Lost Worlds: Pirates of the Caribbean - Full Episode (S2, E17) | History

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Narrator: 350 YEARS AGO, THE WATERS OF THE CARIBBEAN WERE RULED BY PIRATES. FILMS AND BOOKS HAVE GLAMORIZED THEIR LIVES, BUT THE REAL PIRATES WERE MORE EXTRAORDINARY THAN HOLLYWOOD HAS EVER IMAGINED. [men shouting] HE'S NOT JUST THIS SWASHBUCKLING FANTASY MAN WHO JUMPS ON SHIPS. HE WAS A REALLY KEY HISTORICAL FIGURE. THE PIRATE'S BASE WAS THE TOWN OF PORT ROYAL, JAMAICA, IN ITS TIME CALLED THE RICHEST, WICKEDEST CITY IN THE WORLD. THIS TOWN WAS WICKED. THIS TOWN HAS PIRATES. IT FALLS INTO THE SEA. NOW, 3 CENTURIES AFTER ITS DESTRUCTION, OUR INVESTIGATORS HAVE COME HERE TO REBUILD PORT ROYAL. A WHOLE CITY THAT'S FALLEN IN UPON ITSELF. I'M ACTUALLY ASTONISHED THAT THEY BUILT SO MUCH ON SUCH A PRECARIOUS-LOOKING PIECE OF GROUND. THEY'LL MEET LOCAL EXPERTS AND EXPLORE THE REMAINS OF LONG LOST BUILDINGS. USING NEW ARCHAEOLOGY AND ANCIENT DOCUMENTS, THEY'LL UNCOVER AN INCREDIBLE STORY TO REVEAL THE LOST WORLD OF THE CARIBBEAN PIRATES. JAMAICA, ONE OF THE LARGEST ISLANDS IN THE WEST INDIES... 100 MILES SOUTH OF CUBA IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CARIBBEAN SEA. [men laughing] 350 YEARS AGO, ITS CITY OF PORT ROYAL WAS HOME TO AN ARMY OF PIRATES SO DRIVEN BY GREED, SO RUTHLESS, SO FEARLESS THAT THEY ALMOST BROUGHT AN EMPIRE TO ITS KNEES. AND YET, THEIR GLORY DAYS WERE SHORT-LIVED. [thunder] IN 1692, PORT ROYAL WAS DESTROYED BY AN ENORMOUS EARTHQUAKE. THIS ENTIRE CITY DISAPPEARED INTO THE SEA. NOW, A TEAM OF EXPERTS HAVE COME HERE TO LOOK FOR EVIDENCE OF THE WORLD THAT THE PIRATES BUILT FOR THEMSELVES. DAVID STEWART IS A MARINE ARCHAEOLOGIST FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF EAST CAROLINA. HE'S EXCAVATED SHIPS ALL OVER THE WORLD. NOW HE WANTS TO KNOW WHAT LIES UNDER THE WATERS OF PORT ROYAL. I'M AN ARCHAEOLOGIST. I DON'T WANT TO JUST SEE THE STORIES, AND THE FICTION, AND THE HOLLYWOOD OF PIRATES, I WANT TO SEE THE ACTUAL PHYSICAL EVIDENCE-- STRUCTURES AND ARTIFACTS OF THE REAL PIRATES OF PORT ROYAL. TESSA DUNLOP IS A HISTORIAN WHO STUDIED AT OXFORD UNIVERSITY. SHE WANTS TO KNOW ABOUT THE LIVES THAT THE PIRATES LED. LET'S TRY AND WIPE OUT THE CLICHES. TRY AND SEPARATE FACT FROM FICTION AND IDENTIFY THE REAL HISTORICAL PIRATES WHO ACTUALLY LIVED HERE. FOR 20 YEARS, THEY WERE LED BY ONE MAN-- CAPTAIN HENRY MORGAN. WITHIN MORGAN'S LIFE LIES THE WHOLE STORY OF PIRACY'S EXTRAORDINARY RISE AND ITS SUDDEN DECLINE. HE LED A BAND OF VICIOUS THIEVES AND KILLERS, YET HE ENDED HIS LIFE AS A RESPECTABLE MEMBER OF THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT. AND, AS WITH ALL OF HIS MEN, MORGAN WASN'T A NATIVE OF THE CARIBBEAN. HE WAS BORN IN 1635 IN THE BRITISH ISLES, AND IT'S HERE THAT TESSA STARTS HER SEARCH. LLANRUMNEY IS A TINY VILLAGE IN SOUTH EAST WALES. IT'S BELIEVED THAT HENRY'S FAMILY CAME FROM THIS AREA. TESSA HEADS TO AN OLD BUILDING ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE VILLAGE-- LLANRUMNEY HALL. ALTHOUGH THE BUILDING HAS BEEN PARTLY MODERNIZED, VESTIGES OF ITS FORMER INHABITANTS STILL LINGER. A MAHOGANY STAIRCASE RUNS THROUGH ITS CENTER. [thunder] THERE'S A MOLDED PLASTERWORK CEILING FROM THE 16th CENTURY. AND IN THE ENTRANCE HALL, TESSA FINDS A CLUE TO THE BUILDING'S ORIGINAL OWNERS. HERE WE HAVE AN ASTONISHING TUDOR FIREPLACE DATING BACK TO THE 16th CENTURY. AND, IN THE MIDDLE HERE, IS A COAT OF ARMS. AND I FOUND OUT, IT WAS ACTUALLY THE MORGAN FAMILY COAT OF ARMS. THIS SUGGESTS THAT THE MORGAN FAMILY LIVED HERE FOR A LONG TIME. ONE PARTICULAR PIECE OF EVIDENCE LINKS THE HALL TO HENRY MORGAN HIMSELF. MANY OF THE PREVIOUS OWNERS HAVE ACTUALLY LEFT THEIR WILLS BEHIND. AND ONE OF THOSE WILLS BELONGS TO WILLIAM MORGAN OF LLANRUMNEY. NOW, WE KNOW THAT THIS WILLIAM WAS THE UNCLE OF HENRY. SO EVEN IF HENRY DIDN'T ACTUALLY LIVE HERE, HE WOULD HAVE CERTAINLY SPENT A LOT OF TIME AROUND THIS PLACE. IN THE 17th CENTURY, THIS PART OF WALES WAS ISOLATED AND RURAL, HARDLY THE PLACE TO EXCITE A YOUNG MAN LOOKING FOR ADVENTURE. HOW DID MORGAN AND MEN LIKE HIM FIND THEIR WAY TO THE ISLANDS OF THE CARIBBEAN? A CLUE LIES IN THE GEOGRAPHY OF LLANRUMNEY. IT'S VERY CLOSE TO THE CHANNEL THAT SEPARATES SOUTHERN WALES FROM ENGLAND. IN THE 17th CENTURY, BEFORE YOU'VE GOT DECENT ROADS AND RAILWAYS, THIS WOULD HAVE REPRESENTED NOT AN OBSTACLE BUT, IN FACT, A HIGHWAY CHOC-A-BLOC WITH BOATS-- AN EASY PASSAGE FROM THE SLEEPY VILLAGE OF LLANRUMNEY THROUGH TO THE INTERNATIONAL PORT OF BRISTOL. BRISTOL WAS ONCE BRITAIN'S MOST IMPORTANT PORT. IT'S BUILT ON THE MOUTH OF ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL TIDAL RIVERS IN THE WORLD. THE RIVER STILL RUNS THROUGH THE CITY TODAY. AT ONE END IS A NARROW STRETCH OF WATER WHERE SAILING SHIPS USED TO DOCK. HERE, TESSA MEETS HISTORIAN RONALD HUTTON. MOST OF THE TRAFFIC THAT CAME TO THIS POINT WAS FROM WALES. THAT PUB JUST OVER THERE IS CALLED THE "LLANDOGER TROW" BECAUSE OF THE BOATS THAT CAME FROM LLANDOGER-- SMALL BOATS CALLED TROWS BRINGING OVER WELSH GOODS. AND SOME OF THE CARGO THEY BROUGHT WAS PROBABLY HENRY MORGAN. HOW DID HENRY GET FROM BRISTOL TO THE CARIBBEAN? EITHER HE SHIPPED OUT STRAIGHT FROM BRISTOL-- WHICH SOME PEOPLE SAID-- TO BECOME A SERVANT, OR ELSE HE ACCOMPANIED A MILITARY EXPEDITION WHICH SET OUT FROM BRITAIN RATHER LATER. SO IT'S NOT UNIMAGINABLE THAT ON THIS SPOT ONCE MAY HAVE BEEN ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS PIRATES. IT'S NOT ONLY NOT UNIMAGINABLE, IT'S ACTUALLY QUITE LIKELY. MORGAN ARRIVED ON THESE DOCKS IN THE EARLY 1650s, A TIME WHEN BRITAIN WAS GEARING UP FOR A MAJOR MILITARY CAMPAIGN IN THE NEW WORLD. EVER SINCE THE 1500S, THE SPANISH EMPIRE HAD CONTROLLED VAST TERRITORY IN THE AMERICAS. NOW THE BRITISH WANTED A SHARE. SHIPS CREW WERE RECRUITED FROM DOCKS ALL AROUND THE COUNTRY, INCLUDING BRISTOL. THOSE PEOPLE WHO WERE SAILING OUT AND IN, WHAT DO WE IMAGINE THEY WERE LIKE? WHO WERE THEY? THE SORT OF PEOPLE WHO'D HAVE BEEN HERE WOULD HAVE BEEN ROUGH TRADE-- YOUNG, STRONG, AMBITIOUS-- ALL OF THEM WANTED TO GET RICH. SOME OF THEM HAD MADE ENGLAND TOO TOUGH TO HOLD THEM. THEY HAD TO RUN FOR IT. THEY'D HAVE BEEN UNSCRUPULOUS, GREEDY, ADVENTUROUS-- IN MANY WAYS, VERY GLAMOROUS. I'M TRYING TO IMAGINE WHAT IT WOULD HAVE ACTUALLY BEEN LIKE TO HAVE BEEN DOWN HERE. THIS WOULD LOOK TOTALLY DIFFERENT. YOU COULD HARDLY SEE THE WATER FOR SHIPS. IT WAS LIKE A FOREST OF MASTS. YOU COULD HAVE CROSSED THE ENTIRE HARBOR JUMPING FROM ONE SHIP DECK TO ANOTHER. AND IT WOULD HAVE SMELT OF SALT AND A STAGNANT BILGE FROM THE SHIPS' BOTTOMS, SPICE FROM THE TROPICS, THE SOUND OF SONGS AND VOICES IN 15 DIFFERENT LANGUAGES. IT WAS THE HUB OF THE WORLD. USING MAPS AND CONTEMPORARY ACCOUNTS, WE CAN BUILD A PICTURE OF HOW BRISTOL DOCKS WOULD HAVE LOOKED 350 YEARS AGO. THE CITY WAS SO FULL OF VESSELS THAT ONE VISITOR DESCRIBED IT AS HAVING A STREET OF SHIPS. THEY WERE ALMOST ALL HEADED FOR ONE DESTINATION-- THE CARIBBEAN. IT WAS FROM HERE THAT ALL THE MAIN VOYAGES TOOK PLACE TO THE NEW WORLD. AND THAT'S WHY, INEVITABLY ALMOST, SO MANY MEN GATHERED LOOKING FOR THEIR MAIN CHANCE. WHETHER THEY WERE IN TROUBLE, IN DEBT, WANTING A FAST BUCK, BRISTOL WAS THE PLACE WHERE THEY COULD GET ON A BOAT, SET SAIL, LOOK FOR A NEW LIFE, AND, ULTIMATELY, BECOME PIRATES. 350 YEARS AGO, HUNDREDS OF MEN WERE HEADING OUT TO THE NEW WORLD FROM THE DOCKS OF BRISTOL, ENGLAND. ONE OF THESE MEN WAS A YOUNG ADVENTURER NAMED HENRY MORGAN. MORGAN ARRIVED IN JAMAICA IN MAY 1655 AS PART OF A BRITISH FORCE TASKED WITH SEIZING LAND FROM THE SPANISH. THEY QUICKLY OVERRAN THE ISLAND'S DEFENSES, AND, INSTEAD OF OCCUPYING THE CAPITAL CITY, SPANISH TOWN, THEY DECIDED TO BUILD A NEW BASE FOR THEMSELVES. THE SPOT THEY CHOSE IS AT THE TIP OF A LONG PENINSULA TO THE SOUTH OF KINGSTON HARBOR. THEY CALLED IT PORT ROYAL. NOW, DAVID STEWART, A MARINE ARCHAEOLOGIST, HAS COME TO PORT ROYAL TO LOOK FOR THE REMAINS OF THE WORLD TO WHICH HENRY MORGAN BELONGED. TODAY, PORT ROYAL IS A TINY FISHING VILLAGE. NO TRACE OF ITS FORMER GLORY SURVIVES. IF YOU LOOK AROUND PORT ROYAL TODAY, IT'S A VERY SMALL, VERY QUIET, KIND OF OUT-OF-THE-WAY PART OF JAMAICA. HARDLY ANYTHING SEEMS TO BE HAPPENING HERE. 400 YEARS AGO, THOUGH, THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN THE LARGEST AND RICHEST COLONY IN THE NEW WORLD. ONLY ONE COMPLETE STRUCTURE FROM THE ORIGINAL PORT ROYAL STANDS TODAY. IT'S CALLED FORT CHARLES. DAVID MEETS ARCHAEOLOGIST RODERICK EBANKS. David: THIS IS QUITE AN IMPRESSIVE STRUCTURE. [Jamaican accent] YEAH. THEY BUILT THIS BECAUSE OF THE NEED TO DEFEND JAMAICA. I NOTICED THAT YOU HAVE GUN PORTS ALL AROUND THIS FORT ON ALL SIDES, NOT JUST THE ONE FACING TOWARDS WHAT IS NOW THE SEA. THIS FORT WAS A MAJOR DEFENSIVE UNIT THAT COULD COVER 360 DEGREES. THE CONSTRUCTION OF FORT CHARLES BEGAN AS SOON AS THE BRITISH ARRIVED ON THE ISLAND. MANY OF ITS ORIGINAL FEATURES SURVIVE IN TACT, INCLUDING THICK, LIMESTONE WALLS AND DOZENS OF CANNON WHICH HAD BEEN SHIPPED OUT FROM ENGLAND. BUT IMBEDDED IN THE WALL IS A SIGN THAT SOMETHING HAS DRAMATICALLY CHANGED HERE. I'VE NOTICED A SERIES OF THESE IRON RINGS ALONG THE FRONT FACE OF THE FORT. WHAT WERE THESE FOR? THESE RINGS WERE USED TO TIE SHIPS UP, IN MAKING A SECURE ANCHORAGE. SHIPS WOULD COME IN AND OFFLOAD. THERE, IN FACT, WERE 4 OF THEM ALONG HERE. THE RINGS ARE PUZZLING. SHIPS TIED UP TO THEM-- AND YET THEY ARE NOWHERE NEAR THE HARBOR. IN FACT, THE ENTIRE FORT, DESIGNED TO PREVENT AN ATTACK FROM THE SEA, IS COMPLETELY LANDLOCKED. CLEARLY, THE FORT HASN'T SHIFTED ITS POSITION. THE ONLY ANSWER CAN BE THAT THE LAND ITSELF HAS CHANGED SHAPE. AND THERE IS A FURTHER PIECE OF EVIDENCE-- A BUILDING WHICH HAS SUNK INTO THE GROUND. THIS IS AN AMAZING STRUCTURE BECAUSE YOU SEE IT FOR YOURSELF. YOU HAVE TO KEEP ONE FOOT HIGHER THAN THE OTHER WHILE WALKING AROUND, OTHERWISE YOU'RE GONNA FALL OFF TO THE SIDE WHERE THE HOUSE HAS FALLEN DOWN. IT'S ABSOLUTELY GRAPHIC PROOF OF THE WAY IN WHICH PORT ROYAL IS BUILT ON A VERY UNSTABLE LAND SURFACE. THE LAND IS UNSTABLE BECAUSE IT'S MADE OF LOOSE SAND AND GRAVEL WASHED DOWN FROM THE RIVERS ON THE MAINLAND. OVER TIME, THESE RIVER SILTS HAVE ENLARGED THE LAND. BUT 350 YEARS AGO, WHEN THE FORT WAS FIRST BUILT, IT WAS SURROUNDED ON 3 SIDES BY WATER. A FEW YARDS AWAY FROM FORT CHARLES, RODERICK SHOWS DAVID THE REMAINS OF A SECOND FORT. IT, TOO, WAS ONCE SURROUNDED BY WATER. IN TOTAL, THE BRITISH BUILT 5 FORTS IN PORT ROYAL. AND FROM THEIR LOCATIONS, DAVID MAY BE ABLE TO FIGURE OUT THE ORIGINAL SHAPE OF THE LAND. I'VE DRAWN THIS SKETCH MAP OF PORT ROYAL TO HELP US UNDERSTAND WHAT WE'VE SEEN SO FAR. RODERICK SHOWED US FORT CHARLES AND FORT WALKER. HE ALSO TOLD US THAT THERE ARE RUMORS THAT ANOTHER FORT, FORT RUPERT, SOMETIMES STICKS OUT OF THE WATER, SOMEWHERE OVER IN HERE. WE'RE GOING TO GO THERE NOW AND SEE IF WE CAN FIND THAT LOCATION. PORT ROYAL'S THIRD FORT IS IN THE MIDDLE OF A DENSE MANGROVE SWAMP. DAVID AND HIS GUIDE HACK A PATH THROUGH THE UNDERGROWTH. IN THE EXACT POSITION THAT THE FORT SHOULD BE, THEY DISCOVER A LARGE LAGOON. UNFORTUNATELY, IT LOOKS LIKE THAT RIGHT NOW THE LAGOON IS TOO HIGH, AND WE CAN'T SEE ANY OF THE WALLS. JUST LIKE THE OTHERS, FORT RUPERT'S POSITION IN RELATION TO THE COASTLINE HAS CHANGED. I ALSO KNOW THAT FORT JAMES AND FORT CARLISLE ARE NOW SUBMERGED, AND ALL OF THESE WERE ORIGINALLY ON THE COAST WHEN THEY WERE FIRST BUILT. IF YOU CONNECT ALL THE DIFFERENT DOTS AND JOIN THE PATTERN OF THE FORTS TOGETHER AS THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN IN THE 17th CENTURY, THAT SUGGESTS THAT THE LAND AT THAT TIME WAS A MUCH DIFFERENT SHAPE THAN IT IS TODAY. BY PLOTTING THE LOCATION OF THE FORTS TODAY, DAVID HAS DISCOVERED THAT THE SHAPE OF THE ENTIRE PENINSULA HAS DRAMATICALLY ALTERED SINCE PORT ROYAL WAS FIRST BUILT. AND THESE FORTS REVEAL SOMETHING ELSE ABOUT THIS SETTLEMENT IN ITS EARLIEST YEARS. THIS WAS A COMMUNITY DESPERATE TO DEFEND ITSELF. JAMAICA WAS A LONE BRITISH COLONY IN THE MIDDLE OF SPANISH TERRITORY. WITHIN A YEAR OF THE INVASION, THE FLEET THAT BROUGHT THE BRITISH HERE HAD SAILED HOME. THE ISLAND LAY UNPROTECTED AND VULNERABLE. IT WOULD NOT BE LONG BEFORE PORT ROYAL WAS OVERRUN BY PIRATES. 150 MILES AWAY FROM JAMAICA, ON THE REMOTE ISLAND OF TORTUGA, A COMMUNITY OF OUTLAW SAILORS AND DESERTERS-- MANY OF WHOM CAME FROM THE DOCKYARDS OF BRITAIN-- HAD SET UP A HOME FOR THEMSELVES. THEY WERE KNOWN AS THE BUCCANEERS. HERE, TESSA MEETS HISTORIAN EDDIE KRIZLER. SO, WHO EXACTLY WERE THESE BUCCANEERS? BUCCANEERS WERE JUST A WEIRD ASSORTMENT OF INDIVIDUALS. THEY WERE REALLY OUTCASTS OF MANY NATIONS OF EVERY STRIPE AND COLOR. BUT ADVENTURERS ALL AND INDIVIDUALS ALL. MAROONED SEA MEN. ESCAPED SLAVES. POLITICAL REFUGEES. RELIGIOUS HERETICS. JUST PEOPLE WHO WERE MAVERICKS AND LONERS. THE BUCCANEERS WERE DRAWN TO TORTUGA AFTER THE SPANISH RELEASED LIVESTOCK ONTO THE ISLAND. THEY LIVED OFF THIS MEAT, AND THE METHOD IN WHICH IT WAS BARBEQUED ON A WOODEN SPIT KNOWN AS A BOUCAN EARNED THEM THE NAME OF BUCCANEERS. BUT THEY WANTED MORE THAN FOOD FROM THE SPANISH. THEY WANTED SPANISH GOLD. THEY FORMED THEMSELVES INTO WHAT THEY CALLED "THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE BRETHREN OF THE COAST." AND THEY WENT AROUND RAIDING THE LITTLE SHIPS THAT WOULD GO INTO COASTAL TRADING AND CAPTURING IT AND COME BACK AND DIVIDE THE SPOILS. THESE MEN WERE WILD, BUT BACK IN JAMAICA THE BRITISH WERE DESPERATE. AS IT BECAME CLEAR THAT THE SPANISH WOULD RETURN, THEY LOOKED FOR ANY WAY TO DEFEND THEMSELVES. AND THE GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA CAME UP WITH A RADICAL PLAN. HE INVITED THE BUCCANEERS TO COME AND LIVE IN PORT ROYAL. HIS THOUGHTS WERE, "IF WE GIVE THEM A HOME BASE, "WHERE THEY COULD CAREEN THEIR SHIPS, "WHERE THEY CAN SELL THEIR PLUNDER, "WHERE THEY COULD DEFEND THE COLONY "BY WAGING AGGRESSIVE WAR ON THE SPANISH SHIPS, "THE SPANISH ARE GOING TO THINK TWICE ABOUT INVADING AN ISLAND "WHICH HAD SUCH A DREAD FIGHTING FORCE AS THE BUCCANEER." IN 1657, 600 BUCCANEERS ARRIVED-- OUTLAWS AND THIEVES WELCOMED AS THE SAVIORS OF THE CITY. HENRY MORGAN, WHO HAD SPENT 2 LONG YEARS MANNING THE DEFENSES OF PORT ROYAL, SAW HIS CHANCE. THE WORLD'S LARGEST COLLECTION OF HISTORICAL SHIP PLANS IS IN THE NATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM IN LONDON, ENGLAND. WE KNOW FROM WRITTEN RECORDS THAT THE MOST COMMON TYPE OF SHIP SAILED BY PIRATES IN PORT ROYAL WAS KNOWN AS THE JAMAICAN SLOOP. SINCE NO PLANS OR WRECKS SURVIVE IN JAMAICA, TESSA HAS COME HERE TO FIND OUT WHY THEY PARTICULARLY FAVORED THIS KIND OF VESSEL. COULD YOU EXPLAIN TO ME THE WORD "SLOOP"? UH, A SLOOP FOR THIS PERIOD IS, UH, A SHIP THAT'S ABOUT, UM, 65 TO 80 FOOT LONG. SOMETHING THAT WAS FAIRLY SMALL, FAIRLY LIGHT AND WITH ONE OR TWO MASTS. AND SHALLOW IN THE WATER. THIS SLOOP HERE, UH, HAS 2 MASTS. PIRATES WERE INTERESTED IN SMALL AND FAST SHIPS. AND THIS WOULD BE A VERY GOOD EXAMPLE OF ONE OF THEM. AT THIS TIME, THE SPANISH EMPIRE WAS TRANSPORTING HUGE QUANTITIES OF SOUTH AMERICAN GOLD THROUGH CARIBBEAN WATERS. THEY USED LARGE SHIPS-- GALLEONS. THE PIRATES NEEDED CRAFT THAT COULD MATCH AND EXCEED THEIR SPEED. IT'S STRANGE, BECAUSE I HAD THIS IDEA OF A BIG, MAJESTIC PIRATE SHIP WITH HUGE, UH, GREAT SAILS. BUT, IN FACT, THIS IS REALLY VERY MODEST IN COMPARISON. ABSOLUTELY. RATHER THAN HAVING SAILS THAT GO ACROSS THE SHIP, WHICH YOU FIND IN FILMS LIKE PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN, THE SAILS WERE ACTUALLY ORIENTATED TO GO UP AND DOWN THE SHIP. AND THAT MEANT THAT SHE WAS A FAST SAILOR BECAUSE SHE COULD SAIL CLOSER TO THE WIND. THESE SMALL, TRIANGULAR-SHAPED SAILS OFFERED MANEUVERABILITY. A PIRATE VESSEL COULD PULL ALONGSIDE ONE OF THE LARGER SHIPS AND BOARD HER. THIS AGILITY WAS FAR MORE IMPORTANT THAN SIMPLE SIZE OR FIREPOWER. TO EXPERIENCE THE TECHNOLOGY FOR HIMSELF, INVESTIGATOR DAVID STEWART JOINS NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST PEGGY LESSINGER ON A REPLICA SLOOP. THESE PIRATES-- DID THE GOVERNMENT SUPPLY THEM WITH SHIPS? OR WHAT TYPES OF VESSELS DID THEY USE? THEY WOULD HAVE USED ANYTHING THEY COULD GET THEIR HANDS ON. THEY WOULD HAVE USED VESSELS THAT HAD COME FROM EUROPE-- SAILING VESSELS. THEY WOULD HAVE USED ISLAND SLOOPS THAT WERE USED IN COMMERCE AND FISHING AROUND THE ISLANDS. YOU SEE THE VESSEL WE'RE ON RIGHT NOW? THIS VESSEL IS ROUGHLY 50 FEET LONG, AND THE SLOOPS WERE NO BIGGER THAN THIS. THEY WEREN'T GREAT, HUGE SAILING SHIPS. AND THERE WERE OTHER REASONS WHY PIRATES PREFERRED THESE SMALL SHIPS. IT HAD VERY LOW DRAFT SO THAT IT COULD GET INTO VERY SHALLOW PLACES. MAYBE, UM, IT COULD ENTER THE--THE REEFS. YOU KNOW, INTO SHALLOW SOUNDS. IT COULD GO UP ESTUARIES. IT COULD DUCK IN BEHIND THE MANGROVES. IT WAS ABLE TO MANEUVER. IT WAS ABLE TO HIDE. THE SLOOP WAS VERY MANEUVERABLE. MANY OF HENRY MORGAN'S RAIDS WERE NOT ON SPANISH SHIPS BUT ON THE PORTS THAT STORED THE GOLD. THE SLOOP'S LOW DRAFT WOULD ENABLE HIM TO SAIL INTO SHALLOW HARBORS WHERE BIGGER, DEEPER-HULLED SHIPS WOULD RUN AGROUND. SO ONCE THE PIRATES GOT HOLD OF THESE SHIPS, WOULD THEY CUSTOMIZE THEM IN ANY WAY? OH, CERTAINLY. CERTAINLY. THEY WOULD, FIRST OF ALL, PROBABLY GIVE IT MORE FIREPOWER. THEY WOULD WANT IT TO BE USED AS, UH, A VESSEL THAT COULD GO AFTER PREY. A PIRATE SHIP HAD TO BE FITTED FOR WAR. EXTRA LOOPHOLES WERE CUT FOR MORE CANNON. THE DECK WOULD BE STRIPPED TO HOUSE A LARGER CREW, AND BELOW DECK WAS CLEARED TO MAKE ROOM FOR BOOTY. A SHIP THIS SIZE WOULD HAVE BEEN ABOUT THE RIGHT THING FOR PIRATES. IT'S ABOUT 50 FEET LONG. IT'S GOT A FORE AND AFT SAIL FOR SPEED AND MANEUVERABILITY-- ONLY IMAGINE THIS TYPE OF VESSEL PACKED WITH ABOUT 60 OR 70 MEN. IT WAS A FLEET OF THESE SHIPS THAT ENABLED HENRY MORGAN TO CARRY OUT THE MOST DARING RAID OF HIS CAREER-- THE ATTACK ON PORTOBELLO. PORTOBELLO LAY ON THE ISTHMUS OF PANAMA. IT WAS THE MOST VALUABLE CITY IN THE CARIBBEAN, STORING WEALTH FROM ALL OVER THE SPANISH EMPIRE. IT WAS A PRIZE THAT MORGAN COULDN'T RESIST. HE WAS A GREAT STRATEGIST. AND HE SAID, YOU KNOW, "WE CAN'T GO AFTER SHIPS. "LET'S GO WHERE THE MONEY IS." SO HE ORGANIZED-- I THINK HE HAD 1200 PIRATES-- FRENCH, DUTCH, ENGLISH. KNOWING THAT THE SPANISH SUSPECTED AN ATTACK BY THE SEA, MORGAN PREPARED TO SURPRISE THEM. IN JULY 1668, HE SAILED A FLEET OF SLOOPS INTO A BAY TO THE WEST OF PORTOBELLO. [crickets chirping] UNDER THE COVER OF DARKNESS, HIS MEN BEACHED THEIR SHIPS AND BEGAN A MARCH ACROSS COUNTRY. THEY DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO EAT ON THE WAY. THEY'RE HUNGRY. THEY'RE THIRSTY. BUT THEY HAVE THAT GOLDEN IMAGE IN FRONT OF THEM. [swords clanking] JUST BEFORE DAWN, MORGAN'S MEN ATTACKED PORTOBELLO. THE TOWN WAS QUICKLY OVERCOME, AND SO MORGAN TURNED HIS ATTENTION TO THE FORTS WHICH WERE REFUSING TO SURRENDER. [men yelling] IN AN ACT OF CRUEL INGENUITY, MORGAN FORCED NUNS AND FRIARS TO CLIMB THE FORTS AHEAD OF HIM, USING THEM AS HUMAN SHIELDS. WITHIN HOURS, THE CITY WAS CONQUERED. HE MAKES SUCH A BIG HAUL THAT HE LOADS UP 175 MULES. CAN YOU IMAGINE? 175 MULES LOADED WITH GOLD AND SILVER AND ALL THE STUFF THAT WAS IN THE CHURCHES, AND 600 PRISONS HE'S GONNA HOLD FOR RANSOM. MORGAN'S MEN KILLED 1500 PEOPLE AND STOLE THE EQUIVALENT OF $10 MILLION FROM PORTOBELLO. INCREDIBLY, NONE OF THIS WAS ACTUALLY ILLEGAL. PIRATES WERE THIEVES AND KILLERS AT SEA OUT FOR WHAT THEY COULD GET FOR THEMSELVES. BUT WHAT I FIND FASCINATING, AND I'VE LEARNED, IS THAT, QUITE OFTEN, THEY WERE ACTING UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT WHO ASKED THEM TO HELP PROTECT THE ISLAND OF JAMAICA, AND THEY DID THAT BY RAIDING AND LOOTING. [door creaks] BY AUTHORIZING MORGAN'S RAIDS, THE GOVERNMENT IN JAMAICA NOT ONLY KEPT THE SPANISH AT BAY, THEY ALSO ENTITLED THEMSELVES TO A CUT OF THE SPOILS. SO, IN OTHER WORDS, THIS WAS LEGALLY SANCTIONED PIRACY. CERTAINLY. JAMAICA NEEDED THIS AS A DEFENSE FORCE. AND IF THEY COLORED IT BY LEGITIMIZING IT, SO BE IT. BUT THE PIRATES, THEY DIDN'T CARE WHETHER IT WAS LEGALLY SANCTIONED OR NOT. THEY WERE GONNA DO THEIR THING. BUT IT WAS NICE TO KNOW THAT THEY HAD A LICENSE. AND IF THEY DIDN'T HAVE A LICENSE FROM ENGLAND, THEY'D GET ONE FROM THE FRENCH, THEY'D GET ONE FROM THE DUTCH, AND THEY PROBABLY HAD A WHOLE BUNCH OF THESE LICENSES IN THEIR POCKET. AND WHOEVER THEY INVADED, THEY'D THROW UP THE FLAG OF THAT NATION, SHOW THE APPROPRIATE LICENSE AND GO IN AND RAID IT. [men yelling] THE LICENSES, KNOWN AS LETTERS OF MARQUEE, TURNED THE CARIBBEAN INTO A PLAYGROUND FOR MORGAN'S PIRATES. BY THE END OF THE DECADE, THEIR NUMBERS REACHED 2,000, AND NO SPANISH SHIP OR TOWN WAS SAFE FROM THEM. AND THE MONEY THAT WAS MADE DIDN'T ONLY BENEFIT THE PIRATES IN THE GOVERNMENT, IT ALSO HAD AN INCREDIBLE EFFECT ON THE CITY OF PORT ROYAL ITSELF. PREVIOUSLY, DAVID DISCOVERED THAT THE LAND ON WHICH PORT ROYAL IS BUILT HAS COMPLETELY CHANGED SHAPE. TO UNDERSTAND HOW THIS HAPPENED, TESSA'S GOING TO GET AN AERIAL VIEW OF THE LAND. PORT ROYAL IS SITUATED ON A 10-MILE SAND SPIT. IT SLOPES VERY STEEPLY INTO THE SEA, MAKING IT A TREACHEROUS AREA FOR SHIPS. AND IT'S VERY UNSTABLE, MADE OF GRAVELS AND SHIFTING SANDS. THE CITY WAS BUILT RIGHT AT THE VERY END OF THE PENINSULA. IT ALL MAKES SENSE NOW THAT I'VE SEEN IT FROM UP HERE, BECAUSE THE LAND RUNNING OUT TO PORT ROYAL IS THIS INCREDIBLY FRAGILE-LOOKING SPIT. AND I'M ACTUALLY ASTONISHED THAT THEY BUILT SO MUCH ON SUCH A PRECARIOUS-LOOKING PIECE OF GROUND. WHEN PORT ROYAL WAS FIRST BUILT, THE PENINSULA WAS MUCH SMALLER THAN IT IS TODAY. THEN, IN 1692, AN ENORMOUS EARTHQUAKE STRUCK. THIS CAUSED AN ENTIRE SECTION OF LAND TO BREAK AWAY FROM THE COAST AND SLIDE INTO THE SEA. IT MEANS THAT 13 ACRES OF THE PIRATE CITY OF PORT ROYAL NOW LIE UNDER THE WATERS OF KINGSTON HARBOR. FOR MARINE ARCHAEOLOGISTS, THIS MAKES PORT ROYAL A TREASURE TROVE. ARCHAEOLOGISTS SPEND A LOT OF THEIR TIME DIGGING TRASH SITES-- PEOPLE'S REFUGE AND RUBBISH THAT THEY'VE THROWN AWAY. BUT PORT ROYAL IS UNIQUE. IT'S A CATASTROPHIC SITE. IT'S A PLACE WHERE EVERYTHING THAT WAS HAPPENING AT THAT MOMENT IN TIME WHEN THE DISASTER STRUCK IS PRESERVED. SO WE CAN SEE A SLICE OF LIFE AS IT WAS HAPPENING IN JUNE OF 1692 WHEN THE EARTHQUAKE STRUCK. LOCAL ARCHAEOLOGIST DORRICK GREY TAKES DAVID TO THE EDGE OF THE UNDERWATER CITY. DORRICK, WHAT ARE WE LOOKING AT HERE? [Jamaican accent] WHAT HAPPENED ON THAT FATEFUL DAY ON THE 7th OF JUNE, 1692 IS JUST INCREDIBLE. AS YOU CAN SEE ON THIS MAP, WE ARE LOCATED RIGHT HERE. AND ALL THIS AREA HERE, 13 ACRES, SLID INTO THE SEA, AND THE SAND ACTUALLY LIQUEFIED. QUICKSAND. AND THE BUILDINGS WENT DOWN VERTICALLY. ACTUALLY, SOME OF THE WALLS FELL IN, SOME FELL OUT SEALING THE CONTENTS OF WHAT WERE WITHIN THOSE BUILDINGS. BECAUSE PORT ROYAL SLID RATHER THAN TOPPLED INTO THE SEA, DORRICK HAS BEEN ABLE TO MAP OUT THE EXACT POSITIONS OF STREETS AND BUILDINGS UNDER THE WATER. SO WHERE ARE WE NOW, DORRICK? WE ARE BASICALLY OVER THE UNDERWATER CITY. WE HAVE FORT JAMES TO OUR RIGHT. QUEEN STREET OVER ON THAT SIDE. LIME STREET THAT RUNS OUT INTO THE WATER. SO WE SHOULD BE SEEING OVER ON THIS SIDE, UM, BRICK FOUNDATIONS OF BUILDINGS. HAVING PLOTTED THE LAYOUT ABOVE THE WATER, DAVID EXPLORES THE REMAINS OF THE CITY ITSELF. THE HARBOR IS MURKY, BUT ON THE SEABED, DAVID DISCOVERS A SERIES OF BROKEN STREETS AND WALLS. HUNDREDS OF ARTIFACTS HAVE BEEN FOUND HERE. THEY REVEAL MUCH ABOUT THE KIND OF CITY THIS WAS. LARGE NUMBERS OF WINE BOTTLES ARE EVIDENCE OF THE HEAVY DRINKING CULTURE THAT MORGAN AND HIS MEN WERE PART OF. [men laughing] MANY OF THE HOUSES WERE BROTHELS. THE CONTENTS OF A LEAD SYRINGE SUGGESTS THAT IT WAS USED FOR TREATING SYPHILIS. OTHER FINDS POINT TO A CITY WHICH WAS NOT JUST DEBAUCHED BUT ALSO FANTASTICALLY RICH-- EXPENSIVE HANDCRAFTED PORCELAIN AND FASHIONABLE TRINKETS. AND, OF MOST SURPRISE TO THE ARCHAEOLOGISTS, MANY OF THE HOUSES WERE BUILT OF BRICK IMPORTED FROM ENGLAND. THIS IS A SIGN OF GREAT WEALTH. AT THIS TIME, NO OTHER CITY HAD SUCH A HIGH PROPORTION OF BRICK HOUSES. IT'S REALLY VERY EXCITING DOWN THERE. ONCE YOU GET PAST THE GRASS, YOU CAN SEE A BUNCH OF BRICKS. IT LOOKS LIKE WALLS THAT HAVE TUMBLED IN ON THEMSELVES, LIKE DORRICK WAS TELLING US ABOUT. SOME OF THE WALLS HAVE CRASHED INWARDS, SOME HAVE CRASHED OUTWARDS. BUT YOU CAN SEE A LOT OF JUMBLED BRICK-- THE WHOLE CITY THAT'S FALLEN IN UPON ITSELF. SURROUNDED BY A SERIES OF FORTIFICATIONS, THE PORT CONTAINED OVER 2,000 TIGHTLY-PACKED BUILDINGS. THESE WERE IN THE STYLE OF LONDON TOWNHOUSES, OFTEN 3 OR 4 STORIES HIGH. MOST CONTAINED TAVERNS OR SHOPS SERVICING A POPULATION LARGER THAN NEW YORK OR PHILADELPHIA AT THE TIME. AND THE ENTIRE CITY WAS SURROUNDED BY A BUSTLING HARBOR LINED WITH PIRATE SLOOPS AND TRADE SHIPS. THIS WAS THE LARGEST AND RICHEST CITY IN THE NEW WORLD. BUT HOW DID A CITY FULL OF PIRATES BECOME SUCH A GLAMOROUS TRADE PORT? TO FIND OUT, TESSA HEADS TO THE OLD CAPITAL OF JAMAICA-- SPANISH TOWN. BECAUSE ALL OF PORT ROYAL'S OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS WERE STORED HERE RATHER THAN IN THE PORT ITSELF, HUNDREDS OF IMPORTANT PAPERS SURVIVED THE EARTHQUAKE AND STILL EXIST TODAY. MANY OF THESE ARE INVENTORIES OR WILLS LISTING THE POSSESSIONS OF INDIVIDUAL CITIZENS. STUDYING THESE DOCUMENTS, HISTORIAN JAMES ROBERTSON HAS DISCOVERED WHY THE PEOPLE OF PORT ROYAL WERE SO WEALTHY. HERE WE HAVE JOEL CLEMENT'S INVENTORY, WHICH, COMPARED TO SOME OF THE OTHERS WHICH GO ON FOR 2 OR 3 PAGES, IS ACTUALLY QUITE SHORT. I THINK HE WAS A SENIOR FERRYMAN. ALTHOUGH THE INVENTORY BELONGS TO A MODEST WORKER, HIS POSSESSIONS ARE PLENTIFUL. THEY INCLUDE A TAVERN, 24 PEWTER PLATES, 5 GOLD HOOPS, AND DEBTS OWED TO HIM OF OVER 600 POUNDS. SO WHAT ROLE DID THE PIRATES HAVE IN THIS ECONOMY OF GOLD HOOPS AND PEWTER PLATES? WELL, THIS IS AS WITH CALIFORNIA IN THE GOLD RUSH. THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE THE MONEY ARE NOT THE MINERS, IT'S NOT THE PIRATES. IT'S THE PEOPLE WHO RUN THE PUB, AND HE IS LIVING VERY NICELY. THE PIRATE'S MONEY IS GOING STRAIGHT THROUGH HIS 24 PEWTER MUGS AND PEWTER PLATES, 'CAUSE HE'S SELLING THEM THE FOOD, HE'S GETTING THE CASH. THE PIRATES ARE JUST NOTORIOUS FOR HOW FAST THEY SPENT THEIR MONEY AND HOW FOOLISHLY. TESSA HAS DISCOVERED THAT IT WAS THE CASH-RICH PIRATES WHO MADE PORT ROYAL SUCH A WEALTHY, HIGH-STATUS CITY. WHEN THE PIRATES ARRIVED BACK AFTER THEIR FAMOUS RAIDS ON PORTOBELLO, THEY HAD UNIMAGINABLE WEALTH WHICH THEY THEN LIBERALLY SPENT IN TAVERNS, BROTHELS, ON LUXURY ITEMS, BOOZE. YOU NAME IT, THEY HAD IT. AND THAT'S WHY PORT ROYAL WAS CONSIDERED THE RICHEST CITY IN THE WORLD. IN 1671, BRITAIN AND SPAIN MADE PEACE. THEY DIVIDED THEIR TERRITORY IN THE CARIBBEAN. THE PIRATES HAD MADE THEIR LIVING FROM LOOTING SPANISH TREASURE. THEY'D HAD THE BLESSING OF THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT, BUT THEY WERE NOW AN EMBARRASSMENT. THEY WERE OUTLAWED. BY THE END OF THE 17th CENTURY, ENGLAND GAVE HER COLONIES AUTHORITY TO EXECUTE PIRATES. I'VE COME TO LOOK FOR GALLOWS POINT SOMEWHERE IN THIS DISMAL MANGROVE SWAMP. ON A SPOT NOW OVERGROWN BY MANGROVE TREES, DOZENS OF PORT ROYAL'S PIRATES WERE EXECUTED. THEIR CORPSES WERE COATED IN TAR AND DISPLAYED INSIDE METAL CAGES. BUT THESE PIRATES WERE THE BASIS OF PORT ROYAL'S ECONOMY. WHY, THEN, DID THE CITY TREAT THEM SO HARSHLY? THE ANSWER LIES WITH HENRY MORGAN AND THE ROUTE HE TOOK AFTER PIRACY WAS OUTLAWED. HIGH IN THE HILLS IN THE NORTH OF JAMAICA, IN THE GROUNDS OF A MODERN MANSION, IS AN OLD STONE STRUCTURE. IT'S BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN OWNED BY HENRY MORGAN TOWARDS THE END OF HIS LIFE. I'VE HEARD THAT THIS BUILDING ACTUALLY DATES BACK TO THE 1600S. IS THAT RIGHT? [Jamaican accent] YES, THIS IS A 1600 BUILDING USED BY THE PIRATE HENRY MORGAN. OK, SO, THEREFORE, THIS WALL WOULD HAVE BEEN AN ORIGINAL WALL. YES, IT'S AN ORIGINAL WALL. IT'S MADE OF BRICK AND CORAL. THESE ARE FROM THE SEA, SO IT'S REALLY AN OLD BUILDING FROM THOSE DAYS. AND WHAT ABOUT THIS LOOP HOLE HERE? DO WE SUPPOSE THAT'S ORIGINAL? YES, IT'S ORIGINAL. IT'S THE GUN SLOT FOR THE PIRATE WHERE HE CAN SHOOT FROM INSIDE. [gunshot] THE LOOP HOLES SURROUND THE ENTIRE BUILDING AND SUGGEST THAT THIS WAS A WELL-DEFENDED STRUCTURE. INSIDE, THERE IS FURTHER EVIDENCE THAT MORGAN WAS HERE. WAS THIS HENRY MORGAN'S ORIGINAL FIREPLACE? YES, THIS IS THE ORIGINAL FIREPLACE THAT HE USED TO COOK. THIS BUILDING IS EVIDENCE OF MORGAN'S NEW ROLE IN JAMAICA. INSTEAD OF HANGING HIM FOR PIRACY, THE BRITISH MADE USE OF MORGAN'S NATURAL AUTHORITY AND APPOINTED HIM DEPUTY GOVERNOR OF THE ISLAND. AND MORGAN WAS NOT ONLY POWERFUL, HE WAS ALSO VERY RICH. BUT WITHOUT PIRACY, WHERE WAS THIS MONEY COMING FROM? A CLUE LIES IN THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES, WHICH STORES ONE OF THE ISLAND'S MOST TREASURED DOCUMENTS-- HENRY MORGAN'S WILL. WHAT DOES THIS TELL US HENRY MORGAN ACTUALLY OWNED? IT SHOWS US THAT HE'S GOT A BIG HOUSE WITH LAVISH FURNITURE. AND HE'S GOT AN ESTATE WITH EQUIPMENT AND LIVESTOCK. IT STARTS OFF WITH HIS HOUSE-- STUFF LIKE WROUGHT PLATE, 2 GOLD RINGS. THERE'S HIS EMERALD DROPS. SO REALLY THIS IS EXOTIC EQUIPMENT. IT'S EXOTIC. IT'S LUXURIOUS. IT'S WHAT YOU WANTED TO BE A PIRATE FOR. AND THEN YOU MOVE ON AND YOU GET TOWARDS HIS ESTATE. AND WE GET... SOME SLAVES. THE WILL LISTS A HUGE NUMBER OF AFRICAN SLAVES-- 44 MEN, 45 WOMEN, AND 50 CHILDREN. WHY DID HENRY MORGAN, A FORMER PIRATE, OWN SLAVES FROM AFRICA? TO FIND OUT, TESSA IS GOING TO VISIT THE REMAINS OF MORGAN'S ESTATE FOR HERSELF. WHAT I'VE DISCOVERED IS THAT BY THE END OF HIS LIFE, HENRY MORGAN HAD ACQUIRED A MASSIVE GREAT CHUNK OF REAL ESTATE. HE HAD OVER 100 SLAVES, AND HE SPORTED A FLASH TITLE. AND, YOU KNOW, I'M THINKING HE WAS LESS WIDE BOY PIRATE AT THIS TIME AND MORE MEMBER OF THE ESTABLISHMENT. FOLLOWING DETAILS IN THE WILL, TESSA HEADS TO THE DISTRICT WHERE MORGAN HAD HIS MAIN RESIDENCE. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DENSE COUNTRYSIDE, SHE DISCOVERS THE BORDERS OF HIS ESTATE. TODAY, THE AREA IS IMPOVERISHED FARMLAND-- OVERGROWN AND RUN DOWN. MORGAN'S HOME LAY AT THE VERY CENTER OF THIS LAND. HERE, TESSA DISCOVERS THE REMAINS OF A GREAT HOUSE. SO I THINK WHAT WE'VE GOT HERE IS THE ORIGINAL WALL OF HENRY MORGAN'S PLANTATION HOUSE. AND IF THIS IS THE WALL, IT PROBABLY RUNS THAT WAY, WHICH MEANS THE FRONT OF THE BUILDING IS ALONG HERE. THE HOUSE HASN'T BEEN LIVED IN FOR DECADES, BUT SIGNS OF ITS FORMER GLORY ARE STILL VISIBLE. THIS WAS A PLANTATION HOUSE, ONE OF MANY ESTABLISHED ACROSS JAMAICA IN THE LATE 17th CENTURY. IT'S JUST A RELIC HERE NOW, BUT WANDERING AROUND, YOU REALLY GET A SENSE OF ITS FORMER GLORY. THIS PLACE MUST HAVE BEEN MAGNIFICENT, AND IT MAKES SENSE, BECAUSE BY THE TIME HENRY MORGAN CAME TO BUY IT, HE WAS REALLY A MAN OF MEANS. AND THIS HOUSE, THIS PLANTATION HOUSE, CAME WITH 836 ACRES OF LAND-- IT WAS ENORMOUS. THERE'S ONLY ONE THING THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN PRODUCED ON AN ESTATE OF THIS SIZE, AND THAT WAS SUGAR. HUNDREDS OF ACRES OF SUGAR CANE WERE HARVESTED HERE ON LAND THAT WAS WORKED BY SLAVES. TODAY, THE BUILDING IS BARELY VISIBLE BEHIND THE OVERGROWTH, BUT IT WOULD HAVE ONCE BEEN A GRAND MANSION. IT WAS HERE IN 1688 THAT HENRY MORGAN DIED, SURROUNDED BY HIS WEALTH AND ROW UPON ROW OF SUGAR CANE. THIS WAS THE NEW INDUSTRY IN THE CARIBBEAN, AND IT WAS THE REAL REASON WHY THE PIRATES OF PORT ROYAL WERE NO LONGER NEEDED. MONEY THAT HAD ONCE BEEN MADE FROM PIRACY WAS NOW BEING MADE FROM SUGAR AND SLAVES. 4 YEARS AFTER MORGAN DIED, THE EARTHQUAKE STRUCK PORT ROYAL KILLING 2,000 PEOPLE AND DRAGGING 13 ACRES INTO THE SEA. BUT WITH THE PIRATES GONE AND THE ECONOMY MOVED INLAND, PORT ROYAL WAS A CITY WHICH WAS ALREADY LONG IN DECLINE. IN EXPLORING THE REMAINS OF THIS REMARKABLE CITY, TESSA AND DAVID HAVE DISCOVERED THAT THE PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN WERE PART OF AN INCREDIBLE STORY. I FEEL I'VE REALLY LEARNED THAT THE PIRATES WEREN'T JUST FANTASY CHARACTERS WHO JUMPED ON SHIPS AND RAIDED FOR GOLD. ACTUALLY, THEIR ROLE WAS FAR BROADER THAN THAT. AND ALSO THEY WERE VERY KEY HISTORICAL PLAYERS. EXAMINING LOST BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES CONNECTED TO THE PIRATES, THEY'VE DISCOVERED THAT THESE MEN ACTUALLY INFLUENCED THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN ENTIRE CITY AND SHAPED THE COURSE OF CARIBBEAN HISTORY. AND WITH MOST THINGS, THE TRUTH OF THE REAL PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN IS A LOT MORE INTERESTING THAN HOLLYWOOD MAKES IT OUT TO BE. THE END OF PORT ROYAL DID NOT MEAN THE END OF PIRATES. THEY WOULD CONTINUE TO WREAK HAVOC THROUGHOUT THE NEW WORLD FOR CENTURIES. BUT THEY WOULD NEVER BE AS RICH OR AS FREE TO ROAM AS THEY WERE IN THE GOLDEN ERA OF HENRY MORGAN AND HIS PIRATES OF PORT ROYAL. CAPTIONED BY FEATURE SUBTITLING & TRANSLATION www.featuresubtitling.com

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Channel: HISTORY

Views: 296,915

Rating: 4.8201227 out of 5

Keywords: history, history channel, history shows, history channel shows, lost worlds, history lost worlds, lost worlds full episodes, lost worlds clips, full episodes, Lost Worlds season 2 episode 17, Lost Worlds s2 e17, Lost Worlds 2X17, Lost Worlds se2 ep17, greatest monuments, Lost Superpower of the Bible, Hittites, superpower, military powerhouse, Lost Superpower, powerhouse, enemies, Lost Worlds s02 e17, lost city, Lost Worlds 02x17, Lost Worlds s02 clips, Pirates of the Caribbean

Id: BRKuZdlG0fA

Channel Id: undefined

Length: 40min 29sec (2429 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 29 2020