Memo+28+Describing+Places+To+Make+an+Analytic+Point

Description of a Place: Port Royal, Jamaica

In the seventeenth century Port Royal, Jamaica was a major hub for trade in the Caribbean, and therefore a major port for piracy. The first building constructed by the British was a small fort close to the water's edge, designed with the purpose of repelling and Spanish attempts to retake the island. and 1674 its population was a thriving 6,000 inhabitants. Port Royal's deep harbor was ideal for large scale trade, and could accommodate up to 500 ships at once. Here merchants brought everything from African slaves to French lace and exotic ebony and spices. It was also here where many pirates would bring their loot to sell to the local townspeople. In 1671 the pirate Henry Morgan sacked Panama, and brought the entire collection of treasure, which took 175 pack animals to transport to Port Royal for sale. It is unsurprising that the homes lining the port were four stories made from costly imported brick and handsomely furnished with tables, chests, chairs, and other wares looted from the Spanish and sold in the local shops of Port Royal. The majority of the population ate off of Spanish pewter, and the wealthy off Spanish silver. Port Royal tradesmen were paid between two and three times as much as they would have been in England. As Port Royal had no fresh water of its own, canoes brought supplies from the site we now know as Kingston. It was therefore quite easy to go a day or two without water, and perhaps in compensation there was a super abundance of cheap alcohol available in Port Royal, much of it made with local sugar. Brothels were in abundance and it was not uncommon for men to pay 500 pieces of eight just to see a woman naked. All in all it was a town of decadence with few moral qualms, the perfect location for those with less than legal occupations to gather supplies, exchange information and sell their wares.