The Tour
We organize 6 or 14 seating air-conditioned transportation for this tour. Including lunch & Fort Charles tour. Port Royal/Fort Charles Tour. Open Sunday- Saturday From 9:00 am – 4:45 pm. The entrance fee JA$150 for Kids and JA$400 for Adults.
The Fort
Port Royal/Fort Charles Tour. Open Sunday- Saturday From 9:00 am – 4:45 pm. The entrance fee JA$150 for Kids and JA$400 for Adults. Transportation is available at a cost.
Information
Port Royal was called “the richest and wickedest city in the world”. It was founded in the 1650s by the first British settlers who came to Jamaica. The town grew up around Fort Charles and soon became packed with traders, shopkeepers, innkeepers, soldiers, buccaneers and pirates. There were also a number of craftsmen including carpenters, bricklayers, tailors, goldsmiths and silversmiths. By 1690, there were between 8,000 and 10,000 permanent inhabitants at Port Royal. Some houses were three or four storeys high. Everything was available including bars, taverns, restaurants, coffee houses and brothels.
At a few minutes before 12 midday on Tuesday, June 7, 1692, an earthquake struck Port Royal. A huge tidal wave destroyed ships in the harbour and carried one of the ships into the middle of the town. Many of the buildings were destroyed and most of the city disappeared into the sea. Over 2,000 people died and more than 3,000 had serious injuries. Many of the victims were swallowed up by the earth. There is a very exciting story about Lewis Galdy; he was swallowed alive into the earth by one shock and then was thrown into the sea by another shock. He swam until a boat took him up. Galdy lived forty-seven years after his miraculous escape and is buried in the St. Peter’s Anglican churchyard in Port Royal.
After the earthquake, the survivors went across the harbour and many settled in the new town called Kingston. Port Royal began to lose its status as a major town. A fire in 1703 and a devastating hurricane in 1722 further contributed to the full decline of the town.
The sunken city of Port Royal has been kept almost exactly as it would have looked in 1692 and this has fascinated people all over the world.
Art Links
Ancient Origins – JNHT – Deviant Art – Jamrock Magazine – Net2Market.com –
