One of the most famous and successful privateers at Port Royal was Henry Morgan, who eventually became the Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica. Due to its strategic position on the trading routes between the New World and Spain, Port Royal was a highly attractive place for pirates who sought to become legitimate privateers. Credit: Sharon BrownĪs the area commanded a large and well-protected harbour, along with deep water close to shore, Port Royal soon became an important trading centre in the Caribbean, and it was not long before it was the busiest and wealthiest port in the West Indies. When Charles II was restored to the English throne, the fort was renamed Fort Charles, and the settlement became Port Royal.Ī map of Port Royal, Jamaica. They succeeded in capturing the island, and a fort, named Fort Cromwell was built, around which the settlement of Point Cagway sprang up. Defeated by the Spanish, and fearing to report their failure to Cromwell, Venables and Penn decided to head southwest to the poorly defended island of Jamaica. In 1654, an English expedition under Robert Venables and William Penn was sent by Oliver Cromwell to capture the island of present day Haiti from the Spanish.

The Spanish colonisation of Jamaica brought this area under Spanish control, although, like the Taino before them, they did not have much use for it. While it is unclear whether the Taino settled in that area or not, it is known that they used Port Royal during their fishing expeditions. Port Royal was first occupied by the Taino Indians. Today, Port Royal is one of the most important archaeological sites in the Caribbean and the only sunken city in the Western Hemisphere. But the extravagances of the wealthiest port in the West Indies came to a rapid end at precisely 11:43 on 7 th June 1692, when Port Royal was consumed by an earthquake and two thirds of the city sank into the sea.

Seventeenth century life in Port Royal, Jamaica, commonly referred to as 'the wickedest city on earth', conjures up images of marauding pirates, treasure hunters, naval conquests, looting, and the overindulgence of food, alcohol, gambling, and women.

Pictures of port discovery