Editing History of Jamaica (section)

====Jamaica's pirates====
{{Main|Port Royal|1692 Jamaica earthquake}}

Following the 1655 conquest, Spain repeatedly attempted to recapture Jamaica. In response, in 1657, Governor [[Edward D'Oyley]] invited the [[Brethren of the Coast]] to come to Port Royal and make it their home port. The Brethren was made up of a group of pirates who were descendants of cattle-hunting ''boucaniers'' (later Anglicised to buccaneers), who had turned to piracy after being robbed by the Spanish (and subsequently thrown out of Hispaniola).<ref name="autogenerated2006">Donny L. Hamilton, "Pirates and Merchants: Port Royal, Jamaica," in ''X Marks the Spot: The Archaeology of Piracy,'' ed. Russell K. Skowronek and Charles R. Ewen, 13–30 (Gainesville, Florida: University Press of Florida, 2006).</ref> These pirates concentrated their attacks on Spanish shipping, whose interests were considered the major threat to the town. These pirates later became legal English [[privateers]] who were given [[letters of marque]] by Jamaica's governor. Around the same time that pirates were invited to Port Royal, England launched a series of attacks against Spanish shipping vessels and coastal towns. By sending the newly appointed privateers after Spanish ships and settlements, England had successfully set up a system of defense for Port Royal.<ref name="autogenerated2006"/> Jamaica became a haven of privateers, buccaneers, and occasionally outright pirates: [[Christopher Myngs]], [[Edward Mansvelt]], and most famously, [[Henry Morgan]].

England gained formal possession of Jamaica from [[Spanish Empire|Spain]] in 1670 through the [[Treaty of Madrid (1670)|Treaty of Madrid]]. Removing the pressing need for constant defense against a Spanish attack, this change served as an incentive to [[Plantation economy|planting]]. This settlement also improved the supply of slaves and resulted in more protection, including military support, for the planters against foreign competition. As a result, the sugar monoculture and slave-worked plantation society spread across Jamaica throughout the 18th century, decreasing Jamaica's dependence on privateers for protection and funds.

However, the English colonial authorities continued to have difficulties suppressing the Spanish Maroons, who made their homes in the mountainous interior and mounted periodic raids on estates and towns, such as [[Spanish Town]]. The Karmahaly Maroons, led by Juan de Serras, continued to stay in the forested mountains, and periodically fought the English. In the 1670s and 1680s, in his capacity as an owner of a large slave plantation, Morgan led three campaigns against the Jamaican Maroons of Juan de Serras. Morgan achieved some success against the Maroons, who withdrew further into the Blue Mountains, where they were able to stay out of the reach of Morgan and his forces.<ref>Mavis Campbell, ''The Maroons of Jamaica 1655–1796: a History of Resistance, Collaboration & Betrayal'' (Massachusetts: Bergin & Garvey, 1988), pp. 14–15, 23, 32–33.</ref>

Another blow to Jamaica's partnership with privateers was the violent [[1692 Jamaica earthquake|earthquake]] which destroyed much of Port Royal on 7 June 1692. Two-thirds of the town sank into the sea immediately after the main shock.<ref name="USGS">{{cite web|url=https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/world/events/1692_06_07.php|title=Historic Earthquakes: Jamaica 1692 June 07 UTC|last=USGS|date=October 21, 2009|access-date=6 December 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120408181146/http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/world/events/1692_06_07.php|archive-date=8 April 2012}}</ref> After the earthquake, the town was partially rebuilt but the colonial government was relocated to Spanish Town, which had been the capital under [[Colony of Santiago|Spanish rule]]. Port Royal was further devastated by a fire in 1703 and a [[hurricane]] in 1722. Most of the sea trade moved to Kingston. By the late 18th century, Port Royal was largely abandoned.<ref name="Tortello">{{cite web|url=http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/pages/history/story001.html|title=1692:Earthquake of Port Royal|last=Tortello|first=Rebecca|access-date=22 December 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100309071447/http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/pages/history/story001.html|archive-date=9 March 2010}}</ref>