Pirates of the Caribbean

Flesh out his beard and clip on an earring, and Steve Harmison could probably pass as a pirate. On Sunday he rode the seas to storm through West Indies' defence at Sabina Park and helped Cap'n Vaughan and England plunder all the spoils in the first Test. But Harmison and his merry crew were simply doing what more notorious pirates got up to in Jamaica many years ago.

Port Royal, on the tip of the peninsular to the south of Kingston, was once lauded as the "wickedest city on earth". Pickpocketing pirates and swashbuckling buccaneers ruled the roost there in the 1600s, in what was one of the most lavish and exotic parts of the Americas. How things have changed.

In May 1655, the English took over the possession of Jamaica from the Spanish, and immediately built a fort at Port Royal to protect themselves from the Spanish ships, which were eager for revenge. The fort, originally named after Oliver Cromwell, was rechristened Fort Charles in 1662, when Charles II came to the British throne. And that's why the surrounding area was called Port Royal.

The fort housed the first British officials on the island, but its most famous commander was Horatio Nelson, the English admiral, who served there from 1777 to 1779 - and there is still a plaque in his remembrance today. The remains of the fort still form an intimidating prospect. Ancient cannons glare at you from every opening in the red-brick walls, and the turrets stand proud. Lookout points corner the structure, where Nelson, and others, would have scoured the Caribbean Sea for those looting pirates, such as Captain Blackbeard and Calico Jack.

Local rumour has it that old Blackbeard lived in Port Royal, and that he terrorised sailors with flaming fuses in his big, manky, black-matted beard. An idea for schoolmasters, perhaps. Calico Jack, so called because he had a kinky thing for wearing calico underwear, was also supposed to run amok in the seas. However, he later came to a sticky end when captured by the English and hung at Rackham's Bay - presumably by his pants. Anyhow, the likes of those two ran the city, living it up and making quick profits by gambling and brawling, and earning the place its "wicked" reputation.

But Port Royal paid the price of its immoral behaviour, and with devastating consequences. In 1692, its bad reputation went down with it when it was all but destroyed by an earthquake. Two-thirds of the town was washed out, and 5000 people died. One famous survivor, a Frenchman, was lucky enough to be spat back out from under the earth by a river - or so the display in the museum says. The other survivors migrated to the mainland, and then Kingston emerged as the capital of Jamaica.

Walking around Port Royal today, it feels as if it's still feeling the effects of the earthquake and its debauched, decadent past. It's now a quiet and sleepy spot - it's almost as if the place is nursing a monumental hangover, and doesn't dare open its eyes just yet. It feels like a ghost town, with its rundown and derelict buildings, almost as if Black and Jack, along with their patch-eyed pals, had trashed the place forever.

In the more upmarket side of the city, on the edge of the coast, was a small police station, and some restaurants and cafes. Fittingly, the most prominent was called the Buccaneers Restaurant, with a skull-and-crossbones flying proudly above, and a painting of Blackbeard by the door, complete with the textbook pirate party outfit: black-and-white stripey top, parrot on the shoulder, one wooden leg. And, of course, the beard.

On the shore, instead of doubloon-dripping pirate ships and elegant British fleets, there were some dirty, knackered speedboats. Instead of admirals and cabin-boys, there were a few locals, waiting for the ferry to arrive from Kingston.

After the earthquake, Port Royal emerged as the Royal Navy's Caribbean headquarters, and played a key part in the expansion of the British Empire. Admirals such as Nelson and John Benbow ruled and protected the seas. Stepping up to one of the lookout points and over the calm, clear-blue sea, it was easy to imagine exactly what went on out there all those years ago: beards, pants and all.