Port Royal

The town of Port Royal was once the most prosperous commercial center in the English New World. 33 Located in Jamaica, Port Royal’s origin dates back to the Taíno people, an established and selfsufficient community located throughout the Caribbean. By 1494 Christopher Columbus reached Jamaica and the Taínos’ generosity became their demise as Spaniards brought disease and colonization to the island. By 1519 a third of the aboriginal people had died of smallpox and the remaining population was forced into labour in mines and prevented from planting their own crops, which led to massive starvation. 34 Despite their oppression, the influence of the Taíno is alive; from hammocks to tobacco, their heritage carries on. 35

Spain dominated Jamaica’s early colonization, but the island was considered unimportant due to its lack of mineral resources. From England, Lord General Oliver Cromwell sent an expeditionary force to capture the Spanish island of Hispaniola, present day Haiti, in 1653. The English force was unable to seize Hispaniola and was forced to seek refuge in Jamaica, another Spanish island. After conquering Jamaica, the British empire officially sanctioned privateering in Port Royal from 1660 to 1672. Privatelyowned vessels commissioned by the British empire had permission to attack Spanish ships and seek refuge in the port. 36 With no British naval force to protect it, the island depended on privateers and pirates for defense.

Port Royal was inhabited by privateers

and pirates who had great quantities of alcohol and wealth; however, the port’s population had no military force to regulate their behaviour.

The city became known as the “wickedest city on earth.” 37 Charles Leslie’s account details that,

“The common Drink…[was] Madera Wine… ‘tis cheap…The greatest Moderation is necessary in using it, and could it be avoided altogether.” 38

Excesses were reversed under the Second Treaty of Madrid of 1670, which

forced the British Empire to revoke privateering commissions. The treaty brought peace with Spain and increased trade and profits between colonies. The black market flourished. Smuggling slaves and manufactured goods became more profitable than privateering. 39 The city became increasingly wealthy and a central port of trade for the new world.

Port Royal’s zenith came to a

sudden end in 1692 when an earthquake and subsequent tidal wave killed two

thousand people. An eyewitness account of the earthquake described the event: “the streets [with inhabitants] were

swallowed up by the opening of the Earth, which then shutting upon them, squeezed the people to death. And in that manner, several were buried with their heads above ground.” 40 In the weeks that followed, more than two thousand additional people died of disease and fever. Efforts to rebuild the port were undermined by new hurricanes, fires, and earthquakes. The British turned their focus to the development of Kingston, Jamaica’s capital, as an alternative naval and commercial base.

Port Royal is still mostly known for its pirate history. In fact, Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean saga features the port numerous times. The execution of Calico Jack in Port Royal was incredibly controversial; during his trial it was revealed that two of his most ferocious crew members were pregnant women. In Port Royal, Mary Read and Anne Bonny became the most famous female pirates of history. Gallows Point was the scene of numerous pirate executions from 1680 to 1830.

Today much of Port Royal is underwater, and the city’s remains are still being explored. A longterm plan between the Jamaican government, archeological institutions, and universities seeks to restore the port for academic and tourist purposes. The Underwater City is on the UNESCO World Heritage Site’s tentative list, and although there have not been any treasures found, the port remains the “richest repository of historic shipwrecks anywhere.” Port Royal and the underwater city are open to the public. Indeed, the submerged remains of the port speak to the expansion of piracy, colonial trade and a relentless quest for wealth.

DANIELA DIAZ LOMBARDO INTERNATIONAL STUDIES MAJOR