Port Royal, the Sunken Pirate Port
A notorious pirate port slid into the sea in an earthquake, and part of the town still lies preserved underwater.
What was reported
In the 17th century Port Royal, on a sand spit at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, was one of the richest and busiest ports in the Americas, a base for privateers and merchants. Preachers called it the 'wickedest city on Earth'.
Just before noon on 7 June 1692, a powerful earthquake struck, and much of the town, built on loose sand, slid into the harbour. About 2,000 people died in the earthquake, and many more in the disease that followed.
Explanations offered
Underwater excavations have found streets and buildings much as they were, and a pocket watch recovered from the harbour had stopped at 11:43. Many at the time saw the disaster as divine punishment; today it's understood as liquefaction, when shaking turns waterlogged sand into something like quicksand.
- When
- 7 June 1692
- Where
- Port Royal, Kingston, Jamaica
- Witnesses
- Survivors, and underwater archaeologists
- Status
- Confirmed
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.