Eighteenth Century Jamaica

[rexluscus]

So in general, this is a fun site: Pirates of the Caribbean, in Fact and Fiction. What caught my eye, though, was its section on Port Royal. Tavern names! It gives Port Royal tavern names! All before the 1692 earthquake, of course, so most of them were probably destroyed by the time any fic would be set. Still!

The Taverns of Port Royal: Before the Earthquake of 1692

The dates below reflect known entries in official records. It is quite possible that the taverns were in business both before and after the dates mentioned. The image below [see site] is pure conjecture based on similar signs used by "Cat and Fiddle" inns known to exist throughout English colonies from the 1600's to the present.

* The Black Dogg, 1692
* The Blue Anchor, 1679
* The Catt and Fiddle, 1676
* The Cheshire Cheese, 1684
* The Feathers, 1681
* The Green Dragon, 1674
* The Jamaican Arms, 1677
* The King's Arm, (no. 1) 1677
* The King's Arm, (no. 2) 1677
* The Salutacon, 1680
* The Shipp, 1674
* The Sign of Bacchus, 1673
* The Sign of the Mermaid, 1685
* The Sign of the George, 1682
* The Sugar Loaf, 1667
* The Three Crowns, 1673
* The Three Mariners, 1677
* The Three Tunns, 1665
* The Windmill, 1684

Now here's something really amazing: an enormous collection of period maps of Jamaica. There are a good forty of them, and quite a few are from the mid-eighteenth century. The scans are decent for the most part, though there's a few I wish were higher res, plus the fact that the handwriting on them is often barely legible. Still, totally fantastic.

ETA: Oh, and here are a bunch of good Port Royal maps.