Port Royal

Port Royal was a city located at the end of the Palisadoes at the mouth of the Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1518, it was the centre of shipping commerce in the Caribbean Sea during the latter half of the 17th century. It was destroyed by an earthquake in 1692 and subsequent fires, hurricanes, flooding, and another earthquake in 1907.

Port Royal was once home to privateers employed to nip at superpower Habsburg Spain's empire when smaller European powers dared not directly make war on Spain. As a port city, it was notorious for its gaudy displays of wealth and loose morals and was a popular homeport for the English and Dutch sponsored privateers to spend their treasure during the 17th century. When those governments abandoned the practice of issuing letters of marque against the Spanish treasure fleets and possessions in the later 16th century, many privateers turned pirate and used the city as their main base during the heyday of the Caribbean pirates in the 17th century. Pirates from around the world congregated at Port Royal coming from waters as far away as Madagascar.

After the 1692 disaster, Port Royal's commercial role was steadily taken over by the town (and later, city) of Kingston. Current plans for Port Royal will redevelop the small fishing town into a tourist destination serviced by cruise ships with archaeological findings at the heart of the attractions.

Read more about Port RoyalDefence of The Port, Economy, Piracy in Port Royal, Earthquake of 1692 and Its Aftermath, Recent History

Other articles related to "port royal, port":

Livermore Falls, Maine - History
... by the General Court of Massachusetts in 1771 as Port Royal, awarded to heirs of veterans who served in the campaign against Port Royal in Jamaica ... Consequently, East Livermore (which encompassed a quarter of the original Port Royal grant) was set off and incorporated on March 1, 1844 ...
Port La Tour, Nova Scotia - French Colony - Siege of 1630
... Louis), the latter supporting the Scottish who had taken Port Royal, Nova Scotia ... Claude was forced to withdraw in humiliation to Port Royal ... By 1641, La Tour lost Cape Sable Island, Pentagouet (Castine, Maine), and Port Royal, Nova Scotia to Governor of Acadia Charles de Menou d'Aulnay de Charnisay ...
List Of Locations In Pirates Of The Caribbean - Port Royal
... In real-world history, Port Royal was a city located at the end of the Palisadoes at the mouth of the Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica ... Port Royal appears in all movies except in On Stranger Tides ... Port Royal is the home of Elizabeth, where her father is governor ...
Canada Post French Settlement Series - 2005
... Port Royal The French settlers who survived the disastrous winter of 1604 on St ... proved a starting point for the design of a new stamp depicting Port-Royal ... was also a source for the 1939 reconstruction of Port-Royal ...

Famous quotes containing the words royal and/or port:

    Farewell the neighing steed and the shrill trump,
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    The triumphs of peace have been in some proximity to war. Whilst the hand was still familiar with the sword-hilt, whilst the habits of the camp were still visible in the port and complexion of the gentleman, his intellectual power culminated; the compression and tension of these stern conditions is a training for the finest and softest arts, and can rarely be compensated in tranquil times, except by some analogous vigor drawn from occupations as hardy as war.
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