Port Royal, Jamaica, was once known as “the richest and wickedest city in the world.” A thriving center of trade, privateering, and vice, it served as a hub for wealth flowing through the Caribbean. Privateers who raided Spanish ships spent their fortunes in the city’s taverns, gambling houses, and markets. Part of Port Royal’s wealth was from piracy, which flourished in Jamaica for over a hundred years. Despite its notorious reputation, Port Royal was also home to churches, a synagogue, and a diverse population of about 6,500 residents.

Built on a narrow strip of sandy land, the city expanded upward and outward over the water. Brick buildings rose several stories high, while six forts guarded its busy harbor. Yet the very ground beneath Port Royal would prove to be its downfall.

On the morning of June 7, 1692, the city awoke to its usual hot, clear weather. Anglican Rector Edmund Heath had finished morning prayers and was visiting with John White, president of the Jamaica Council, when the earth began to shake. At first, White dismissed the tremors as common earthquakes, but within moments the shaking intensified. Buildings collapsed, including St. Paul’s Church, and the ground opened beneath the city.

As panic spread, people watched helplessly as streets and buildings sank into the earth. Heath narrowly escaped falling structures and later joined survivors seeking refuge and prayer. A powerful tsunami followed the quake, sweeping away ships and buildings. One vessel, HMS Swan, was carried inland and left stranded atop a building, where hundreds found temporary safety.

The disaster occurred because the water-saturated sand beneath Port Royal liquefied, causing entire sections of the city to sink into the harbor. Nearly half of the population perished in the earthquake and tsunami, while many others later died from disease, hunger, and contaminated water. John White was among those who succumbed in the months that followed.

Repeated aftershocks convinced survivors not to rebuild. Instead, they established the nearby city of Kingston on firmer ground. In remembrance of the catastrophe, Jamaica’s government declared every June 7 a day of fasting and reflection.

Today, much of Port Royal lies beneath the sea, its submerged ruins preserved as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a remarkable reminder of one of the most devastating natural disasters in Caribbean history. It is known to post-medieval archaeologists as the “City That Sank”.

Also On This Day

1099 – The exhausted, weary armies of the First Crusade reached the walls of Jerusalem after years of marching and battle. Despite facing scarce water and resistance, they persevered in their penitential pilgrimage. reached the walls of Jerusalem after years of marching and battle. Despite facing scarce water and resistance, they persevered in their penitential pilgrimage.

1502 – Ugo Buoncompagni was born in Bologna. He later became Pope Gregory XIII (1572–1585), famously known for instituting the Gregorian calendar and heavily promoting the Counter-Reformation.

1891 – Charles Haddon Spurgeon, often called “the prince of preachers,” preached his last sermon at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, where he regularly preached to a crowd of 6,000.

1913 – Methodist evangelist George Bennard publicly introduced his famous hymn, “The Old Rugged Cross,” during a revival meeting in Pokagon, Michigan.