Plate Tectonics
Tectonic plates are pieces of lithospheric plates that move relative to one another. There are three types of plate boundaries: divergent, convergent, and transform. Divergent boundaries occur where new lithosphere is being produced and neighboring parts of plates are moving away from each other. In contrast, convergent plates occur when plates collide. Lastly, transform boundaries (transform faults) occur when the edges of two plates slide past each other. Jamaica lies on a stretch of plate that connects to the Gon'ave-Caribbean Plate Boundary. On June 7 1692, there was a massive earthquake that rocked Port Royal, Jamaica. Fifty people were killed in a landslide. In all, about 3,000 people lost their lives that day. Thousands more died in the following weeks due to sickness and injury. Aftershocks discouraged the survivors from rebuilding Port Royal. Instead, the city of Kingston was built and remains to this day the largest city in Jamaica.

https://courses.washington.edu/tesc243/jamaica/index_files/page0007.htm