to
careen and repair these vessels. It was also ideally situated for launching raids on Spanish settlements. From Port Royal,
Henry Morgan attacked Panama,
Portobello, and
Maracaibo.
Bartholomew Roberts,
Roche Brasiliano,
John Davis, and
Edward Mansveldt (Mansfield) also came to Port Royal.
Since the English lacked sufficient troops to prevent either the Spanish or French from seizing it, the
Jamaican governors eventually turned to the pirates for defence of the city.
By the
1660s, the city had gained a reputation as the
Sodom of the New World where most residents were pirates, cutthroats, or
prostitutes. When
Charles Leslie wrote his history of Jamaica, he included a description of the pirates of Port Royal:
Wine and women drained their wealth to such a degree that… some of them became reduced to beggary. They have been known to spend 2 or 3,000 pieces of eight in one night; and one gave a strumpet 500 to see her naked. They used to buy a pipe of wine, place it in the street, and oblige everyone that passed to drink.Port Royal grew to be one of the two largest towns and the most economically important port in the
English colonies. At the height of its popularity, the city had one
drinking house for every ten residents. In July
1661 alone, forty new licenses were granted to
taverns. During a twenty-year period that ended in
1692, nearly 6,500 people lived in Port Royal. In addition to prostitutes and buccaneers, there were four
goldsmiths, forty-four tavern keepers, and a variety of
artisans and
merchants who lived in two hundred buildings crammed into 51 acres (206,000 m²) of real estate. Two hundred and thirteen ships visited the seaport in
1688. The city's wealth was so great that coins were preferred for payment rather than the more common system of bartering goods for services.
Following
Henry Morgan's appointment as lieutenant governor, Port Royal began to change. Pirates no longer needed to defend the city. The selling of
slaves took on greater importance. Upstanding citizens disliked the reputation the city had acquired. In
1687, Jamaica passed anti-piracy laws. Instead of being a safe haven for pirates, Port Royal became noted as their place of
execution.
Gallows Point welcomed many to their death, including
Charles Vane and
Calico Jack, who were hanged in
1720. Two years later, forty-one pirates met their death in one month.[
1]
On
June 7,
1692, a devastating earthquake hit the city causing the sand spit on which it was built to
liquefy and flow out into
Kingston Harbour. The effects of
tsunamis caused by the earthquake further eroded the sand spit, and soon the main part of the city lay permanently underwater, though intact enough that archaeologists have managed to uncover some well-preserved sites. The earthquake and tsunami killed between 1,000 and 3,000 people combined, over half the city's population.
After the
earthquake on
June 7,
1692, many believed the destruction to be an "Act of God" because of the city's sinful reputation.
Some attempts were made to rebuild the city, starting with the one third of the city that was not submerged, but these met with mixed success and numerous disasters. An initial attempt at rebuilding was again destroyed in
1704, this time by fire. Subsequent rebuilding was hampered by several
hurricanes in the first half of the
18th century, and soon Kingston eclipsed Port Royal in importance.
A new Town of Port Royal was constructed near Old Port Royal and it became the principal station of the British naval forces in the
Caribbean.
A final devastating earthquake on
January 14,
1907 again liquefied the sand spit, destroying nearly all of the rebuilt city and submerging additional portions.
Today the area is a shadow of its former self with a population of less than 2,000 and has little to no commercial or political importance. The area is frequented by tourists but is in a state of disrepair. The Jamaican government has recently resolved to further develop the area for its historic and touristic value.
*
Port Royal Sound is located between
Hilton Head Island and
Parris Island,
South Carolina*A popular brand of
tobacco is also named after Port Royal.
*Port Royal was featured in the 1935
Errol Flynn hit movie "
Captain Blood".
*Port Royal was also featured in the 2003 hit movie
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and in 2006 with
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and will be again in 2007 with
Pirates of the Caribbean 3*The Port Royal from the movie named above was also featured in the video game
Kingdom Hearts II.
*Metal band
Running Wild have a song about the city on their album
Port Royal.
*Port Royal is the main city of the Caribbean world of piracy in the computer game
Port Royale.
*
The Port Royal Project (historical and archaeological research)
*
Map: Old Port Royal (artistic interpretation of the city before the 1692 earthquake - by cartographer Shawn Brown)
