Thus, a form of legalised piracy was allowed, in which pirates were given ‘letters of marque and reprisal’, a government license authorizing privateers to attack and capture enemy vessels and bring them before admiralty courts for condemnation and sale. Due to its tremendous wealth, Port Royal required protection from the enemies of England, especially Spain, who may have had thoughts of recapturing Jamaica.
Credit: Sharon BrownĪs the area commanded a large and well-protected harbour, along with deep water close to shore, Port Royal soon became an important trading centre in the Caribbean. When Charles II was restored to the English throne, the fort was renamed Fort Charles, and the settlement became Port Royal.Ī map of Port Royal, Jamaica. They succeeded in capturing the island, and a fort, named Fort Cromwell was built, around which the settlement of Point Cagway sprang up. Defeated by the Spanish, and fearing to report their failure to Cromwell, Venables and Penn decided to head southwest to the poorly defended island of Jamaica.
In 1654, an English expedition under Robert Venables and William Penn (the father of the William Penn who founded Pennsylvania) was sent by Oliver Cromwell to capture the island of Hispaniola (present day Haiti) from the Spanish. In addition, the Taino name for this place was also retained. The Spanish colonisation of Jamaica brought this area under Spanish control, although, like the Taino before them, they did not have much use for it. During that time, Port Royal was called Caguay or Caguaya. While it is unclear whether the Taino settled in that area or not, it is known that they used Port Royal during their fishing expeditions. Port Royal was first occupied by the Taino Indians. Here we explore the real facts behind the pirates of ancient port of Jamaica. One of the settings of the film is Port Royal, Jamaica.
PORT ROYALE 3 PIRATES MOVIE
In other words, the romanticization of history for the purpose of entertainment usually comes at the expense of historical accuracy, and the Hollywood movie Pirates of the Caribbean is no exception. It is fair to say that Pirates of the Caribbean is to pirates what Indiana Jones is to archaeologists.