Port Royals glory days didnt last long.
At the height of its glittering wealth on June 7, 1692, a massive earthquake shook Jamaica.
The sea swallowed the town killing 2,000 people and wounding 3,000 others.
The first Europeans to land on Jamaica were the Spaniards under the leadership of Christopher Columbus in 1494.
Spain maintained control over the island for 146 years, until the English invasion of 1655.
The strategy proved to be so successful that Spain was forced to continually defend their property.
With ships frequently looted, it struggled to provide its colonies with manufactured goods on a regular basis.
Port Royal meanwhile flourished.
Between 1655 and 1692, it grew faster than any town founded by the English in the New World.
A series of fires and hurricanes followed and the town was never restored to its former glory.
Port Royal lived out its days as a British naval station and today remains as a small fishing village.
Cast-iron skillets and pots were still in the hearth with charred wood from the fire concreted to their surfaces.
The remains of children were found among the broken walls of their home.
Many ceramics were found intact or broken where they fell.
CGI artwork depicting how Port Royal may have looked like.Photo credit
Sources:Wikipedia/UNESCO/Ancient Origin/BBC
