Port Royal and the Palisadoes

Port Royal began as a Taino fishing camp and later became an important site for Spanish ship maintenance before the British captured Jamaica in 1655 and fortified it for strategic use. During the 17th century, it grew into Jamaica’s virtual capital and a wealthy centre for trade, buccaneers, and pirates, including Henry Morgan, who later became Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica.

Although Port Royal became a major economic and naval center, it suffered devastating disasters, including the 1692 earthquake, fires, hurricanes, and later the 1907 earthquake and Hurricane Charlie in 1951. These events caused its decline as merchants moved to Kingston and the naval dockyard eventually closed. Today, Port Royal is a quiet fishing village, but it remains one of Jamaica’s most significant historical and archaeological sites because of its long role as England’s strongest naval base in the Caribbean.