Port Royal Rediscovered, by Robert F. Marx (HC, ex lib., 1973, $2)
"The historical and archaeological reconstruction of the notorious Jamaican city which sank in Kingston Harbor in 1692."
This is quite a tale. Port Royal in 1692 was a terrible place, but a great seaport. Located in the middle of the Caribbean, it had a wonderfully deep harbor. Six forts protected it. Buccaneers, privateers and pirates loved to drop off their plunder there, and merchants loved to have that plunder to sell. They also loved to sell stuff to the sailors. Spanish colonists loved having a place willing to smuggle manufactured goods to them. (They were Spanish citizens, but Spain didn't have the money or the ships to send them supplies!) New England also loved to trade with them. Jamaican plantation owners loved having a deep harbor near by, so that BIG ships could dock and take their sugar, indigo, cotton, tobacco, mahogany and spices off to England to be sold.
On the other hand, God didn't like Port Royal very much, and neither did its African slaves. There were churches on Port Royal- Anglican, Baptist, Presbyterian, Quaker, Roman Catholic and even a Jewish synagogue. These, though, weren't where you found most people. Sailors just off the ships had money in their pockets- lots and lots of money, as well as gold, silver, pearls and emeralds. They didn't want God. They wanted alcohol, gambling, and women, and Port Royal had those in abundance. No one seemed to care that Port Royal had a lot of deaths from disease, violence, and alcohol.
Death also came to Port Royal on a beautiful day in June of 1692. Following three strong earthquakes and a tidal wave, 15 of Port Royal's 25 acres of land were under water, and more than 2,000 people were dead.
Two years later a rebuilt Port Royal was once again "the dunghill of the universe", but its "prosperity" wouldn't last long. During the next 30 years it would be destroyed three times, once by fire, and twice by hurricanes. In the 250 years following that, it would be destroyed 24 more times, twice by fire, twice by earthquakes, and twenty times by hurricane. Kind of makes you want to not build a house there, doesn't it!
I was fascinated by the story of Port Royal, but this book is really about the Marx's recovery of its artifacts and treasure. Some of the recovery was done on land, because some of what been under water was now under many feet of silt. Mostly, recovery was done by diving. Or at least it was when the Jamaican government, Kingston developers, union representatives, thieves, or amateur divers didn't get in the way. Or when brick walls didn't fall on them, sharks attack, or cuts get infected from the polluted water.For three years the author and his crew worked hard, risking their lives daily. Yet when Marx later visits, many of his finds have been thrown back into the sea, and most of the important artifacts displayed in the local museum have been stolen, never to be seen again. He is crushed, and never again travels to Jamaica. Can you blame him?
I wish the story had ended differently. I wish there had been more photos. Still, I really liked this book. Look for it on the new non-fiction table. (L-arch.)
