Jamaica Station (Royal Navy)

Jamaica Station
Ships at Port Royal c. 1820
Active	1655–1830
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Navy
Type	Fleet
Part of	Royal Navy
Garrison/HQ	Port Royal
Disbanded	1830

The Jamaica Station was a formation or command of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed at Port Royal in Jamaica from 1655 to 1830.

The station was formed, following the capture of Jamaica, by assembing about a dozen frigates in 1655. The first "Admiral and General-at-Sea" was Sir William Penn. Its main objectives in the early years were to defend Jamaica and to harass Spanish ports and shipping. In the late 1720s three successive commanders of the station lost their lives to tropical diseases while undertaking a Blockade of Porto Bello during the Anglo-Spanish War. The general ill-health associated with the station continued throughout the century. An assessment of Navy strength at the Jamaica station in 1742 found around 3,000 men were fit to serve out of a total Navy complement of 6,620. A Navy hospital was constructed in 1745 but its location was poor and many patients brought in for shipboard diseases developed additional tropical illnesses while in the hospital itself. A report to Admiralty in 1749 found that the Hospital was "rather a hurt to the [Navy] Service than a Relief."

The station merged with the North American Station to form the North America and West Indies Station in 1830.

The station closed in 1830, but the Royal Navy continued to operate a dockyard until it closed in 1905. Left abandoned, it was damaged by an earthquake in 1907 and hurricane in 1951. Part of the station now houses the headquarters of the Jamaica Defence Coast Guard (HMJS Cagway, Port Royal) and the rest being restored as part of the Port Royal Heritage Tourism Project.

Commanders included:
Commander-in-Chief, Jamaica Station

Commander-in-Chief, West Indies