Fort Charles in Port Royal. - Norman Grindley/Deputy Chief Photographer

A four-month exhibition showcasing the history of Port Royal will open in the Historical Museum of Southern Florida, downtown Miami, early next year.

The exhibition will open on February 16 and continue until June 3.

Titled 'Port Royal, Jamaica' the exhibition, jointly coordinated by the Institute of Jamaica and the Historical Museum of Southern Florida, marks the first time that a large collection of rare artefacts from that historic Jamaican seaside town, parts of which sank in the devastating earthquake of 1692, will be displayed in the United States.

More than 150 artefacts will chronologically illustrate the life of that city since it was founded in 1655. Many of these artefacts were recovered through underwater archaeology expeditions carried out since the 1950s.

Some of the items on display will include Chinese porcelain, German stoneware and Spanish silver coins, as well as red clay pipes associated with African craftsmen who resided then in the city. Among the many skilled craftsmen inhabiting Port Royal before the famous quake were shipwrights, blacksmiths, pewterers, and silversmiths.

Exhibits

The era of the Royal Navy will be portrayed through such items as pharmaceutical vials from the Naval Hospital, the Spencer Browning and Rust telescope as well as a bust of Horatio Nelson, one of several British naval heroes who served in Port Royal during the 18th century.

Among the collection on display will also be rare maps, prints, books and manuscripts, and a ship model, all to be borrowed from the National Library of Jamaica, the University of Florida (George A. Smathers Library) and the Historical Museum of South Florida.

A series of 25 black and white photographs depicting community life in Port Royal and which were shot during the 1980s by a leading Jamaican photographer, Maria LaYacona, will also form part of the exhibition.

The city of Port Royal has been a focal point of Caribbean and Atlantic history. It was also a cosmopolitan port and centre for the African slave trade during the 17th century and a major base of the British Royal Navy during the 18th and 19th centuries. Today, the maritime city is famous as a world historical site and an attraction for locals as well as many visitors to the island.

Chief curator for the Historical Museum of Southern Florida, Dr. Steven Stuempfle, said the museum is committed to partnering with institutions to explore how events in the Caribbean have shaped world history during the past several centuries.

After the four-month display at the Historical Museum of Southern Florida, the exhibition will be mounted in Jamaica until January 2008.