At the tip of the peninsula surrounding Kingston Harbor lies Port Royal with a population of 1,300. The focus of British fortification in the late 17th C, Port Royal was also the headquarters of pirates who preyed on Spanish ships throughout the Caribbean. Prosperous Port Royal had the reputation as the wickedest place on earth. In 1692 an
earthquake and tidal wave destroyed 90 percent of the city, most of which slipped beneath the sea. The submerged town is undergoing underwater archaeological research.