Port Royal Photo | TrekEarth

Photographer’s Note

Port Royal was the centre of shipping commerce in Jamaica in the 17th century. During this time, it gained a reputation as both the "richest and wickedest city in the world". It was notorious for its gaudy displays of wealth and loose morals, and was a popular place for pirates and privateers to bring and spend their treasure. During the 17th century, the British actively encouraged and even paid buccaneers based at Port Royal to attack Spanish and French shipping.

An earthquake struck at 11:43 a.m.[1][2] on June 7, 1692, largely destroying Port Royal, causing two thirds of the city to sink into the Caribbean Sea such that today it is covered by a minimum of 25 ft (8 m) of water. Known today to 16th–18th-century focused archaeologists as the "City that Sank"[3], it is considered the most important underwater archaeological site in the western hemisphere, yielding 16th–17th-century artifacts by the ton and many important treasures from indigenous peoples predating the 1588 founding from as far away as Guatemala. Pirates from around the world congregated at Port Royal coming from waters as far away as Madagascar on the far side of Africa. Several 17th and early 18th century pirate ships are sunk within the harbor and being carefully harvested under controlled conditions by different teams of archaeologists. Other "digs" are staked out along various quarters and streets by different teams.

After this disaster, its commercial role was taken over by the city of Kingston. Current development in progress will redevelop the small resultant fishing town into a tourist destination by 2015-16, serviced by Cruise ships as early as 2008, with the archaeological findings the heart of the attractions, which will include a combination underwater museum-aquarium and restaurant with underwater dioramas and the ability to see the native tropical sealife.

Today only one little female pirate was out on the streets.

parbo, snunney, ChrisJ, belido, feather, PixelTerror, Dyerco, Vato_Law, danos, Charo, gunbud, fabio_ts, John_F_Kennedy, chrisnet, stego, scobert has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

siamesa (13415) 2008-04-18 17:05

Hello Gerrit,
Lovely image of this girl riding bike. Beautiful colours of this building.
Regards
maria

parbo (11054) 2008-04-18 17:14

Hello Gerrit,

Very informative and interesting history and your photo smells real Jamaican colors in high contrasts. Very good depth and colorful facade with lovely lady riding bicycle. Congratulations.

Best Regards,

Ertugrul

jurek1951 (26176) 2008-04-18 22:26

Hi Gerrit,
Good composition, with beautiful colors.The exposure is just awesome and the details are very sharp.
Georg

snunney (35840) 2008-04-19 0:50

Hello Gerrit,
A fine capture of this interesting building. The inclusion of the little girl on her bicycle adds much to the mood and is a definite bonus. Very good colours and clarity.

Fis2 (46713) 2008-04-19 1:21

Hej Gerrit!
Curious place, curious building. Good frame and colors. Children add savor of photo.
Have a nice weekend
Krzysztof

pastadog (12821) 2008-04-19 4:46

Hi Gerrit, once more the colors and architecture of the Caribbean well presented. The girl gives depth, life and also balance. Pity about those wires... Regards, Daniel

ChrisJ (70521) 2008-04-19 6:16

Hi Gerrit

Wonderful colour contrasts, between the red & cyan, with superb sharpness & framing. Well done!

izmirli (3347) 2008-04-19 6:50

merhaba dear gerrit
wonderful colours and excellent interesting house.good composition.well done.
best regards.
gürkan akçakır.

belido (17185) 2008-04-19 7:07

Hi Gerrit,

very nice capture of the child and the architecture. The image is alive in its colors and lights. I like reading your note which about the history of the place. Great post!
Regards,
Carlos

feather (50560) 2008-04-19 9:51

Interesting shot of the Carribean architecture and all the cables seen so often. The inclusion of the little girl on her bike is a good addition to the scene and provides extra interest. Well done
Kath

carper (66132) 2008-04-19 9:53

gebouwen met een heel eigen gezicht hier Gerrit,
mooi overzicht en het meisje staat er ook nog goed op, mooi fotowerk. prettige avond.
groet Jaap

PixelTerror (87195) 2008-04-19 10:33

Hi Gerrit,
When I read this name I think about pirates stories !
The young girl is a good foreground to animate this nice building view but she's a bit out of focus.
Have a nice week end JY

Dyerco (9396) 2008-04-19 11:18

What struck my attention was the colour blue dotted about this image. Good write up. this little pirate doesn't look to ominous.
Phil

jlbrthnn (39501) 2008-04-20 7:44

Hello Gerrit,
an image which shows us Port Royal, as if we walk in the street. Beautiful and useful inclusion of a little life. The colors are perfect.
Have a nice day
Cordially
Joël

Vato_Law (11768) 2008-04-20 13:34

Hello Gerrit,
Nice this little 'pirate', the only one at that time hitting the streets ridding her bike not a vessel.
It's interesting also how the centre of interest was tranfered from the surface to underwater, and what a task it must be to keep all the treasures there without being robbed.
I like also this house although it's closed it seems to be a very interesting construction typical from those stops.
Cheers.
Paulo

danos (33730) 2008-04-20 14:31

Hello Gerrit,
very nice composition of the Royal port of Jamaica with the little girl to adds life in the scene..I like the vivid colours and the light that floodlight the whole photo,as the architectural of the old building.Informative and useful your note about the earthquake of 1692.

Have a nice weekend,danos

gunbud (28295) 2008-04-20 20:10

Hi Gerrit,
Wonderful colorful capture of this famous Jamacian city. The colros are strong and clear with excellent details. The child the bike adds a bit of charm and nicely anchors the foreground of this lovely shot. Excellent note.
Regards, Tom

fabio_ts (13674) 2008-04-20 23:50

A colourful image with a touch of happiness thanks to the baby girl on the bicycle, nice one, compliments!!

have a good week,
Fabio.

John_F_Kennedy (32340) 2008-04-21 0:33

Very good framing. Colours, sky and building amazing. It's a wonderful shot.
Best wishes,
Achim

Charo (32190) 2008-04-21 0:59

Hola Gerrit,
Estupenda composición con buen dinamismo gracias a la niña que pasea en bicicleta. Excelentes y vivos colores.
Cordialmente
Charo

chrisnet (20378) 2008-04-21 1:29

Hello Gerrit,
I like much the vivid colors here, well seen the presence of the child.
Regards

delkoo (35024) 2008-04-21 1:41

hello gerit
Simple shot, but very well done! The colour and clarity is very good, allowing us to see everything so clearly that it's almost like being there.

didier

trekks (14336) 2008-04-21 4:50

hi gerrit

Very strong color contrast and tone. Nice capture of girl on bike. Good composition

tfs, bill
later

stego (22500) 2008-04-21 16:17

Hi Gerrit,
Very nice view of that interesting house that presents that charming mix of slight despair and vivid colours so typical of the Caribean. The curve on lower right corner and the trees produce a nice balance to the house and the little girl on the bike gives a another pretty touch of life.
Thank's for the comprehensive note that taught me much. I wonder if my 10 years old son knows those stories of the pirates of Jamaica so well (he is crazy about pirates).
Regards, José.

pboehringer (770) 2008-04-22 10:17

Gerrit,
at first moment I was dissapointed. I was expecting something else after reading "Port Royal". The shot doesn't look royal at all. Than I started reading your note and started to understand the whole background. Fascinating! You just openend my eye to something completely new. I think I will book a trip to Port Royal in 2016!
So, is Port Royal Jack Sparrow's home base? ;-)
Peter

scobert (5333) 2008-04-22 14:46

Hello Gerrit,
I really enjoyed reading your fascinating notes about the history of this spot. I can just imagine all of the cutthroats, murderers, thieves, and other assortment of pirates and other scum that inhabited this port 250 years ago. This sweet little girl is a huge jump in human evolution, no doubt about that! Your photograph captures the nature of this future world-class resort very well. Your composition and bold colors are excellent and it was a very good idea to add the girl on her bicycle. Excellent work!
Stan