Port Royal Jamaica: Real City of Pirates of the Caribbean
This blog is the second in the series lists of legendary lost cities in our world. In the previous blog, we mentioned how Dwarka the greatest Hindu city during the Mahabharata time submerged into the sea because of nature’s wrath. Port Royal in Jamaica is also known as the “Wickedest City on Earth.” Port Royal is a village located at the end of the Palisadoes, at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. In the year 1494, the Spanish found the city. Port Royal Jamaica was the largest city in the Caribbean at that time. Port Royal Jamaica was the center of shipping and commerce in the Caribbean Sea by the latter half of the 17th century.
Till now we have only heard that pirates existed in the fictional world but Port Royal Jamaica was once the city of pirates. It was once home to privateers who attacked Spanish vessels, at a time when smaller European nations were reluctant to attain Spain directly. Being a port city, it was notorious for its guard displays of wealth and lose morals. In the 17th century, the privateers of England and the Dutch spend their treasure by making Port Royal their homeport.
In the 16th century, the English and Dutch governments abandoned the practice of issuing letters of marque to privateers against the Spanish treasure fleets and possessions. This made many of the crews turn into pirates. They make Port Royal Jamaica their base during the 17th century. Pirates from all over the world gathered at Port Royal Jamaica and came from waters as far away as Madagascar.
Also read: Great Temples Built By Raja Raja Chola (Ponniyin Selvan)
Nature’s Wrath on Port Royal Jamaica
June 7, 1692, Port Royal Jamaica’s church rector was running late for a lunch appointment. But his friend requested him to delay just for some more time. This small choice saved his life. The ground of Port Royal in Jamaica began to roll and rumble. But the friend waved off the rector’s alarm. Generally, earthquakes on this island pass quickly. But this quake was not like the other earthquakes. The quake’s intensity increased and the two men soon heard the church tower collapse into rubble.
The church rector sprinted outside, racing for open ground. He described that the land split open, swallowing crowds of people and homes in one gulp and then sealing closed. The mountains began to crumble, the sky became red and the waters from the geyser began to explode from the seams ripped in the earth. The seawater swelled the entire town. The church rector described the disaster in a letter, “Within three minutes, Port Royal Jamaica, the finest town of all the English plantations, the best emporium and mart of that part of the world, was shaken and shattered into pieces.”
The earthquake was followed by a tsunami, which scientists believe measured 7.5 on the Ritcher scale, making it a major event. By the time the catastrophe ended, most of Port Royal, including the cemetery where Henry Morgan (famous Caribbean pirate and Lieutenant General of Jamaica) was buried, lay beneath the watery depths. Nearly, 2,000 people were killed immediately, and thousands more died soon after. People thought that because of its licentious reputation, the Port Royal disaster is its Judgment Day.
Submerged City
Covered by slits and 20 to 40 feet of murky water, the sunken town remained untouched for over 300 years until marine archaeologists began to bring artifacts to the surface world. These artifacts helped to reveal the truth behind the wicked legends. In 1956, the first exploration took place when amateur archaeologist Edwin Link and his wife & research partner, Marion visited the location. They pulled up a cannon from the fort but concluded that more equipment would be needed to plumb the muddy bottom and artifacts beneath it.
They both returned in 1959 with the Sea Diver and found objects that are uncovered and breakable objects a long time ago. The archaeologist couple mentioned that unlike other cities on land that change with the years. This one remained exactly the same as it had been more than two and half centuries before sealed by the seas in an instant earthquake. Scientists called these types of sites “catastrophic sites” where a sudden disaster preserves artifacts and the context of life around them.
Starting from pewter tableware to Chinese porcelain, there were many signs of personal wealth in the submerged site. There were many household items of that period and elegant items like a wrought-iron swivel gun. Many bottles and pipes were found that gave the impression that people in old Port Royal in Jamaica did spend most of their time drinking and smoking.
One of the most fascinating items that were discovered by archaeologists is an elegant brass watch. It was manufactured in Amsterdam in 1686 and it had stopped at what was considered the exact time of the earthquake: 17 minutes to noon. This exploration became a start for further explorations. After this in 1981, Texas A&M University led a 10-year excavation with the Institute of National Archaeology and the Jamaica National Heritage Trust. Many organic artifacts are recovered and these have created an even more vibrant picture of what life was like in the Wickedest Caribbean & Notorious Pirate Port in the 17th century.
