Port Royal: The Earthquake that Destroyed the Infamous Pirate Den

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This video is #sponsored by Wren.
The 1692 Earthquake:
www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/2354...
www.dpsninc.org/index.php/sto...
www.atlasobscura.com/places/s...
www.beachcombingmagazine.com/...
Histories of Port Royal:
www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-...
www.thewayofthepirates.com/reg...
www.ancient-origins.net/ancie...
www.visitjamaica.com/listing/...
Pirates in Jamaica and the British Empire:
www.scribd.com/book/322768762
www.britishempire.co.uk/mapro...
www.historytoday.com/archive/...

[@geographicstravel]

Join me on Wren and start offsetting your carbon footprint today! We'll plant 10 extra trees for the first 100 people who sign up! wren.co/start/geographics

[@piratetaurussackinhaff9402]

That's a slick way to guilt people into giving money. Bravo.

[@TheVethronx]

Awesome!! I'm from Jamaica 🇯🇲 thnks for putting this out there. Enjoy your videos 📹 😊

[@terryenby2304]

I did the questionnaire and we use substantially less than anyone else on the graph… unfortunately I can’t afford to spend £10 a month making it even better… but I really hope someone who can afford this, does it!

[@Grimley6666]

Offsetting......not stopping or changing in any way

[@roger3911]

sadly, programs to offset carbon emissions by planting trees look amazing on paper but are proving to be logistically impossible......if we halted all such programs today, and immediately went to plant all the trees already committed to by such offset programs we would need land the equivalent of THREE Indias to plant solid in trees with no other development or use -- there is no such amount of land, so the program looks good and definitely sounds good but we don't have the land to do so already, not even considering any future commitments made even tomorrow......it is time we began to explore other options immediately

[@ryancousins108]

Hey @Geographics as a Jamaican historian and archaeologist who has worked in Port Royal I have to say bravo!! I watched the video to see if you’d get it right and you knocked it out the park. Glad to see another Caribbean site on the channel

[@ALEX-ut4pp]

We likkle but we talawah.

[@allananonimozeta9345]

Two white guys heard the same story...must be true

[@Leshic2]

That is very cool. Thank you for sharing and giving this your "thumbs up" as well. Ignore the Internet Trolls...

[@roberthall1379]

@@allananonimozeta9345 I'm the 3rd white guy so it's valid.

[@ryancousins108]

@@allananonimozeta9345 I'm white?? Damn! Always thought I was black, guess my parents have some explaining to do

[@RandomGuy-jo8ky]

Can you imagine being the guy who left town for the day to do some small trip and come back like "I take ONE day off, wtf did you guys let happen ?!?!?!?"

[@ophel1a]

I imagine he'd be thinking more along the lines of, "Wow, I took the right day off." xD

[@christophergreen7616]

As a Jamaican that loves this Channel I want to say Great Job Simon and Crew... Big Up yourselves👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

[@vulpsturm]

Can you imagine what a crazy place that was? Brick buildings, multistory, just built on the sand.

[@nickyfield137]

Like an old version of Dubai !

[@derpderpus6075]

And Castles built on sand melt into the sea eventually.

[@KeitieKalopsia]

@@derpderpus6075 nice poetry bro

[@Dr_Footbrake]

You basically just described San Fransisco

[@Endonkulation]

Hendrix

[@omfgstrid]

All right…you didn’t get anything wrong lol. Me and the other Jamaicans here seem to have been watching extra closely and YOU DID NOT SLIP. Kudos!

[@aasgier9091]

Port Royal is a town with an interesting history. I caught one 'error' though - there are already places referred to as 'Pompeii of the Caribbean', in the shape of the town of Saint Pierre on the French colonial island of Martinique, which was buried under a pyroclastic flow/nuee ardente from the volcano Mont Pelee in 1902. The term has also been used for Plymouth on the island of Montserrat - which has also been buried under pyroclastic flows (though far less disastrous as people evacuated).

[@FreeFallingAir]

Thanks for the info!

[@chrisfrench8006]

Thank you for the knowledge share. Now I know what I’m gonna research today.

[@slcpunk2740]

This response is the Pompeii of KZbin.

[@duncancurtis1758]

One man survived thanks to his mighty thick prison walls.

[@lostbutfreesoul]

This needs to be bumped up. Researched and then documented by Whistler.

[@christopherrhodes3228]

*Buccaneer:* "You know what else is cool? Grenades."

[@nathanielbrett3768]

How very ironic that the place known as the wickiest city on earth is now the most peaceful place in Jamaica. The only problem with Port Royal is that it's flood prone but other than that very beautiful place, very peaceful, the people live as one and it's a lovely tourist attraction. I hope one day the government would revive that part of Port Royal that sank so that Port Royal and Portmore can become one again.

[@Leshic2]

Interesting... So there's been very very little excavation Surely, one day, lots will be dug up...

[@nathanielbrett3768]

@@Leshic2 i hope so trust me.

[@RaterProTrickster]

One aspect of the pirate life I find interesting is that some of them were kind of liberal in how they organised on the ship. It was of course a mixed batch but a general sense of equality is what many left their former lives to attain.

[@shotakazehaya17]

​@@RaterProTrickster There's no equality under Liberalism.

[@HuckelAR]

Always a good day when there are new Simon vids!!! Happy New Years.

[@marcoarnaud3964]

Happy new year for you too

[@rob1tnt]

Haha there's new Simon video EVERYDAY, enjoy all those good days and happy new year!

[@jeffernoodle8652]

Cheers

[@TheMightyDC]

This makes me incredibly sad. I would have loved to have visited a preserved pirate town!

[@TheMightyDC]

@@19thcenturyman95 haha different type of pirate 🤪

[@ophel1a]

As would I. However, it's not as though this city would have been preserved if it HAD survived, so...? I don't understand. xD

[@figo007tv]

There’s one in USA. It’s in Tampa bay, called buccaneers 🏴‍☠️. Pay it a visit if you can

[@fang8227]

@@figo007tv I type up buccaneers and it comes with some sport team

[@maxbracegirdle9990]

It would be interesting to see how the massive melting pot of all the different races got along but that's about it I recon, mostly it would just be stocked with faux-pirate crap. Check out recent tifo's video about pirate speak. They were just normal dudes.

[@pawelkorzeniewski4897]

The eye patches were not to cover a lost eye. Rather, they were to adapt one eye to darkness thus allowing for good eyesight when fighting below deck.

[@TheCorpsehatch]

Was about to mention the same thing. Also for when they had to go into the cargo hold with no light.

[@alexrossouw7702]

I heard it was to navigate better at night

[@Leshic2]

Are you serious? or just pulling my leg? This makes sense, but at the same time, doesn't...

[@Ashannon888]

@@Leshic2 Yep. You can try it yourself. If you wake up in the middle of the night to say use the bath room, keep one eye tightly closed. Turn on the light and do your business. When done and you turn off the light, it's really dark right? Now open that other eye and you can see a hell of a lot better.

[@Leshic2]

@@Ashannon888 I'm floored to hear this for the first time about the pirate's eye patch in my 40s, almost 50s.. Amazing.. Learn something new every day..

[@fangslaughter1198]

I visited Port Royal in 72. My grandmother with the Canadians taught school in Kingston. Even at age 12 it was amazing history

[@JohnDrummondPhoto]

Not having seen the Tortuga video, I'll guess that "dad joke" involved the wholesale price that pirates charged for corn.

[@bremnersghost948]

As a Brit, It's a little Scary that its over 90 Years since since the Country was hit by an M6 Quake nevermind a M7.5, Building Standards here are not designed for Quake Damage. Considering how many Towns & Cities are built on Reclaimed Land and Flood Plains, Liquifaction would seriously Catastrophic!

[@willowtdog6449]

Earthquakes are also getting worse because of the larger effects of climate change, like the shifting weight on the crust because of ice melt. Things are going to get really bad if we don't drastically change quickly.

[@christineholung7826]

Brit was who built the structures at Port Royal at the earthquake time.....

[@christineholung7826]

At the earthquake time when Port Royal in part, sank.

[@tknispel]

Have you covered the 1755 Lisbon earthquake yet, Simon? Would love to see you cover that!

[@andreabenz1199]

Happy new year thanks for all the content on the many channels you provide

[@EmilyJelassi]

Another fantastic and fascinating video. Happy New Year Simon and everyone! 😊🎉🍾✨❤

[@louise-yo7kz]

Happy New Year Simon and co. I feel a connection to this story as a person from the Caribbean

[@debm1889]

Jamaican here 🇯🇲 always loved going to Port royal .... fry fish and bammy... miss it.😉🙂

[@cleverusername9369]

What's bammy?

[@dripkidd8572]

I was surprised that he did Port Royal, but he always talk about pirates, and what's pirates without Port Royal

[@dripkidd8572]

@@cleverusername9369 Good stuff

[@nathanielbrett3768]

@@cleverusername9369 it's a traditional flatbread that was a created by the arawaks, Jamaica's first inhabitants.

[@bugsy791]

@@cleverusername9369 its Cassava Root that's grounded to a consistency that's a little coarser than flour...it can be fried or steamed....Jamaicans usually have it with fish

[@magnificus8581]

Christopher Columbus: best Yelp review ever

[@tamsmith291]

Happy new year geographics team!

[@roger3911]

Hispaniola, and the pic used, are modern day Haiti and the Dominican Republic.....collectively they are still called Hispaniola today

[@Leshic2]

Interesting.. Didn't know that..

[@876Jamaicans]

Hey Simon Whistler I watch every one of your videos from day one now finally you're talking about my country🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲

[@Leshic2]

That's got to be a very cool feeling.. Congratulations. Thank god for people like Simon and all his channels... Doing a better job than big production TV shows.

[@Aramis419]

Admiral Penn didn't found Pennsylvania, his son did. As a matter of fact, William Penn the Younger didn't even want to name the colony that. He originally proposed "New Wales" and "Sylvania", but the Privy council insisted on adding "Penn" to "Sylvania" in honor of Admiral Penn.

[@Itsthatoneguy371]

East Ohio would have been a good one. Lol

[@Aramis419]

@@Itsthatoneguy371 Stay on your side of the...Ohio! XD

[@The_Daily_Tomato]

Happy new Year Simon and crew. I shall look forward to you, your 1000 channels and that amazing beard of yours 😉

[@lonnieclifton8307]

1 in 4 buildings were a tavern, a gambling hall or a brothel...my math says that's 3 in 4 buildings...let me guess, the other building was probably a church lol

[@Leshic2]

HAHAHA!!!!!!!!! That is so funny!!!

[@gnadenhofluna3388]

Simon’s videos brighten my days…

[@joanbrate]

Love this channel.

[@bugsy791]

im surprised he failed to mention "Giddy house"...a tilted single story structure left after the 1907 earthquake...arguable the most famous landmark in Port Royal

[@gridlore]

Hispanola is home to Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

[@SirAntoniousBlock]

Same island same climate same resources, stunningly different destinies.

[@IrishMike22]

A movie about the Spanish hiding in the rainforest and waging guerilla warfare on the British would be incredible.

[@andersjjensen]

It would if it's somewhat properly documented. Otherwise it could easily become a bunch of speculating content stretching...

[@deadboltzz5199]

And then make one with the aztecs waging guerrilla warfare on the Spanish.

[@0neDoomedSpaceMarine]

@@andersjjensen No reason you can't make a nice piece of fiction inspired by historic notes.

[@Slydog43UTube]

Thanks, Love your vids

[@thnktank1]

Rarely this early and I was born with a stopwatch. 🙃 Always ready for a new video.

[@NorthOntarian]

Listening to this while I work... Heard "Chamber pot elegantly glazed" and my mind went to a silly and disgusting place.......

[@CYCLONE4499]

Always a fascinating story and you tell it brilliantly not forgetting the history of its pirates and buccaneers 👍

[@TheJaxx12]

Thanks for the history lesson on my country 🇯🇲🇯🇲, I appreciate this alot!!!

[@Vinceras]

Great watch! Thanks!

[@simul8rduude]

This was a good one. I especially liked the bit about the watch. Real nice closer that was.

[@PTQ4Q4Q4Q4]

Omg thats crazy to think that people sunk down only to have the ground become firm again, scary.

[@OffRampTourist]

Sounds mythic, doesn't it?

[@0verd0semedia]

"Execution by catastrophe." THAT'S AWESOME!

[@pobg]

Amazing video

[@TheEvilCommenter]

Good video 👍

[@mrmeowmeow710]

Good video thank you for it

[@teaganwalsh7011]

I'd put my money on Wren either being made by or paid for by some oil company. Most companies that emphasize individual carbon footprints are.

[@jeremyjackson8196]

How far away from "Help erase your carbon footprint, erase yourself", are we?

[@cromBumny]

Already there, ever talked to a white person that supports blm? What's their view of abortion?

[@paganjoe1]

@@cromBumny WTF does that have to do with anything?

[@beachboy0505]

Excellent 👌 video Have seen the pirates series on Amazon Good explanation of history

[@drewlovely2668]

Simon's beard is looking extra nice today. Must be the blaze.

[@qekelelemike4608]

I like the sponsor theme for this episode, brilliant!

[@FreeFallingAir]

Simon I see they let you out to release a couple hours of content today! Get some rest buddy! Great video as always! Happy new year! Edit: Being trapped due to soil liquefaction has to be about my worst nightmare, freaking horrifying

[@willowtdog6449]

I'm terrified of it, personally!

[@FreeFallingAir]

@@willowtdog6449 Yeah I live in South Carolina, and we're not exactly known for our earthquakes, but recently we've had a few and this video popped/comment popped up, coincidence? 🤔

[@iambiggus]

Good to see Wren as a sponsor. Ma Earth needs all the help she can get atm.

[@theg.c.142]

Home sick, time to binge Simon's lifeswork

[@roibrycker8897]

Good video!

[@blackcatcummins]

@Geographics Would like to see your take on the New Madrid earthquakes of 1812-13

[@Luke-pk9fe]

So the governor and the Reverend were splitting a bottle of wine on a Sunday morning hitting the pipe. Most pirate Entro ever.

[@michaeljohnston6856]

Thank you for helping us make it through these last few years. Do you have a video on Betty white?

[@goodysmarts]

Barbados is in the house.

[@Owlsley88]

Thank you Simon. From Ja

[@realchilldude1271]

The pocketwatch was a very nice finishing touch.

[@duncancurtis1758]

Simon loves his pirates me hearties.

[@keon5100]

My mom was telling me how she use to visit the memorial sight on school trips as a child so I was literally looking up captain Morgan and this today. Then this video popped up 😂😂😂

[@authoritariangentleman7570]

Port Royal is also an awesome benchmark program to run on your PC.

[@Leshic2]

You are right! That is so funny!

[@JohnXina54]

Love this channel in particular because it covers both geography and history

[@javidaderson]

I haven't seen an episode in a while, that beard is glorious.

[@loupiscanis9449]

Thank you . 🐺

[@mathew85]

Nature: "that's a nice port you have there. Whould be a shame if something happened to it😏😏😈😈

[@afeuer78]

Ooooo this was a good one.

[@galacticpondofficial]

Simon, please do a story on the 1991 Halloween storm, a.k.a the Perfect Storm

[@Code6Bravo]

Watch the movie.

[@giselematthews7949]

One of my most favorite movies!

[@cleverusername9369]

@@giselematthews7949 that movie contains my favorite bad Boston accent of all time: "THEYAH GOW'N RIGHT INTAH DA JWAHHS AV DA MWONSTAHH!"

[@duncancurtis1758]

Or the 1755 Lisbon quake which increased church patronage.

[@duncancurtis1758]

With its so sad ending

[@kingnaldo4058]

Nice documentary on my 🏝 indeed 👍 👌 👏

[@vasilerogojan4520]

Time for the "Pompeii of the Caribbean". I'm gonna enjoy this.

[@millymollymrst3537]

Love stories about pirates

[@Mrgunsngear]

Thanks

[@ThestuffthatSaralikes]

I swear, I see a title that piques my interest, I glance up to the thumbnail and it’s SIMON!?!!!! Do you not sleep man!? I swear he’s on everything and anything I find interesting and entertaining!!! Like having a private tutor at this point!!

[@dougm5341]

Simon rocks the beard

[@Amarianee]

Need a warm filter for that light vampire Simon

[@robhowarth77]

Goodness me, but you really do find some strange advertisers ! Or rather, they seem to find you !!

[@asherdie]

I use Wren to see how high I can get my footprint. Thanks Wren.

[@slyguythreeonetwonine3172]

Same!

[@yux.tn.3641]

you should make a vid on new madrid earthquake as well

[@cwj9202]

Wren, yes, help me lower my standard of living, so the billionaires and mult-millionaires can live better!!! Whoopee.

[@iceman4660]

Simon, you forgot to mention that the Arawaks replaced the Tainos by the time the Spanish arrived.

[@kimmydreful]

Have pic of present day port royal with some sunken buildings and the abandoned naval hospital

[@erichtomanek4739]

Scientific studies have shown that beards contain fecal matter. And so does wren.

[@morrisminor56]

Well shiver me timbers!

[@princessolmeca2933]

PORT ROYAL! Cry of freedom on the sea! PORT ROYAL! Whoooooaaaaaoooooaaaaa!

[@daimianhodges3242]

I’m Jamaican and there’s a lot more about port royal that only the locals know about just say it was one of the evils place on earth at one time I’ll leave it at that happy new year to all god bless

[@Leshic2]

Interesting.. Thank you for sharing.. I would imagine there's a good number of ghost stories/experiences..

[@booblam6919]

And was once called the richest city on earth

[@thepretenda]

The word, "Piratical" had entered the lexicon

[@AkaimaruSama]

I can't help with that but I grow a big garden every year and I recycle and compost. I have hens for eggs and I am growing wheat for them

[@fishplant]

please do a show on mt. samalas - the mystery eruption of 1257... Its never mentioned in any of your volcano episodes and was twice the size of tambora!

[@simplemind7]

Hispaniola isn't only present day Haiti. Hispaniola was a term given by the Spaniards even before Haiti had come into existence. The Dominican Rep and Haiti were later divided into two parts after France occupied what's now Haiti.

[@collinhenry3722]

The next earth quake will be at helshire as the beach is being pushed under by the fault line

[@andriaduncan5032]

I've read a ton of books about those pirates and their various dens of iniquity, and this place has always fascinated me. There's a great song on Emerson Lake and Palmer's album "Works," I think the name is just "Pirates," and I always thought it must have been based on Port Royal. Isn't there also a Port Royal in South Carolina? I seem to recall something like that.

[@d.c.8828]

I would love a Biographics episode on William of Orange!

[@noahadams7784]

I find this story of port royal very poetic and could teach us a valuable lesson even today. Port Royal was essentially born out of piracy, out of human ignorance the port was founded, and also was destroyed by the same ignorance. Perhaps the people of the port were just living their lives, unaware of what dangers awaited them and continued their lives as they have been. Something that I believe we have yet to recognize as a civilization is that people who do not learn from the mistakes of the past, are doomed to repeat them. The people of Pompeii were blissfully unaware that the beautiful mountain they had risen to every morning, would be the demon that imprisoned them all within their own misjudgment. the people of Port Royal had failed to learn from the past earthquakes, and so god sent a great one to remind them of their weakness and in turn make them stronger than before. Perhaps we should learn from these instances that it isn’t blind ignorance that seals one’s fate to a demon of the past, but a failure to learn from those mistakes that created the demons to begin with

[@Anya_whatling]

It wasn’t just Christopher Columbus that found San Salvador it was also my pirate ancestor John watling

[@stevestolarczyk8972]

Anyone else a little disappointed that Columbus's "The fairest island..." quote wasn't put on the screen formatted as a Yelp review? Rare missed opportunity.

[@ecocodex4431]

11:05 "Could an economy so largely based on exploitation and warfare actually be sustainable?" The US and England: 👀👀

[@EyesOfByes]

I just recognise it from the 3DMark raytracing benchmark test.

[@cofllax]

Jamaican good videos Simon.

[@MuddieRain]

“Everyone is a monster to someone. Since you are so convinced that I am yours. I will be it.” Captain Flint

[@clayongunzelle9555]

not everyday one of your favorite channels does a video involving something from the country you live..... 😅😅😅

[@Leshic2]

Congratulations!