Kingston Harbour in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...

is the seventh-largest natural

harbour A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is ...

in the world. It is an almost landlocked area of water approximately long by wide. Most of it is deep enough to accommodate large ships, even close to shore. It is bordered to the north by the city of Kingston, the capital of

; to the west by Hunts Bay and the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

of Portmore; and to the south and east by the

Palisadoes Palisadoes (word apparently of Portuguese origin) is the thin tombolo of sand that serves as a natural protection for Kingston Harbour, Jamaica. Norman Manley International Airport and the historic town of Port Royal are both on Palisadoes. ...

strip, which protects it.Reference: ''UK Directorate of Overseas Surveys'' 1:50,000 map of Jamaica sheet L, 1967. The harbour is home to the Kingston Container Terminal, Jamaica's largest port. Other docks on Kingston Harbour are at the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica in downtown Kingston and at the Jamaica Flour Mills and the Caribbean Cement Company at Rockfort. Fresh water, along with industrial and domestic waste, is discharged into Hunts Bay from rivers and drainage gullies, including Rio Cobre and Sandy Gully. Norman Manley International Airport, Jamaica's second busiest international airport, is also located in the outer harbor, on the Palisadoes strip. There is a fishing village at Rockfort and fishing docks at Harbour View and at

Port Royal Port Royal is a village located at the end of the Palisadoes, at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1494 by the Spanish, it was once the largest city in the Caribbean, functioning as the centre of shipping and ...

History

As a large, natural, well-protected harbour, it was doubtless used by

indigenous people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

, and has been used by Europeans since the very beginning of their exploration and settlement of the island. Initially the main settlement was at

but following its destruction in the 1692 earthquake, the English founded Kingston and began development of its waterfront. Historically, the harbour was safe from attack with its narrow entrance being protected by two

forts A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

, one the tip of the

and the other on a small sand spit opposite. Throughout the 18th and early 19th centuries it handled a large local trade and was the chief entrepot for British exports to the Spanish colonies. For the remainder of the 19th century its development as a port was retarded by a decline in the Jamaican economy. Throughout this period there was a gradual increase in the number of finger piers and wharves along its long sheltered waterfront. In 1720 the body of

Calico Jack John Rackham (26 December 168218 November 1720), commonly known as Calico Jack, was an English pirate captain operating in the Bahamas and in Cuba during the early 18th century. His nickname was derived from the calico clothing that he wore, whi ...

was hanged at the entrance of the harbour as a warning to other

pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

Pollution

In modern times Kingston Harbour has suffered a number of pollution incidents. In one such during 2009, 300 tons of sulphuric acid are said to have been accidentally discharged from one of the wharves.

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Aerial view
{{Authority control Ports and harbours of Jamaica Kingston, Jamaica

History

Pollution

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See also

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External links