Most fans of “Pirates of the Caribbean” know that Port Royal (Jamaica) is the film’s setting.
However, unlike the romanticized portrayal in cinema, this “radical free world” was “glorious” in a different way. It was so detestable that when it was submerged by an earthquake and tsunami in 1692, everyone thanked the gods.
Legalizing Piracy
Port Royal is located at the end of Palisadoes, the harbor of Kingston, Southeast Jamaica (a Caribbean nation). Archaeological discoveries indicate that the first inhabitants of this land were the Taino (indigenous Americans). They lived by foraging and fishing, referring to Port Royal as Caguay or Caguaya.
In the late 17th century, Port Royal was teeming with pirates granted citizenship.
In 1494, Spanish colonizers landed on Caguay, massacring the Taino people. By 1509, they had settled Spanish citizens to exploit agriculture (primarily sugarcane farming).
Due to its strategic location linking Caribbean trade routes, Caguay was monopolized by Spain for 146 years. In 1655, British colonizers invaded Caguay, ousting the Spanish and renaming it Port Royal.
With its deep-water harbor, Port Royal quickly became a commercial hub. The Spanish regretted losing it and plotted to reclaim it, while the British feared losing Port Royal and sought to maintain their colonial hold at all costs.
Ultimately, they devised a “win-win” solution by allowing rampant piracy, granting citizenship and nullifying the crime of piracy if brought to court.
Under British patronage, pirates in Port Royal were free to attack and loot Spanish ships. Sensing the opportunity, pirates from all over flocked here, quickly filling Port Royal.
The most successful pirate in Port Royal was Henry Morgan (1635 – 1688). Utilizing British support, he transformed into a “model citizen” and eventually rose to the position of Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica.
A Paradise of Indulgence
One in every four houses in Port Royal was a bar or brothel.
With a population mostly consisting of pirates, Port Royal became incredibly wealthy. Thanks to a steady source of plunder, bars and brothels emerged.
In the 1660s, one in every four houses in Port Royal was a brothel or bar. Day after day, pirates spent lavishly on alcohol and women. Many had so much excess money that they would buy liquor and pile it on the sidewalks, enticing and forcing passersby to drink.
“Alcohol and women drained all the pirates’ wealth, turning them into beggars,” records about Port Royal noted.
Economically, “forced trade” flourished. Merchants blatantly coerced Spanish traders, hiring or sponsoring pirates to exploit coastal towns.
Thanks to forced trade, Port Royal grew wealthier, becoming the most prosperous overseas territory of the British Empire.
By the 1670s, it earned the notorious title “Sodom of the New World,” filled with pirates, courtesans, and debauchery… No decent person would want to set foot in Port Royal. Everywhere, people were disgusted and terrified, nicknaming it “the most debauched city on earth.”
Disaster and Decline
The earthquake and tsunami destroyed Port Royal, ending the era of the ‘pirate paradise’.
On June 7, 1692, an earthquake estimated at 7.5 on the Richter scale struck Port Royal. Most of the pirates’ entertainment district, built on sand, was instantly devastated. From the depths of the earth, deep fissures appeared, spewing water and swallowing roads, houses, and people. Finally, a tsunami crashed down, submerging everything.
After the disaster, about 33 acres of Port Royal vanished, 4/5 of the forts were destroyed or sunk, and 2,000 people lost their lives. The Port Royal cemetery was also claimed by the sea, with old bones mixed with new corpses, floating on the water’s surface.
Before the tremors ceased, the surviving pirates frantically looted. They grabbed everything they could, ignoring the cries of despair and the specter of death looming over them. News of the collapse of “Sodom of the New World” spread widely. Many speculated, “it was divine punishment.”
Despite the heavy devastation, the “debauched paradise” did not disappear immediately. For the next 50 years, it remained a destination for pirates. British colonizers continued to sponsor and encourage them to attack and loot Spanish ships and colonies.
However, the golden age of Port Royal never returned. British colonizers gradually abandoned it, shifting their focus to building a “Second Port Royal” in Kingston, a larger port also located on the Southeast coast of Jamaica.
The growing prominence of Kingston marked the end for Port Royal. Today, it is merely a small, impoverished fishing village. The most valuable asset of Port Royal may be the remnants of the “debauched paradise” lying quietly beneath the sea.
Thanks to the relatively short time and the sea, it has been preserved almost intact, allowing researchers and archaeologists to study and depict a complete picture of the legal pirate life in 17th century Caribbean.
