Neat science lesson, and the fate of Port Royal

[PM2K]

Everyone knows the pirate kingdom of Port Royal was wiped out in an earthquake and tsunami in the 1600s, but more recent research says it was quicksand which got them... stirred by the tremors. Considering the fantasies involving pirates and their wenches, I thought you'd find this interesting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Uwxr42JqYQ

[BogDog]

Everyone knows the pirate kingdom of Port Royal was wiped out in an earthquake and tsunami in the 1600s,...

I guess I missed buccaneer history class that day...

Although the earthquake hit the entire island of Jamaica, the citizens of Port Royal were at a greater risk of death due to the perilous sand, falling buildings, and the tsunami that followed.

The earthquake caused the sand under Port Royal to liquefy and flow out into Kingston Harbour. The water table was generally only two feet down before the impact, and the town was built on a layer of some 65 feet of water-saturated sand. This type of area did not provide a solid foundation on which to build an entire town. Unlike the Spanish before them, the English had decided to settle and develop the small area of land, even while acknowledging that the area was nothing but “hot loose sand”.

According to Mulcahy, “scientists and underwater archaeologists now believe that the earthquake was a powerful one and that much of the damage at Port Royal resulted from a process known as liquefaction.” Liquefaction occurs when earthquakes strike ground that is loose, sandy, and water-saturated, increasing the water pressure and causing the particles to separate from one another and form a sludge resembling quicksand. Eyewitness accounts attested to buildings sliding into the water, but it is likely some simply sank straight down into the now unstable layer.

A final devastating earthquake on January 14, 1907, again liquefied the sand spit, destroying nearly all of the rebuilt city, submerging additional portions, and tilting The Giddy House, an artillery storage room built c. 1880 that is today a minor tourist attraction.

jamaica_series__giddy_house_by_ki1obyte.jpg

giddy-2.jpg

[PM2K]

Everyone knows the pirate kingdom of Port Royal was wiped out in an earthquake and tsunami in the 1600s,...

I guess I missed buccaneer history class that day...

My bad... I had a pirate/historic disaster interest as a kid and had stacks of books on the subject. This Port Royal one stood out. I juts presumed folks would know something that dramatic. Bad habit of mine.

Thanks for the additional information. It was most interesting.

[nachtjaeger]

Wow! The earthquake and tsunami on top of each other were bad enough. They got quicksand, too? Well, what does one expect of the most wicked city on the planet?

[Villein]

Ninjas? What a joke.
Quicksand? Destroyed the greatest pirate port in the history of mankind.

Makes you think, Hollywood?