It appears it has been happening in the Caribbean more recently with a former City of Sin, slavery and piracy.Silver Pie wrote: ↑October 6th, 2022, 12:07 am Tonight, I was reading in Hancock's book about the bimini road, located off Florida. Not only did they dive several times, they chartered a plane and could see it under the water from the air.
Since the cuban underwater ruins are not far from there, I think it is probable that the photo you shared was real.
June 7th, 1692 was going as any ordinary day in a sunny city of Port Royal, Jamaica, when a terrible disaster happened – the Earth opened up and swallowed two thirds of the town, taking 2,000 people's lives. By sunset, more then 1800 houses sank into the Caribbean sea, and whatever remained was just a 10 acres of land.
From Unesco site plusPort Royal was once called the most wicked and sinful city in the world, famous for its Kill Devil Rum, pirates and prostitutes. The city reached the peak of its fame in the 17th century, being the place where Henry Morgan, the famous pirate, planned his operations.
https://adventure.howstuffworks.com/und ... -ruins.htm
Along with the rest of Jamaica, Port Royal was seized by the British in 1655. The settlement was a boom town, a major commerce hub loaded with privateers (who were basically government-commissioned pirates). In the year 1692, Port Royal had a population of somewhere between 6,500 and 10,000 residents — including thousands of slaves.
Disaster struck that summer. On June 7, 1692, just before noon, an earthquake rocked Port Royal. Then it was hit with a monstrous tidal wave. Around 30 acres (or 12 hectares) of buildings, streets and tombstones slid into the ocean.
Rev. Dr. Heath, rector of Port Royal recalled, "we heard the Church and Tower fall, upon which we ran to save ourselves; I...made towards Morgan's Fort, because being a wide open place I thought to be there securest from the falling houses; but as I made towards it, I saw the earth open and swallow a multitude of people; and the sea mounting in upon us over the fortification."
Of the original 51 acres, 20 sank to a depth of 10 feet and 13 slid to a depth of 35 feet. Two thousand people died immediately and a further 3000 died of injuries and disease shortly after.
With its soldiers, sailors, slaves, pirates and prostitutes, it is little wonder that Port Royal had a reputation for bawdiness and amusement. Attending church was a social diversion as much as a spiritual activity. Other forms of recreation included playing dominoes or strolling down the Palisadoes in the evenings. In town, dne could frequent any of the numerous inns and taverns. Some establishments held cock-fighting or bull and bear baiting and several had billiards rooms. The census of 1680 also mentions a brothel establishment belonging to a John Stan; containing 21 white women and two black women
Another significant aspect of Port Royal during this time is the role it played as the hub for pirates in the West Indies. This brief but dynamic era in human history resulted from illegitimate but lucrative opportunities for common seamen to attack European merchant ships and seize their valuable cargo. Piracy was sometimes given "legal" status by colonial powers, especially England and the Netherlands. Known as "privateering," contracts or letters of marque were awarded to ship captains who were then permitted to raid enemy strongholds in the name of the Crown. The term "Buccaneers" was also used to describes those privateers localized to the Caribbean who attacked the Spanish, French and Dutch ships.
Some of the famous buccaneers based at Port Royal included Henry Morgan, Edward 'Blackbeard' Teach and 'Calico Jack' Rackham.
As evidenced by the various probate inventories and material artifacts recovered from the underwater city, the citizens were consuming a large number of items for luxury and not simply necessity. Materials such as secular books, silver plate, spices, porcelain and fine cloth could all be found in Port Royal. Furthermore, the prevalence and consumption of these luxury items here was not matched by comparable groups in England or North America for another 20 to 40 years. This suggests that unique social and historical circumstances at Port Royal facilitated the early adoption of consumerist behaviour which was later transferred widely throughout the English-colonial world.