On this Day: Port Royale sank

[Tweed]

Here is a bit of summat useless knowledge. I suggest we all (Pyrates) have a moment of silence for our long gone brethern and thar wenches. Possibly an impromptu battle tonite in thar honor?
Port Royal was the centre of shipping commerce in Jamaica in the 17th century. During this time, it gained a reputation as both the "richest and wickedest city in the world". It was notorious for its gaudy displays of wealth and loose morals, and was a popular place for pirates and privateers to bring and spend their treasure. During the 17th century, the British actively encouraged and even paid buccaneers based at Port Royal to attack Spanish and French shipping.

An earthquake on June 7, 1692, largely destroyed Port Royal, causing two thirds of the city to sink into the Caribbean Sea such that today it is covered by a minimum of 25 ft (8 m) of water. Known today to 16th–18th-century focused archaeologists as the "City that Sank"[1], it is considered the most important underwater archaeological site in the western hemisphere, yielding 16th–17th-century artifacts by the ton and many important treasures from indigenous peoples predating the 1588 founding from as far away as Guatemala. Pirates from around the world congregated at Port Royal coming from waters as far away as Madagascar on the far side of Africa. Several 17th and early 18th century pirate ships are sunk within the harbor and being carefully harvested under controlled conditions by different teams of archaeologists. Other "digs" are staked out along various quarters and streets by different teams.

After this disaster, its commercial role was taken over by the city of Kingston. Current development in progress will redevelop the small resultant fishing town into a tourist destination by 2015-16, serviced by Cruise ships as early as 2008, with the archaeological findings the heart of the attractions, which will include a combination underwater museum-aquarium and restaurant with underwater dioramas and the ability to see the native tropical sealife.


Piracy in Port RoyalPort Royal, located along the shipping lanes to and from Spain and Panama, provided a safe harbor for pirates. Buccaneers found Port Royal appealing for several reasons. Its proximity to trade routes allowed them easy access to prey. The harbour was large enough to accommodate their ships and provided a place to careen and repair these vessels. It was also ideally situated for launching raids on Spanish settlements. From Port Royal, Henry Morgan attacked Panama, Portobello, and Maracaibo. Roche Brasiliano, John Davis (buccaneer), and Edward Mansveldt (Mansfield) also came to Port Royal.

Since the English lacked sufficient troops to prevent either the Spanish or French from seizing it, the Jamaican governors eventually turned to the pirates to defend the city.

By the 1660s, the city had gained a reputation as the Sodom of the New World where most residents were pirates, cutthroats, or prostitutes. When Charles Leslie wrote his history of Jamaica, he included a description of the pirates of Port Royal:


Wine and women drained their wealth to such a degree that… some of them became reduced to beggary. They have been known to spend 2 or 3,000 pieces of eight in one night; and one gave a strumpet 500 to see her naked. They used to buy a pipe of wine, place it in the street, and oblige everyone that passed to drink.

Port Royal grew to be one of the two largest towns and the most economically important port in the English colonies. At the height of its popularity, the city had one drinking house for every ten residents. In July 1661 alone, forty new licenses were granted to taverns. During a twenty-year period that ended in 1692, nearly 6,500 people lived in Port Royal. In addition to prostitutes and buccaneers, there were four goldsmiths, forty-four tavern keepers, and a variety of artisans and merchants who lived in 200 buildings crammed into 51 acres (206,000 m²) of real estate. 213 ships visited the seaport in 1688. The city’s wealth was so great that coins were preferred for payment rather than the more common system of bartering goods for services.

Following Henry Morgan’s appointment as lieutenant governor, Port Royal began to change. Pirates no longer needed to defend the city. The selling of slaves took on greater importance. Upstanding citizens disliked the reputation the city had acquired. In 1687, Jamaica passed anti-piracy laws. Instead of being a safe haven for pirates, Port Royal became noted as their place of execution. Gallows Point welcomed many to their death, including Charles Vane and Calico Jack, who were hanged in 1720. Two years later, forty-one pirates met their death in one month.

My apologies for the long post, but thot it obv some interest to ye.

Tweed
Dread Pyrate formerly obv Tortuga

[Bridget Jennings]

Thank you so much for this post I loved reading it (and was relieved to see it was not our Port Royal being g sunk).

[GaiaGirl Pearl]

A damned ripping yarn, Tweed, well done! Nay not let the pyrates Rest In Peace ... even now they be diggin amongst our bones hoping to find a trinket! yARRRR!

[Tweed]

Aye, it is a ripping tale. I thought it interestin' to note that the upstanding citizens thar figgered that it were more reputable to sell slaves than to have an all inclusive pyrate ClubMed on a tropical Carribbee Isle. Now seems they've come to their senses again.

And 500 pieces of eight to see a wench nekkid?? Hellfire, Sho charges me way more'n that. I gotta have some words with her regardin' her prices....

[Tweed]

Aslo, I got curious as to what a pipe of wine looked like. Turns out that the Portugee word fer barrel is pipa.

Drink 110 gallons of cheap wine with no ibuprofen for next day? Times was hard indeed in old days!
Port Pipe Barrel
Tall, elegant oak barrel originally used for maturing port. Approx. 110 gallons in capacity, approx. 57" (142cm) high, 25" (63cm) across top, 36" (90cm) across centre.

[Sho Kyong]

Well I'm just not any wench ...I am Pirate!!!!!

[Tweed]

Yaz obv corse me dove, and a LAAYDEEE aslo.

[Scattered Sideways]

Thank you for the grand history of Port Royal Tweed! Is no wonder so many a pirate ship is sent to the depths in Antiquity Port Royal. The history demands it and is well loved by the Navy! I can hear the hammering now as gallows are being built. Blades be at the ready as the history of Antiquity Port Royal is being made! Well done Tweed!

[Sho Kyong]

Aye It may been so Comadore...but me and shipmate Tweed have a new secret weapon...a special gunner with connections...let's just say a friend in a VERY high place.......we may change History this time....

[Tweed]

Yarr! That's right me Dove, and the only things the Commodore will be hangin' on that gallows that she's commissioned will be her wet skivvies and ploomage.

[Sho Kyong]

Aye...And I'm at this very moment sending the Comadore some "Frizz No More" to protect her nice blonde curls when she finds herself a swiming....I also included a piece of cloth from ye coat Cap'n Tweed.....I hopes ye don't mind...but it makes a gude shark repelent and Mz. Scatt may be needing that too since Port Royal is rumored to be shark infested.

[Scattered Sideways]

Thank you Sho - you always think of the nicest things! Do hope to see you soon in-world... I've not had much time today - we have a plenty of those "pop up" storms - winds lightening down pours of rain - but alas the storm was late in coming - and did not prevent the lawn from being mowed.

[GaiaGirl Pearl]

That pipa looks like one hellava hangover ~ wonder how many or our brethren would have noticed there was an earthquake? All dem pro...fessional women in town, heck they probably CAUSED the earthquake.