Port Royal: Chronology of Events
1655	British capture Jamaica and fortify harbor at Point Cagway.
1656	18 houses and 7 huts built on point; work begins on Fort Cromwell and Palisade.
1657	Committee recommends timber fort to be rebuilt in stone.
1658	State storehouse, church, market house, and forge built. Brickmaking starts. Three rows of houses constructed. Palisadoes built on eastern edge of town.
1659	Town runs out of bricks (now imported). New courthouse built of oak.
1660	Restoration of British monarchy under Charles II.
1662	Point Cagway renamed Port Royal. Fort Cromwell renamed Fort Charles. Town consists of 300 houses and 740 people.
1668-1669	Captain Morgan attacks Portobello and Maracaibo.
1670	Hurricane drives fleet ashore. Captain Morgan attacks Panama. Treaty of Madrid.
1674	Captain Morgan is made Deputy Governor. Population of Port Royal is 2,181 people.
1678	Fort Rupert and Fort Carlisle rebuilt by Captain Morgan.
1680	St. Peter's church constructed.
1683	Port Royal fortified with 145 large cannon.
1684	Port Royal cut off from mainland.
1688	Channel drained and bridged.
1691	2,000 houses in Port Royal. Population is 6,500, including 2,500 slaves.
1692	Major earthquake causes parts of Port Royal to slide and sink beneath the sea. Over 2,000 people are killed. Land area reduced from 60 to 25 acres. Port Royal once again becomes cut off from the mainland.
1694	French attack Jamaica. Fort Charles rebuilt. Kingston established as a major town.
1703	Disastrous fire consumes almost all of Port Royal except the castle.
1703-1722	Significant revival of Port Royal.
1722	A severe hurricane and two earthquakes destroy shipping and inundate town. 400 people are killed by falling houses. Following the hurricane, an assembly passes a law prohibiting private citizens from living in the town. This law is largely ignored, although from this date on, Port Royal ceased to exist as the major town in Jamaica. However, Port Royal remained the main naval base for the island, so considerable activity continued.
Other major earthquakes have occurred in: 1744, 1770, 1812, 1824, 1858, 1867, 1907, 1914, 1956.
Severe hurricanes were also recorded in: 1712, 1722, 1726, 1744, 1751, 1782, 1786, 1787, 1805 (2), 1815, 1818, 1830, 1884, 1886, 1903, 1951.
1956	Link's excavation of Fort James and Littleton's Tavern.
1966	Robert Marx excavates along Fisher's Row and Lime Street.
1969-1970	Philip Mayes' excavation of the Naval Yard.
1971-1972	Antony Priddy's excavation of New Street.
1982-1990	Donny L. Hamilton conducts INA/TAMU excavations around Queen and Lime Streets.