This Caribbean Island’s Sunken City Was a Pirate Stronghold

Talk about a transformation. Formerly known as the “Wickedest City on Earth,” the once pirate-controlled town of Port Royal, Jamaica, has been named a new UNESCO World Heritage Site for its rich historical and cultural legacy.

The history of Port Royal encapsulates the most dramatic extremes of the colonial-era Caribbean. Located at the tip of a sandbar extending into the mouth of the harbor in Kingston, Jamaica, the city was considered one of the most strategically significant destinations for early colonial powers in the region. Once the British took over in the 17th century, it quickly became one of the wealthiest cities in the Caribbean.

Less savory characters soon saw the city’s strategic value, too, with notorious privateers and pirates like Captain Henry Morgan and Calico Jack setting up shop in Port Royal. Within just a few decades, Port Royal was transformed into a haven for pirates and the rum-fueled celebrations they brought with them.

In 1692, Jamaica was struck by a devastating earthquake, sending the sandy foundations of nearly two-thirds of the city sinking beneath the sea in an instant. Port Royal was never able to return to its former glory (or infamy), with most survivors fleeing to the site that would become modern-day Kingston.

“Port Royal’s recent designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site is significant, validating the relevance of its history to Jamaica and the world,” said Michelle and Suzanne Rousseau, the creative duo behind Two Sisters, which explores Jamaica’s rich heritage through culinary and cultural experiences in a restored country estate. “Port Royal is a part of Kingston life, and like most Jamaicans, we love it for its beauty and history and for all that lies beneath the surface of its blue waters that was lost.”

Orlando Bloom fans may recognize Port Royal for its central role in the Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise. While the city is referenced heavily in the film, historic Port Royal didn’t serve as the film’s backdrop. Instead, crews recreated the 17th-century city near the black-sand beaches of Wallilabou on the island of St. Vincent.

Fans can still visit the St. Vincent film sets today, but there’s even more to see in the true Port Royal, now protected in perpetuity with its UNESCO designation. Visitors can explore the historic Fort Charles, the only fort in Port Royal to survive the 1692 earthquake, now open as a museum. The fort is also home to Nelson’s Quarterdeck, where Horatio Nelson once lived, and Giddy House, a half-submerged artillery store constructed in 1888 that was almost swallowed up in yet another devastating earthquake, which struck in 1907.

Port Royal joins just one other UNESCO site in Jamaica: the Blue and John Crow Mountains. Coffee lovers will recognize Jamaica’s Blue Mountains as home to some of the best coffee in the Caribbean, but the mountains hold an important ecological richness and historic heritage as well. A refuge for Indigenous Taino people and Africans fleeing slavery, this densely forested mountain range north of Kingston became home to some of the spiritual, religious, medicinal, and cultural traditions that define the nation today.

Port Royal’s official UNESCO designation is a welcome addition for the nation, which has long celebrated the multifaceted historic and cultural legacy of this formerly pirate-controlled city. Locals hope it’s another reason for visitors to get beyond popular sites like the island’s white-sand beaches, too. “This is just another reason to make Kingston a part of any visit to our island, and we are so thrilled,” say the Rousseau sisters; Port Royal is just a 20-minute drive from the heart of the island’s capital. The pirates may be long gone, but the rum is still flowing, and now, Port Royal has even more reason to celebrate.