History of the Caribbean: Port Royal Part 3
The history of Port Royal of the Caribbean as an important trading port was only to be relatively short-lived no matter how successful it was as a port city of the world. The infamy of the town’s visitors and citizens grew, despite any of the outrages that they performed on ship and on shore. Privateers were sanctioned by their king to plunder from other ships from other nations, and, as a reward, they could keep the booty. This made the privateer a sort of legal pirate. The welcome that was given to pirates and privateers alike grew so that Jamaica became known as a safe port for any pirate who needed a place to divide the booty.
The famous Captain Morgan, a privateer for the English, who kept what he took from the Spaniards, once travelled with a vast amount of booty in his ship’s hull to Port Royal. His booty consisted of 250,000 pieces of eight and other treasures that he had just forced from the Spanish harbor town of Puerto Bello.
Calico Jack was a pirate of the Caribbean who met his end at the gallows in Port Royal in 1720. Calico Jack, whose real name was Jack Rackham, was the pirate who sailed with the women pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read and their crew as they plundered the traders and fishing boats of the Caribbean.
When a British Navy sloop found the pirate ship, the pirates were captured after a fight in which the women spurred their frightened male crewmates to fight bravely as the women were already doing. While Calico Jack was hanged for his crimes, both Anne Bonny and Mary Read “plead for their bellies” and they were allowed to go free because of their pregnancies.
At the time of its disaster, Port Royal was flourishing as the biggest English town of the New World with Boston, Massachusetts next in size. In 1692, an earthquake struck Port Royal and parts of the town sank into the water. This earthquake killed around 2000 of its citizens while thousands more died soon after from injuries and disease. In 1703, a fire struck the town and two earthquakes destroyed the city, which lead to its demise as an important port in 1722. Remnants of the wickedest city survived and the place now is the location of a fishing village with the name of Port Royal.
From an archeological point of view, there has been excavation done on the submerged areas of the town and the site is revealing the crude and sophisticated building styles used in the area. Porcelain dinnerware from China, pewter plates, silver utensils, jewelry, candlesticks and other items have been recovered.
It is possible to visit the area as part of a Caribbean history cruise where you will be able to learn about and visit this historical port and other sites of historical activity in the exciting history of the Caribbean. Just imagine to yourself the magic of walking the same Caribbean shores from which the pirates and privateers embarked to find their spots for buried treasure.
Filed under: Destinations
