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Port Antonio is the capital of the parish of
Portland, which was officially formed in 1723 after the Crown offered
major incentives such as land grants and tax exemptions. The Maroons of
Jamaica were notorious because of their long struggle with the British
colonial authorities who had to pass more than 40 laws in a desperate
attempt to control them. Peace was made with the Maroons in 1739.
 The Zaca "The most beautiful woman I
have ever laid eyes upon", was the way
Errol Flynn described Port Antonio, when a storm blew his yacht Zaca, a
118ft schooner, off course to its shores.
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By the 1940s and 50s, Jamaica and Port Antonio had been
discovered by
the rich and famous of Hollywood and had become a preferred vacation
spot for the stars.
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He
purchased property and a
nearby island, Navy Island, put down roots and made it his home, where
his widow
Patrice Wymore Flynn, still lives. The new Marina, built in 2002, in
named after him. 
Baker also saw the potential for tourism and established the first “cruise ship” to and from Port Antonio. Not only did Baker import bananas, now he also ferried visitors from the wintry New England states to the sunny island paradise of Port Antonio in his empty banana boats. In 1905 the town’s first hotel was built on the Titchfield Peninsula and curious tourists were soon rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous.
Port Antonio, is the birth place of tourism in Jamaica, but unlike other resorts in the island, its tourism potential remains undeveloped and undamaged. And therein lies Port Antonio's charm, and the lure of the parish of Portland.
