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The 1692 Earthquake and Other Disasters:
It all came crashing down on June 7, 1692. That day, a massive earthquake shook Port Royal, dumping most of it into the harbor. An estimated 5,000 died in the earthquake or shortly thereafter of injuries or disease. The city was ruined. Looting was rampant, and for a time all order broke down. Many thought that the city had been singled out for punishment by God for its wickedness. An effort was made to rebuild the city, but it was devastated once again in 1703 by a fire. It was repeatedly hit by hurricanes and even more earthquakes in following years, and by 1774 it was essentially a quiet village.


To Book with Rocky's Tours
www.rockystaxiandtourservice.com
email:rockystours@yahoo.com
Office: 305-848-8389, 876-957-9239
Mobile: 876-370-7915

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Famous Pirates and Port Royal:

Port Royal's glory days as the greatest of the pirate ports were brief but noteworthy. Many famous pirates and privateers of the day passed through Port Royal. Here are some of the more memorable moments of Port Royal as a pirate haven.

In 1668, legendary privateer Captain Henry Morgan departed for his famous attack on the city of Portobello from Port Royal.
In 1669, Morgan followed up with an attack on Lake Maracaibo, also launched from Port Royal.
In 1671, Morgan made his greatest and final raid, the sacking of the city of Panama, launched from Port Royal.
On August 25, 1688, Captain Morgan died in Port Royal and was given a send-off worthy of the greatest of the privateers: warships in port fired their guns, he lay in state at the King's House, and his body was carried through town on a gun carriage to its final resting place.
In December of 1718, pirate John "Calico Jack" Rackham captured the merchant ship Kingston within sight of Port Royal, infuriating local merchants, who sent bounty hunters after him.
On November 18, 1720, Rackham and four other pirates who had been captured were hanged at Gallows Point at Port Royal. Two of his crewmates - Anne Bonny and Mary Read - were spared because they were both pregnant.
On March 29, 1721, infamous pirate Charles Vane was hanged at Gallows Point in Port Royal.

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Port Royal Today:
Today, Port Royal is a small Jamaican coastal fishing village. It retains very little of its former glory. Some old buildings are still intact, and it’s worth a trip for history buffs. It is a valuable archaeological site, however, and digs in the old harbor continue to turn up interesting items. With increased interest in the Age of Piracy, Port Royal is poised to undergo a renaissance of sorts, with theme parks, museums and other attractions being built and planned.

To Book with Rocky's Tours
www.rockystaxiandtourservice.com
email:rockystours@yahoo.com
Office: 305-848-8389, 876-957-9239
Mobile: 876-370-7915

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Rosehall Great House
Once surrounded by a hugesugar cane plantation, it is approximately 6,600 acres of land and had over 2000 slaves working on it!

English planter, George Hall began building it in the 1750s by and named it after his wife Rose...hence the name Rosehall.
George died three years later, Rose married three more times, and her last husband John Palmer finished it between 1770-1780.
Both died and had no children...and their grand-nephew John Rose Palmer inherited the house.

To Book with Rocky's Tours
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email:rockystours@yahoo.com
Office: 305-848-8389, 876-957-9239
Mobile: 876-370-7915

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The story states that she was born in England to an English mother and Irish father and spent most of her life in Haiti. When her parents died of yellow fever, she was adopted by a nanny who taught her witchcraft and voodoo. She moved to Jamaica and married John Palmer, owner of Rose Hall Plantation. Annie supposedly murdered Palmer along with two subsequent husbands and numerous male plantation slaves, later being murdered herself by a slave named "Takoo". A song about the legend called "The Ballad of Annie Palmer" was recorded by Johnny Cash.



To Book with Rocky's Tours
www.rockystaxiandtourservice.com
email:rockystours@yahoo.com
Office: 305-848-8389, 876-957-9239
Mobile: 876-370-7915

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Annee was called the “White Witch” because she bedazzled then did away with the three husbands and countless slave lovers. Quick with the whip, she was notorious for torturing slaves for her own entertainment. “The White Witch of Rose Hall” has fascinated generations, and even today, there are those who claim to see Annie passing through the Great House.


To Book with Rocky's Tours
www.rockystaxiandtourservice.com
email:rockystours@yahoo.com
Office: 305-848-8389, 876-957-9239
Mobile: 876-370-7915

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The White Witch awaits you in the great house at Rose Hall. Dead more than a century, Annie Palmer still stirs memories of her reign as the mistress of the Rose Hall Great House. Cursed by slaves, the White Witch, Annie Palmer, turned a magnificent plantation into a hell house of atrocities. Countless slaves fell prey to her torture while all three of her husbands met death at her hands. The Great House is but one of many attractions on the 6,600 acre Rose Hall Plantation. Here, visitors can experience the complete spectrum of island living - mountain villages, cane fields, luxury villas, resort hotels and condominiums, miles of beautiful beaches and well-maintained golf courses.



To Book with Rocky's Tours
www.rockystaxiandtourservice.com
email:rockystours@yahoo.com
Office: 305-848-8389, 876-957-9239
Mobile: 876-370-7915

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Rose Hall is a Georgian mansion built in the 1770s and restored in the 1960s. It is decorated with silk wallpaper printed with palms and birds, ornamented with chandeliers, furnished with mostly European antiques, and features a downstairs bar and restaurant. It is currently owned by former Miss World USA Michele Rollins and her entrepreneur husband John Rollins.

To Book with Rocky's Tours
www.rockystaxiandtourservice.com
email:rockystours@yahoo.com
Office: 305-848-8389, 876-957-9239
Mobile: 876-370-7915

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Somerset Falls
Spanish settlers occupied this property over 400 years ago and many of the original aqueducts and dams built by them are still visible today. The breath-taking waterfall is hidden in the rainforest, where the Daniels River plunges down a narrow gorge. Here you can settle in for a lovely day of sunning, relaxing and bathing in picture-perfect deep rock pools.
You can also enjoy a boat ride around the back falls and take a swim in the Somerset Falls and visit the caves.
Enjoy a fantastic collection of exotic birds while you dine and have a cool drink at the Somerset Falls bar and restaurant surrounded by the falls
A stunning peak into Jamaica’s world of nature.



To Book with Rocky's Tours
www.rockystaxiandtourservice.com
email:rockystours@yahoo.com
Office: 305-848-8389, 876-957-9239
Mobile: 876-370-7915

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THE BLUE MOUNTAINS, JAMAICA

“It is the fairest island eyes have beheld; mountainous and the land seems to touch the sky."
Christopher Columbus, 1494

Shrouded almost perpetually by mists that give Jamaica’s highest mountains their bluish color, the Blue Mountain range sprawls across the eastern portion of the island for a length of 28 miles and an average width of about 12 miles. They rise steeply in an area so compact that it is possible to drive from the coastal plains to an elevation of over 7,000 feet in less than an hour.


To Book with Rocky's Tours
www.rockystaxiandtourservice.com
email:rockystours@yahoo.com
Office: 305-848-8389, 876-957-9239
Mobile: 876-370-7915