The Process of Colonial Adaptation: English Responses to the 1692 Earthquake at Port Royal, Jamaica

<p>This research investigates how colonists adapted to their new tropical environment after a destructive earthquake occurred in Jamaica on June 7, 1692. This earthquake killed approximately two thousand people and destroyed half of the bustling harbor town of Port Royal. The earthquake dramatically changed the landscape of England's most successful Caribbean town and affected the colonists. </p> <p>Historian Richard Dunn contended that colonists did not adapt to their tropical environment for at least a century after first inhabiting the Caribbean. This study argues against Dunn's theory in that the earthquake served as a catalyst in accelerating the colonists' rate of adaptation to their environment. This adaptation is evident because colonists changed the inherited ideas brought with them from England regarding building styles and town design, and the earthquake accelerated Jamaica's transition to a planter-dominated society. </p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (MA)

Level thesis:degree_level

Master's

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

History

Grantor dc:publisher

Eastern Kentucky University

Year

2012

Author dc:creator

• Matlock, Julie Yates

• 1692 earthquake
• adaptation
• Caribbean
• colonial
• Jamaica
• Port Royal
• Other History

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2012 Julie Yates Matlock

Repository record dc:identifier

https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/109

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:encompass.eku.edu:etd-1108