Port Royal
Port Royal, Jamaica was once called the "richest and wickedest city in the world”. Founded in the 1650’s by British Settlers who came to Jamaica, it soon became the center of shipping commerce because of its strategic location at the mouth of the Kingston Harbour.
Spanish Defeat
Well, to be honest with you, it wasn’t really founded by the British Settlers. It’s first visitors were the Tainos (Arawak Indians). Then came the Spaniards, who were really sent to capture Hispaniola (now Haiti and Dominican Republic), but got a serious whopping and instead were forced to console themselves with Jamaica. This sea front city was later occupied by the English in 1655. But let's get back to our story. By 1960, there were about 8,000 - 10,000 occupants and Port Royal had become one of the biggest English cities this side of the world.
Wealth and Decadence
Like every densely populated city, craftsmen,
tradesmen, entrepreneurs
and ‘professionals’ of every kind soon made their way there. The city
was notorious for its extravagant wealth and was a popular port for the
English and Dutch sponsored privateers who later became pirates using
the city as their main base. The deep water near the shore also made it
ideal for ships to unload and reload cargo.
The city was dubbed
‘wicked’ because of the pirates, prostitutes
and other shady characters who were well known for their loose morals.
Earthquake Strikes
The city was enjoying immense wealth and
prosperity (the opposite of
Haiti) when at 11:43 am (according to a pocket watch recovered from the
seabed) an earthquake struck. Two thirds of the city sank and
disappeared into the Caribbean Sea. Over 2000 people were immediately
killed and many more would follow as a result of injuries and diseases,
(According to the Port Royal Project).
The story of Lewis Galdy who was swallowed alive by the earth by one shock and then thrown into the sea by another is often told by Jamaican historians. In fact, the tomb of Galdy who lived 47 years after his escape can be visited today, as he was buried in the St. Peter’s Anglican Churchyard in city.
A New Beginning
After
this major disaster, many of the survivors settled into the
neighbouring town called Kingston (now our capital city). While many
residents stayed behind to rebuild their beloved city, a major
fire in 1703 and a devastating hurricane in 1722 all but destroyed
their efforts of reconstructing the city. Today, what you will find
here is a small but resilient fishing village. Known by archaeologist
as the “City that Sank”, Port Royal remains one of the most important
underwater archaeological site in the western hemisphere.Other References:
| |
Port Royal Gallery
