Port Royal
Jamaica

Port Royal Jamaica is one of the most popular and history-laden tourist attractions in the entire country of Jamaica.

Once the capital of this small island country, it suffered serious damage at the hands of an earthquake in 1692 and the capital was moved to Kingston, Jamaica.

Sin City of the Caribbean

Perhaps this is what makes the area so popular for those who visit the Kingston area of Jamaica as there are still remnants of the wicked era of this formerly pirate-infested Caribbean port. See cannons and other weaponry that is now shown as artifacts in and about the area and in the Port Royal Archaeological and Historical Museum, where visitors can get a first hand glimpse of what it might have been like to inhabit Port Royal, Jamaica when it was overrun with pirates, thieves, criminals, loose women and all of the other people who gave this area their reputation as the most wicked city in the sea. This is it's major charm however, the history that built it!

Fort Charles and the Maritime Museum

Fort Charles is probably one of the most well-visited spots in the whole area. This is the location of a great deal of the historic material that has been reclaimed from the old Port Royal.

This was undertaken by the Port Royal Project which undertook the 1990 excavation.
[N.B.Information on this can be found at: http://nautarch.tamu.edu/portroyal/]

Port Royal was a major British Port (perhaps the biggest in North America where Boston was second...even Admiral Nelson had quarters here!) for 32 years until an earthquake partially buried it in the sea, killing over 2000 people.

The map below represents what the City of Port Royal is thought to have looked like before 11:40 A.M., June 7th, 1692...when the earthquake occurred!--->



The Maritime Museum is another important historical monument in Port Royal that is definitely worth checking out. Here, there are models made to scale of the fort as it was in its glory as well as the ships that were docked there.

If the name of Port Royal, Jamaica sounds familiar to you, it may be because it was used as a backdrop for much of the action that went on in Disney's hit film series, 'The Pirates of the Caribbean,' starring Johnny Depp.

If you are looking for a place to party and let loose, Port Royal is not the type of tourist attraction that you are looking for. Such a visitor would be better served by Ocho Rios or Kingston. At the same time, Port Royal Jamaica has a unique quality all its own, full of a rich and intense history that was only interrupted by unfortunate natural disasters.

The Jamaica Tourism Board has drawn up plans to revitalize Port Royal, and nurture its cultural history, so things should slowly but surely be improving in the area.
Check back often!

[For an interesting look around historic Port Royal check out the following site: http://www.noquartergiven.net/jamaica.htm]

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