The Most Hon. P.J. Patterson |
Patterson has had vast experience as a negotiator on a national and international level, which helped in his role while he was the Chairman of Caricom. He’s a strong believer in regionalization for the Caribbean.
He was instrumental in the modernizing the country’s infrastructure, as well as the financial sector. Jamaica’s borrowing relationship (18 years) with the IMF ended during his stint as Prime Minister and the country experienced a decline in poverty levels. His strong belief in education led him to start a program to transform the island’s education system.
He has received an Order of the Nation Award and in 2006 was awarded the Order of Excellence of Guyana and is a member of the Global Leadership Foundation, a non-profit, non-governmental organisation whose mandate is to improve the quality of political leadership and governance through availing current national leaders of the expertise of former leaders.
Now fasten your seat belts for a trip to Port Royal.
Port Royal |
Port
Royal
is located at the southeastern tip of Jamaica. It is positioned on a strip of
land at the mouth of the Kingston Harbour.
It was established in 1518 and during the second half of the 17th
century was a centre of business within the shipping industry.
It
was the headquarters for pirates from several European countries. When the
English came in 1655, their intention was to conquer the Spanish in Hispaniola.
They were unsuccessful and took Jamaica from the Spanish instead. The English
used the help of the pirates to secure the island and because of the city’s
proximity to crucial trade routes.
Museum at Port Royal |
These pirates were legitimized under the
name ‘privateers’. Their escapades—read that as raiding Spanish ships—made Port
Royal one of the richest cities in North America. The income from privateering
far surpassed the money made from the production of sugar.
Over
time, Port Royal gained the reputation as ‘the wickedest city in the world’
based on its community of pirates, drunks, robbers and prostitutes. It also had
the reputation of having one tavern for every ten residents. After Henry Morgan
was appointed governor, the face of the city changed and in 1687, anti piracy
laws came into effect. Port Royal now became famous for the execution of
pirates.
Fort Charles |
On
June 7, 1692, a massive earthquake rocked the city, which didn’t stand much of
a chance, built as it was on the sand. Studies have shown that the sand turned liquid
and flowed into the harbor, in a process called Liquefaction. This happens when earthquakes hit land which
is sandy in nature, and water-saturated. The increased water pressure forces
the particles to separate and form a sludge-like matter that resembles quicksand.
Picture buildings sinking and others sliding into the sea.
Thousands
died and many others succumbed to illnesses brought on by the lack of medicine,
water, and proximity to dead bodies, or which there were many. Fort Charles
survived while many others sank. The earthquake was thought to be God’s
punishment for the sinfulness of the city’s inhabitants.
Ruins at Port Royal |
The
attempts to rebuild the city met with limited success. Fires, hurricanes and
flooding hampered the reconstruction efforts. As time passed, Kingston grew in importance
and in 1815 another disastrous fire put paid to the redevelopment attempts at Port
Royal, along with an outbreak of cholera in 1850.
The
last earthquake in 1907 again liquefied the sand on which Port Royal was built
and flattened the city. Port Royal
served as the capital until after the earthquakes, at which time the capital
moved to Spanish Town.
Giddy House at Port Royal |
Port
Royal is a wonderful place to visit as it is rich in history. These days, Port Royal
is a quiet fishing village where you can get the best fish meals served on the
beach. Port Royal also houses a museum and the Caribbean Maritime Institute, as
well as many relics from the past. The sites still below the sea are important archeological 'digs'. Teams of archeologists have been harvesting material from the ships that sank in the harbor
in the 17th & 18th century. Go to this link if you're interested in further details on the excavations.
I give you a few more Jamaican terms:-
Pickney: child/kid. Plural is ‘pickney dem’. Origin is from the slave term pickaninny, which is a pidgin term meaning children of Negroes. Wikipedia has an interesting take on the word’s origins.
Passa Passa: Apart from being a popular weekly dancehall event on Spanish Town Road, a Passa Passa can be a disagreement and/or conflict that involves high drama.
Don't Get Mad...Get Even is still free on Amazon. Download your copy of this award-winning short story collection.
I love Port Royale in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.
ReplyDeleteMike, I found out this morning that they filmed most of that in St. Vincent. I was most outraged. :)
DeleteThis is so fascinating! I have a friend who comes from Nassau in the Bahamas, and she says that there are pirates in her family tree! I always hear about Port Royal in connection with pirates - it's pretty famous!
ReplyDeleteYes, Port Royal was world famous way back then. It must be wonderful to be able to go back that far on one's family tree.
DeleteWhat a tale! I can't believe the emotions I went through while I read it. I felt excitement over the pirates, humour over the pubs, and sadness over the earthquakes...and of course, giddyness over the half-sunk house. Awesome post.
ReplyDeleteI knew the post was gonna be long when I started digging up factoids on Port Royal. A couple of books have been written about the pirates and the city.
DeletePort Royal sounds great, and certainly an interesting history, Joy. Those fish meals on the beach sound yummy!
ReplyDeleteDenise
Writing this up made me want to visit there. I spent a night there and didn't sleep a wink.
DeleteWow! I felt all this come alive for me! I could actually see Patterson making an interesting character in one of my books! And! Then you took me to Port Royal. Amazing history.
ReplyDeleteI tagged ya if you're up for the challenge.
tanyareimer.blogspot.com
Hey, Tanya, always happy to provide something to keep the brain active.
DeleteI was staring at the picture of the Giddy house. I was getting giddy just doing that. I couldn't imagine how silly I'd become if I stood in it lol!!!
ReplyDeleteAngela, I've been inside it and it's weird but you do become off balance and disoriented.
DeleteThe Port Royal history is interesting. Loved the Giddy House!
ReplyDeleteIf I wrote historical fiction, all of this stuff would be fodder for a story. :)
DeletePatterson sounds like a good guy. 14 years is a good stretch for a PM too.
ReplyDeleteThose underwater ruins look interesting. Certainly a turbulent history. The English always used some dirty tactics so I'm not surprised they used pirates to fight the Spanish!
Hi, Nick,
DeleteOne thing I like about Patterson is how dignified he is. I've never seen him upset and he's slow and deliberate in his speech.
Turbulent is a good word to describe Port Royal's history.
The giddy house looks cool. Those earthquakes, however weren't. Scary!
ReplyDeleteWhich is why I'd NEVER live in Port Royal. Not to say we're 100% safe from earthquakes anywhere in Jamaica. :)
DeleteI would love to visit Port Royal - and explore those ruins. I've been to the Caribbean once or twice but not Jamaica. Now I really want to go! Fascination about the earthquake/liquifaction phenomenon.
ReplyDeleteLi, you'd have a good time in Port Royal. It still has an olde world feeling. I guess because of the red brick that's everywhere and the wooden houses.
DeleteI'm loving your ABCs---and learning so much about Jamaica too!! Now to plan a trip....! :D
ReplyDeletePaula from TheTweenAndMe.com