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“...valley
of the Wag Water. The expedition requires a
whole day, and lunch may be had at Castleton
Cottages. Port Royal stands at the extremity of Port Royal,
the spit of sand known as the Palisadoes, which
protects Kingston Harbour. It is of great historic
interest, and was, prior to the earthquake of 7th
June 1692, considered “the finest town in the
West Indies, and at that time the richest spot
in the universe,” being as it was the head-
quarters of the buccaneers, and as such the
emporium and mart of their ill-gotten wealth.
The rector of the parish thus described the
disaster“ Whole streets, with their inhabitants,
were swallowed up by the opening of the earth,
which, when shut upon them, squeezed the people
to death, and in that manner several were left
with their heads above ground, and others covered
with dust and earth by the people who remained
in the place. It was a sad sight to see the harbour
covered with dead bodies of people of all conditions,
floating up and down without burial...”
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