Port Royal

settlement in Jamaica

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Place details

Locality: Port Royal
Region: Kingston
Country: Jamaica
Population: 3,327
Timezone

Travel guide

Understand

thumb|300px|View of Kingston Kingston is the commercial and cultural capital of Jamaica with nearly a million people calling the city home.

At one point, it was the only city in Jamaica. The city is assigned the equivalent of postal codes, (Kingston 5, Kingston 10, etc.) which is a good representation of how truly large this city is, especially for an island such as Jamaica. There are two major sections to this city: 'downtown' and 'uptown,' also referred to as 'New Kingston.'

Get in

thumb|upright=1.3|Northern suburbs of Kingston.

Since 1992, there has been no passenger rail traffic to Kingston.

Eat

Restaurants usually serve only Jamaican food, though eating out is usually affordable. If you fancy something else, there are some Indian restaurants and a few more Chinese restaurants.

Drink

thumb|Bar in Trenchtown Drink Red Stripe and Appleton Rum. If you've got the guts, try some Wray & Nephew overproof white rum (locals refer to it as "whites"): a drink that is usually around 120 proof.

There's also refreshing coconut water, cane juice, sorrel (only served around Christmas time), Irish Moss, and tamarind drink or genuine Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee (according to experts it is perhaps the best tasting, most expensive and most sought after coffee in the world). You can get premium beans from Rum, Roast and Royals in the Devon House complex.

Good bars include Red Bones Blues Café (also a good restaurant).

Kingston is the host of many great clubs. Found in New Kingston, there are many clubs that party until the early morning hours.

Connect

Digicel and Flow have 3G and 4G coverage all over the Kingston urban area. Moreover there are Internet cafés here and there.

Stay safe

Kingston has more crime than the rest of the island and it is one of the most dangerous cities in the world when measured by the murder rate. These mostly take place among members of organized crime, but occasionally others including tourists, end up in the line of fire.

~25 min read

Article

Port Royal (Jamaican Patois: Puot Rayal) was a town located at the end of the Palisadoes, at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1494 by the Spanish, it was once the largest and most prosperous city in the Caribbean, functioning as the centre of shipping and commerce in the Caribbean Sea by the latter half of the 17th century. It was destroyed by an earthquake on 7 June 1692 and its accompanying tsunami, leading to the establishment of Kingston, which would later become the capital and the most populated city in Jamaica. Severe hurricanes have regularly damaged the area. Another severe earthquake occurred in 1907.

Port Royal became home port to English and Dutch government sponsored privateers who were encouraged to attack Spanish vessels, at a time when many European nations were reluctant to attack the powerful Spanish fleet directly. As a port city, it was notorious for its gaudy displays of wealth and loose morals, with the privateer crews spending their treasure in the many taverns, gambling houses, and brothels which catered to the sailors. When the British and Dutch governments officially abandoned the practice of issuing letters of marque to privateers against the Spanish treasure fleets and possessions in South America in the later 16th century, many of the crews turned pirate to allow themselves to maintain their plundering illegally. Port Royal effectively became a pirate republic, and they continued to use the city as their main base during the 17th century. Pirates from around the world congregated at Port Royal, coming from waters as far away as Madagascar. The town became notorious in folklore as "the wickedest city on Earth".