The cannons
On the ramparts.
Raychristofer — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Raychristofer — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Raychristofer — CC BY-SA 4.0 · De Geo — CC BY-SA 4.0
Fort Charles was the first fort built at Port Royal, the small town at the mouth of Kingston Harbour in Jamaica. It stands at the tip of the sand spit that separates the harbour from the Caribbean Sea, and water once surrounded it on almost every side. The English took Jamaica from Spain in 1655 and began the fort that same year. It was first called Fort Cromwell, then took its present name after the monarchy returned under Charles II. It had 36 guns in 1667 and 104 in 1765. In the 17th century Port Royal was one of the busiest ports in the Caribbean, until an earthquake destroyed much of it in 1692. You see red brick walls with arched openings, black iron cannons lined up on the ramparts and a wide paved courtyard. Tall grass grows along the walls, inside are a small white building and a museum, and from the ramparts you see the harbour and the sea. It is about 7 km from central Kingston in a straight line, but the road loops round the harbour along the sand spit.
On the ramparts.
Red brick.
Over the harbour.
Port Royal, tip of the Palisadoes, Jamaica
Fort Cromwell, before it was named after King Charles II.
An earthquake destroyed much of it in 1692.