Port Royal; According to the current political situation, it is a town from a village established close to the port area of Kingston, the capital of Jamaica. Although its name means Noble Harbor, its story does not seem very noble.
The Town of Port Royal was an islet that was discovered and established by the Spanish in the Caribbean in 1494, and soon turned into the most important commercial center in the region. The area was also called Tiano during the Spanish occupation and Cagway during the British colonial period. After a while, Port Royal became a pirate land due to its strategic location. It is written in many written documents that the region became a pirate utopia in the 1660s. Edward Teach, the world’s most famous pirate, or known as Pirate Bay Blackbeard, was one of Port Royal’s biggest fans.
Sodom of the New World
Especially the pirates who wanted to attack Spain and Spanish ships used Port Royal as a base. During this period, many organizations known for their piracy activities preferred Port Royal as their meeting center. Before Port Royal became a base for pirates, it was the center of the lewd nightlife of the wealthy. With the tsunami and earthquake that occurred in 1692, it lost almost all its charm and was evacuated. The region is now referred to as the Sodom of the New World. Sodom was one of the cities mentioned in the Bible and destroyed by God.
Pirate’s Nest Port Royal
With the developments, Port Royal has become a real pirate base. Importance of Port Royal for pirates; It was close to trade routes, that is, its strategic location and the port was wide enough to provide ship maintenance. The British, French and Spanish navies, which frequently attacked the region during this period, were defeated each time by the Port Royal Pirates.
Revenge of the Modern World
For a long time Port Royal; used or exploited by pirates, goldsmiths, traders and loggers. In this process, Port Royal became an entertainment center and sex paradise again; It also created a huge economic cycle. In fact, the economy has developed so much that; In trade, the exchange of goods was replaced by coins.
At the beginning of the 18th century, normalization steps were taken to erase the bad image on Port Royal. But this time, slave trade became widespread in the region. Over time, Port Royal, which came under the protection of today’s Jamaica, turned into an execution island during the transition period. The executions of many pirates, especially world-famous pirates such as Charles Vane, Calico Jack and Mary Read, were carried out in Port Royal as an example. In this process, 41 high-ranking pirates were executed in just one month.
Disasters Are Unstoppable
In the 19th century, the region came under the control of the British and a new restructuring began. A large number of shipyards, warehouses, cooperatives, hospitals, workshops and other necessary structures were built in the area by the British. As a result of these investments, the population in the region increased rapidly. In fact, in a census, it was revealed that there was a population of 6500 and more than 2 thousand houses. Increasing human population and accompanying structures on the region; When the area exceeded the rate that the region could bear, the revenge that nature took from human beings was quite bitter. With the gigantic earthquake in the region, Port Royal was sent off almost to eternity. 3 thousand due to disasters, 2 thousand due to the epidemic that followed immediately; In total, 5,000 people died. With these disasters, 2/3 of Port Royal was completely sunk and the remaining 1/3 was judged not very safe for life. Despite this, the remaining part was tried to be repaired and brought back to life many times in the following years. Finally, with an earthquake in 1907, the remaining parts were destroyed.
The Remaining Rights Are Ours
What remains of Port Royal today is The Giddy House, an artillery depot, and a sunken town. This warehouse and sunken town is an attraction that attracts thousands of tourists every year, but it is also protected by UNESCO. It is also known that Port Poyal, which is a frequent destination for people who are especially interested in diving tourism, has a serious economic return to Jamaica.
Well, have you heard of the legend of Port Royal before and what do you think about Port Royal?
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