The Port Royal 1692 Disaster

The 1692 Jamaica earthquake struck Port Royal, Jamaica, on 7 June. A stopped pocket watch indicated that it occurred around 11:43 AM local time. Known as the ＂storehouse and treasury of the West Indies＂ and as ＂one of the wickedest places on Earth＂, Port Royal was, at the time, the unofficial capital of Jamaica and one of the busiest and wealthiest ports in the Americas, as well as a common home port for many of the privateers and pirates operating on the Caribbean Sea. The 1692 earthquake caused most of the city to sink below sea level. About 2,000 people died as a result of the earthquake and the following tsunami, and another 3,000 people died in the following days due to injuries and disease. This book ＂The Port Royal 1692 Disaster＂ details the history before, during and after that great earthquake.