A Brief History of Port Royal in Jamaica

Trained in secondary education, Emily Kiburz-Grimes earned her master’s degree in education from the University of Nebraska and taught English Language Learners in the Lincoln, Nebraska public school system for more than 10 years. Emily Kiburz-Grimes is an avid traveler and has visited multiple destinations in Europe, North and South America, and the Caribbean.

One of the most popular destinations in the Caribbean is the island country of Jamaica, located about 90 miles south of Cuba. Christopher Columbus visited in 1494, after which the Spanish subjugated Jamaica. By the mid-17th century, the British drove the Spanish out. When the latter attempted to re-conquer the island, the British sponsored pirates who would attack and plunder Spanish shipping.

During the pirates’ heyday on the island, they enjoyed congregating in the town of Port Royal, the island’s unofficial capital and described by contemporaries as the world’s “most wicked and sinful city”. Late on the morning of June 7, 1692, a massive earthquake struck Port Royal and demolished it. Within hours, a tsunami buried what was left of Port Royal under up to 30 feet of water. The town today remains submerged in Kingston harbor, protected by law from recreational divers, although some material was salvaged and is currently on display in area museums.