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Jamaica, Fiwi Roots |
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On the morning of June 7, 1692, the ground first began to tremble. From historical eyewitness accounts, never actually shhook, but began to move like waves on the ocean. According to some accounts, the ground turned to water right under their feet, and people sank into the water. Others say the ground opened up into vast pools of water. Most likely the sand had become so saturated with ocean water that it could no longer support any kind of weight and people and objects did actually sink into the water. Just as quickly, the water rushed out and what was left were people half buried in the ground.
The entire Western end of the town then slid into the ocean.
Giddy
House, 1907 Earthquake |
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The town was hit by a tidal wave shortly after
the earthquake ended and
many people who had been half buried by the quake were drowned. Over
two thousand people died in a matter of minutes. The cemetery located
outside of town on the Palisadoes peninsula was opened up by the quake
and most of it slid into the sea. For the next several weeks, there
bodies were being recovered from the town and the cemetery. Looters ran
free throughout the town. |
Rebuilding Efforts
In 1735 a naval base was established once more at Port Royal for the British West Indies Squadron in its struggle against the French.
A final devastating earthquake on January 14,
1907 again liquefied the sand spit, destroying nearly all of the
rebuilt city and submerging additional portions.
Today the area is a shadow of its former self with a population of less than 2,000. It's is a quiet little town, with only a few relics of its romantic past: Fort Charles at the entrance to the harbour once under the command of Horatio Nelson, St. Peter's Church, and a museum displaying some treasures resurrected from the sea.
