The ''Black Pearl'' (formerly known as the ''Wicked Wench'') is a fictional ship in the
''Pirates of the Caribbean'' film series. In the screenplay, the ''Black Pearl'' is easily recognized by her distinctive black hull and sails. Captained by Captain
Jack Sparrow
Captain Jack Sparrow is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the '' Pirates of the Caribbean'' film series. The character was created by screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio and is portrayed by Johnny Depp.
The characte ...
, she is said to be "nigh uncatchable". In the first three films she either overtakes or flees all other ships, including the ''Interceptor,'' which is regarded as the fastest ship in the Caribbean, and the ''Flying Dutchman,'' which is actually faster against the wind. Her speed is partly derived from the large amount of sails she carries, partly supernatural, and noted in ''Dead Man's Chest'' and ''At World's End'' as being "the only ship that can outrun the ''Dutchman''" as further evidenced in the maelstrom battle between the two ships.
Background
The ''Black Pearl'' was built by the French and was originally a merchant ship called ''Wicked Wench'' (the name of the ship from the
Pirates of the Caribbean
''Pirates of the Caribbean'' is a Disney media franchise encompassing numerous theme park rides, a series of films, and spin-off novels, as well as a number of related video games and other media publications. The franchise originated with th ...
attraction at
Disneyland Park
Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envision ...
, which is shown shelling a fort), but its crew later turned to piracy under the command of a pirate captain named Morgan, who was killed during a battle with
Spanish Royal Navy
The Spanish Navy or officially, the Armada, is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation, ...
Captain
Armando Salazar
This is a list of characters appearing in the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' film series.
__TOC__
Main characters Jack Sparrow
Captain Jack Sparrow is the protagonist of the series, portrayed by Johnny Depp. First introduced in the film '' P ...
. The helmsman, Jack Sparrow, was granted captaincy of the ''Wicked Wench'' after out-maneuvering Salazar and saving the crew during battle.
Years later, the ''Wicked Wench'' became registered to the East India Trading Company and owned by
Cutler Beckett
This is a list of characters appearing in the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' film series.
__TOC__
Main characters Jack Sparrow
Captain Jack Sparrow is the protagonist of the series, portrayed by Johnny Depp. First introduced in the film '' P ...
, the EITC Director for
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...
. At the time,
Jack Sparrow
Captain Jack Sparrow is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the '' Pirates of the Caribbean'' film series. The character was created by screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio and is portrayed by Johnny Depp.
The characte ...
was in the employ of the East India Trading Company and regained captaincy of the ''Wicked Wench'' (this fits in with reality as history notes that pirates did not build ships specifically to commit piracy. Instead, they either bought or stole small, fast vessels, then retrofitted them with heavy armaments).
(As detailed in the 2011 Disney Publishing novel, ''
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Price of Freedom'', written by
A.C. Crispin
Ann Carol Crispin (April 5, 1950 – September 6, 2013) was an American science fiction writer, the author of twenty-three published novels. She wrote several ''Star Trek'' and ''Star Wars'' novelizations, and created an original science fiction ...
)
Jack Sparrow captained the ''Wicked Wench'' for Cutler Beckett for about a year, hauling various cargoes, but he refused to haul slaves. Hoping to recruit Sparrow as one of his many "operatives", Beckett indulged what he regarded as an odd peccadillo of Sparrow's until he and the captain came to part ways. Beckett had dispatched Sparrow on a mission to find the lost island of Kerma, and the treasure at the heart of its underground labyrinth, but Sparrow double-crossed the EITC official and claimed he couldn't locate the island. Suspicious that Sparrow had indeed found the island and the treasure, but had not given him its accurate location, Beckett, determined to browbeat the captain into obedience, demanded that the young captain transport a cargo of slaves to the New World. Initially Sparrow agreed, but when he realized that he was betraying the ''Wicked Wench'', as well as himself, he rebelled and freed the slaves by taking them to Kerma for safe asylum.
Furious that Sparrow had flouted his orders and stolen the "cargo" of "black gold", Beckett had Sparrow thrown into jail. After allowing him to languish for a couple of months, Beckett had Sparrow transported to the ''Wicked Wench''
's anchorage, about a mile from the coast of West Africa, near Calabar on the Bight of Benin. After personally branding Sparrow with the "P" brand (so he'd be forever identifiable as a pirate), Cutler Beckett gave the order to fire incendiary carcass charges at the ''Wicked Wench'', in order to totally demoralize her captain. Sparrow fought his way free from his guards, dove overboard and attempted to rescue his burning, foundering ship, but he was too late. The ''Wicked Wench'' turned into an inferno, then sank, taking Jack with her. But, while dying, Sparrow called upon
Davy Jones, and struck a bargain with him: his soul and one hundred years service aboard the ''Flying Dutchman'', in return for a continued human existence of thirteen years as captain, plus saving the ''Wicked Wench'' and transforming her into the fastest, most dangerous pirate ship on the seven seas. Jones agreed, and raised the ship from the sea floor, now a charred vessel with an angel figurehead.
In keeping with her scorched appearance, Jack painted his ship black and added black sails, rechristening her "the ''Black Pearl''". Two years later, the ''Black Pearl'' was in search of the mysterious
Isla de Muerta
This is a list of islands and other locations in the '' Pirates of the Caribbean'' film series.
Davy Jones' Locker
Davy Jones' Locker, based on a real superstition of the same name, is a fictional place introduced in ''Dead Man's Chest'' an ...
with a new crew, where the legendary ''Chest of
Cortés'' was hidden. Captain and crew agreed to equal shares of the treasure, but devious
first mate
A chief mate (C/M) or chief officer, usually also synonymous with the first mate or first officer, is a licensed mariner and head of the deck department of a merchant ship. The chief mate is customarily a watchstander and is in charge of the ship ...
Hector Barbossa
Captain Hector Barbossa is a fictional character of the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' franchise, appearing in all five films in the series. Starting out as a villainous undead pirate in '' The Curse of the Black Pearl'' (2003), the character dies ...
persuaded Jack that equal shares included knowing the treasure's location. Jack complied, and soon after Barbossa led a
mutiny
Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military, of a crew or of a crew of pirates) to oppose, change, or overthrow an organization to which they were previously loyal. The term is commonly used for a rebellion among member ...
and marooned Jack on an island with nothing but a pistol containing one shot.
The crew found the
Aztec
The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...
gold, which was spent very quickly, not believing in the curse placed on it: that anyone who stole the coins would become an
undead
The undead are beings in mythology, legend, or fiction that are deceased but behave as if alive. Most commonly the term refers to corporeal forms of formerly-alive humans, such as mummies, vampires, and zombies, who have been reanimated by super ...
being, unable to feel anything but insatiable hunger, and that only
moonlight
Moonlight consists of mostly sunlight (with little earthlight) reflected from the parts of the Moon's surface where the Sun's light strikes.
Illumination
The intensity of moonlight varies greatly depending on the lunar phase, but even the ful ...
would reveal their true form. This curse being real, the pirates were soon hideous living skeletons with tattered flesh and clothing clinging to their bones. Even the ''Black Pearl'' was affected by the curse upon its crew, becoming constantly shrouded in an eerie mist and operating with tattered sails ripped in many places.
Appearances
''The Curse of the Black Pearl''
![Pirate Flag of Rack Rackham](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Pirate_Flag_of_Jack_Rackham.svg)
The curse could only be lifted when all eight hundred and eighty two coins were returned to the chest along with a trace of blood from each pirate who stole one.
William "Bootstrap Bill" Turner Sr., the only crew member who defended Jack Sparrow during the mutiny, sent a coin to his young son
Will Turner
William Turner Jr. is a fictional character in the Pirates of the Caribbean (film series), ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' films. He appears in ''Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, The Curse of the Black Pearl'' (2003), ''Pirat ...
in England, believing the crew "deserved to be cursed, and remain cursed". In retaliation, Barbossa (as Pintel put it), "strapped a cannon to old Bootstrap's bootstraps. The last we saw of old Bill Turner... he was sinking to the crushing black oblivion of
Davy Jones' locker
Davy Jones's locker is a metaphor for the oceanic abyss, the final resting place of drowned sailors and travellers. It is a euphemism for drowning or shipwrecks in which the sailors' and ships' remains are consigned to the depths of the ocean ...
". Only then did Barbossa's crew learn that they also needed Bootstrap's blood to break the curse, and by throwing him overboard they had, in fact, doomed themselves to continued damnation.
Over the next decade, the ''Black Pearl'' menaced the
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
as the pirates searched tirelessly for the Aztec gold, until all but one piece was found. As a boy, William "Will" Turner Jr. brought the gold medallion with him on his journey to the Caribbean, although
Elizabeth Swann
Elizabeth Turner (née Swann) is a fictional character in the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' film series. She appears in ''The Curse of the Black Pearl'' (2003) and three of its sequels, ''Dead Man's Chest'' (2006), '' At World's End'' (2007) and ...
, Governor Weatherby Swann's daughter, came into possession of it and kept it hidden for eight years. The ''Pearl'' later attacked
Port Royal
Port Royal is a village located at the end of the Palisadoes, at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1494 by the Spanish, it was once the largest city in the Caribbean, functioning as the centre of shipping and co ...
and abducted Elizabeth, believing she was Bootstrap's child and thus their only remaining source of Turner blood.
The ''Pearl'' was eventually commandeered by Sparrow with a new crew. While most of Barbossa's crew were battling the Royal Navy aboard HMS ''Dauntless'', Barbossa, Monk, Jacoby and, Weatherby fight Elizabeth, Will, and a now-cursed Jack Sparrow were at Isla de Muerta. After Will and Jack put their blood on their respective pieces and return them to the chest of Cortés, the Aztec curse was lifted. With the crew no longer immortal, Jack used his single shot - which he had carried for ten years - to kill Barbossa. During the battle, Jack's crew are able to commandeer the ''Pearl'', leaving Jack behind at Isla de Muerta. However, they later rescue him after he escapes execution in Port Royal, and he again takes command of the ship.
Between the first and second installments
The ''Black Pearl'' was pursued by
Commodore
Commodore may refer to:
Ranks
* Commodore (rank), a naval rank
** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom
** Commodore (United States)
** Commodore (Canada)
** Commodore (Finland)
** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore''
* Air commodore ...
James Norrington
This is a list of characters appearing in the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' film series.
__TOC__
Main characters Jack Sparrow
Captain Jack Sparrow is the protagonist of the series, portrayed by Johnny Depp. First introduced in the film '' Pir ...
and the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
. Off of
Tripoli
Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to:
Cities and other geographic units Greece
*Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece
* Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece
* Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...
, a large hurricane battered the ''Pearl'' (though it survived) and HMS ''Dauntless'' sank, along with most of its crew. Norrington survived, and later resigned from the Navy.
''Dead Man's Chest''
One year later, the ''Black Pearl'' is still being captained by
Jack Sparrow
Captain Jack Sparrow is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the '' Pirates of the Caribbean'' film series. The character was created by screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio and is portrayed by Johnny Depp.
The characte ...
, although his crew is not content with him; it's been months since they did "a speck of honest pirating", and they are upset about the Royal Navy's pursuit and the hurricane.
Davy Jones sends Bootstrap Bill Turner to remind Jack that he still owes his soul and one hundred years of service aboard the ''Flying Dutchman'' to Jones; Jack's thirteen years of captaincy have now passed. Jack is marked with the
black spot, which means that the
Kraken
The kraken () is a legendary sea monster of enormous size said to appear off the coasts of Norway.
Kraken, the subject of sailors' superstitions and mythos, was first described in the modern age at the turn of the 18th century, in a travelogu ...
is now hunting to drag both Sparrow and his ship down to
the Locker
is a 2004 Japanese horror and thriller film directed by Kei Horie. The film stars Asami Mizukawa, Shūji Kashiwabara, Chisato Morishita, and Mayuka Suzuki in the lead roles.
Cast
* Asami Mizukawa
* Shūji Kashiwabara
* Mayuka Suzuki
* Tomohisa ...
.
Jack has the ship sailed to the nearest land -
Pelegosto
This is a list of islands and other locations in the '' Pirates of the Caribbean'' film series.
Davy Jones' Locker
Davy Jones' Locker, based on a real superstition of the same name, is a fictional place introduced in ''Dead Man's Chest'' an ...
, an island inhabited by a
cannibal
Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, bo ...
tribe. Jack and the surviving crew escape the cannibals with
Will Turner
William Turner Jr. is a fictional character in the Pirates of the Caribbean (film series), ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' films. He appears in ''Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, The Curse of the Black Pearl'' (2003), ''Pirat ...
, Pintel and Ragetti, and visit the voodoo priestess
Tia Dalma
Tia Dalma is a fictional character from Disney's ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' franchise, making her debut in '' Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.'' She is a voodoo and hoodoo practitioner who once was in love with the pirate Davy Jo ...
for advice. Dalma details how Davy Jones cut out his own heart and locked it in the hidden "Dead Man's Chest". The crew learns that if Jones' heart is stabbed, he will die, so whomever controls Jones' heart can command Jones himself. Dalma then helps the crew of the ''Pearl'' track down the ''Flying Dutchman''. When Jack sends Will over to the ''Dutchman'', the ''Pearl'' is boarded by Jones' cursed crew. Jack makes a deal with Davy Jones; he will deliver Jones 100 souls in three days in exchange for his own. Jones agrees, temporarily removing the Black Spot from Jack's palm. Jones and his crew then depart aboard the ''Dutchman'' with Will (who is "a good-faith payment"), while the ''Pearl'' travels to
Tortuga to "recruit" the remaining 99 souls.
In Tortuga, Jack runs into
Elizabeth
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist
Ships
* HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships
* ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...
and a drunk, washed-up James Norrington. Owing to her desire to find Will, Elizabeth is able to provide Jack with a heading to the dead man's chest, which is buried on
Isla Cruces
This is a list of islands and other locations in the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' film series.
Davy Jones' Locker
Davy Jones' Locker, based on a real superstition of the same name, is a fictional place introduced in ''Dead Man's Chest'' and ...
. With each desiring control of Jones for his own ends, a three-way sword fight ensues between Jack, Norrington and Will (who has escaped from the ''Dutchman'' with the help of his father). After Jack manages to obtain the heart of Davy Jones from the chest (which is secretly stolen from him by Norrington), the ''Black Pearl'' is attacked by the ''Flying Dutchman''. However, the ''Pearl'' is able to outrun the ''Dutchman'' owing to a favourable wind (the ''Pearl'' being faster with the wind). Davy Jones then unleashes the
Kraken
The kraken () is a legendary sea monster of enormous size said to appear off the coasts of Norway.
Kraken, the subject of sailors' superstitions and mythos, was first described in the modern age at the turn of the 18th century, in a travelogu ...
on the ''Pearl''. Despite successfully fighting the Kraken off twice, the ship still sustains heavy damage and most of her crew are killed. Jack orders the surviving crew to abandon ship. After figuring out that the Kraken is only after Jack and not the ''Pearl'', Elizabeth distracts Jack by kissing him, then chains him to the ship's mast and leaves him behind. Resigned to his fate, Jack bravely charges the maw of the Kraken, and the ''Pearl'' is dragged down to
Davy Jones' Locker
Davy Jones's locker is a metaphor for the oceanic abyss, the final resting place of drowned sailors and travellers. It is a euphemism for drowning or shipwrecks in which the sailors' and ships' remains are consigned to the depths of the ocean ...
as the surviving crew watches. Mourning the loss of Sparrow, the crew return to Tia Dalma's shack. There, Dalma asks them if they would "sail to the ends of the Earth and beyond, to fetch back 'witty Jack' and him precious ''Pearl''". Gibbs, Pintel, Ragetti, Cotton's parrot (who speaks for both itself and its master), Elizabeth and Will all agree. Tia Dalma then announces their new captain,
Hector Barbossa
Captain Hector Barbossa is a fictional character of the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' franchise, appearing in all five films in the series. Starting out as a villainous undead pirate in '' The Curse of the Black Pearl'' (2003), the character dies ...
, who asks what's become of "his" ship.
''At World's End''
Led by the newly resurrected Captain Barbossa, Tia Dalma and the crew of the ''Black Pearl'' vow to rescue Jack Sparrow and his ship from Davy Jones' Locker. By means of Chinese navigational charts from the Pirate Lord of Singapore, Sao Feng, they find themselves in the Locker. Jack and the ''Pearl'' are stranded in a seemingly-endless desert, but Tia Dalma is able to use the Locker's mysterious crustaceans (crabs that appear to be rocks) to transport Jack and the ''Pearl'' to the nearby shore. Jack deciphers a clue from the navigational charts, and the crew capsize the ship at sunset. The ''Black Pearl'' then returns to the living world at sunrise.
Back in the realm of the living, the ''Black Pearl'' resupplies at an island, but is ambushed by Sao Feng (aboard his vessel ''Empress'') and Jack's old enemy Cutler Beckett (aboard his flagship HMS ''Endeavour''). Disputes mean that the ''Pearl'' is now desired by multiple characters. Captain Sparrow's claim is that it ''is'' his ship; Captain Barbossa's is that it ''was'' his ship; Will needs the ''Pearl'' to free his father from Davy Jones; Sao Feng covets the fastest ship in the Caribbean, and Cutler Beckett won't "give up the only ship that can outrun the ''Dutchman''". After Elizabeth joins Sao Feng on the ''Empress'', the ''Pearl'' and the ''Empress'' launch a surprise attack on the ''Endeavour'' and flee. In response, Beckett sends the ''Flying Dutchman'' to track down the ''Empress''. Sao Feng is mortally wounded in the ensuing attack, and dies after naming Elizabeth his successor as captain. Meanwhile, the ''Black Pearl'' escapes to "Shipwreck Cove", a secret pirate rendezvous, where the fourth meeting of the ''Brethren Court'' is then convened. After Captain Elizabeth Swann arrives, the ''Pearl'' becomes the flagship of the Pirate Armada, led by the elected Pirate King,
Elizabeth Swann
Elizabeth Turner (née Swann) is a fictional character in the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' film series. She appears in ''The Curse of the Black Pearl'' (2003) and three of its sequels, ''Dead Man's Chest'' (2006), '' At World's End'' (2007) and ...
.
Captain Sparrow, Captain Barbossa and Captain Swann take a parley with Lord Beckett, Davy Jones and Will Turner (who was pushed overboard by Sparrow for his attempted mutiny on the crew of the ''Pearl''). After Beckett reveals that Jack purposefully used Will's betrayal to try to save himself from Jones' wrath, Captains Swann and Barbossa trade Jack for Will; Jack is then imprisoned in the brig of the ''Dutchman''. Helmed by Captain Barbossa, the ''Black Pearl'' then engages in a sea battle around a
maelstrom
Maelstrom may refer to:
* Maelstrom (whirlpool), a powerful whirlpool
** originally the Moskstraumen in English
Amusement rides
* Maelstrom (ride), a former log flume dark ride attraction in the Epcot theme park at Walt Disney World Resort ...
against the ''Flying Dutchman''. The two ships are evenly matched, and both are damaged by the other's cannons and later boarded. On the ''Dutchman'', Jack escapes the brig and engages Davy Jones in a sword fight. Stealing the key to the dead man's chest from Jones, Jack threatens his foe with stabbing Jones' heart. However, Jones fatally stabs a downed Will Turner, and Jack instead helps Will to stab Jones' heart, killing Jones. As both ships near the bottom of the maelstrom, the topmasts become entangled. The ''Dutchman'' begins to pull down both ships, so Pintel and Ragetti fire a chain-shot at the entangled masts. Jack and Elizabeth escape the ''Dutchman'' using a makeshift parasail, and the ''Pearl'' escapes the maelstrom while the ''Dutchman'' sinks. Once the storm subsides, the ''Pearl'' is still afloat but substantially damaged, and no match for the ''Endeavour'' which is advancing on it. However, the ''Dutchman'' resurfaces with Captain Will Turner in command. The ''Black Pearl'' and the ''Flying Dutchman'' sail alongside each other and destroy the ''Endeavor'', killing Lord
Cutler Beckett
This is a list of characters appearing in the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' film series.
__TOC__
Main characters Jack Sparrow
Captain Jack Sparrow is the protagonist of the series, portrayed by Johnny Depp. First introduced in the film '' P ...
and forcing the now-leaderless EITC armada to flee.
In Tortuga, Jack again loses the ''Black Pearl'' to Barbossa, leaving only him and Gibbs on Tortuga, Gibbs decides to stay and they part ways with Jack saying "Take What You Can" and Gibbs replying "Give Nothing Back", though the crew of the ''Pearl'' (including Pintel, Ragetti, Marty, Murtogg and Mullroy), "are unsettled about leaving Captain Jack behind - again", indeed they all leave the Black Pearl and Barbossa recruits a new crew. However, Sparrow has secretly stolen the critical portion of Barbossa's navigational charts, and so goes back to searching for the Pearl and for the Fountain of Youth so he can gain immortality.
Between the third and fourth installments
Sometime after leaving Tortuga, the ''Black Pearl'' was attacked by the pirate ship ''
Queen Anne's Revenge
''Queen Anne's Revenge'' was an early-18th-century ship, most famously used as a flagship by Edward Teach, better known by his nickname Blackbeard. Although the date and place of the ship's construction are uncertain, it was originally believed ...
'', captained by the infamous
Blackbeard
Edward Teach (alternatively spelled Edward Thatch, – 22 November 1718), better known as Blackbeard, was an English Piracy, pirate who operated around the West Indies and the eastern coast of Britain's Thirteen Colonies, North American colon ...
. Using the supernatural powers of the Sword of Triton, Blackbeard brought the rigging of the ''Pearl'' to life, which wrapped around Barbossa's crew "like snakes". Barbossa's men were swiftly defeated, and the ''Black Pearl'' was captured, magically shrunk, and placed in a bottle by Blackbeard. Barbossa thought himself the only survivor of the attack, being forced to cut off his own leg to escape the doomed ''Pearl''.
''On Stranger Tides''
After Blackbeard's death, Jack regains the ''Pearl'' in a bottle, and Gibbs fills a large sack with the bottles of other fallen ships from ''Queen Anne's Revenge''; as the film concludes, Jack states that he is aware of a way of getting the ''Pearl'' back to full size, but it will require "a crossbow, an hourglass, three goats, one of
hem
A hem in sewing is a garment finishing method, where the edge of a piece of cloth is folded and sewn to prevent unravelling of the fabric and to adjust the length of the piece in garments, such as at the end of the sleeve or the bottom of the ga ...
must learn to play the trumpet, whilst the other one goes like this" to which Gibbs says he knows someone who owns a goat and Sparrow replies "good and I can go like this" ("this" being a wiggling of the fingers). Barbossa also claims Blackbeard's ship, sword and surviving crew after Blackbeard's demise.
''Dead Men Tell No Tales''
The ''Black Pearl'' appears in what was the fifth installment of the movie franchise in its original form (as the ''Wicked Wench''). The ''Wicked Wench'' makes its appearance during a sequence where Captain Armando Salazar is reminiscing about how and when he first met Jack Sparrow. In the flashback, the ''Wicked Wench''s helmsman is a young Jack Sparrow. While being chased by Salazar's ship the ''Silent Mary'' into unknown water, the crew of the ''Wicked Wench'' throw ropes around nearby reefs off the port side and use the rigging to slingshot the ship into the opposite direction. Jack steers the ship through the reef, saving the crew and the ship by changing the ship's course at the last second. Afterward, on the deck of the ''Wicked Wench'', the crew rewards Sparrow with "tribute" and bestow Jack with his famous hat and other personal effects. They make Jack a captain on the deck of the ship. We also learn Jack also got the name "Sparrow" by taunting Salazar, "chirping like a sparrow" from the crow's nest of the ''Wench''.
In the present day, the ''Pearl'' has remained trapped in its bottle for 'five winters', Jack keeping it in his pocket even as he is forced to use a smaller ship known as the ''Dying Gull'' to go to sea. Later in the film, Barbossa uses Blackbeard's sword to restore the ''Pearl'' to its regular size; stabbing the bottle with Blackbeard's sword cracks it, the bottle subsequently breaking as the ''Pearl'' grows to the size of a larger model, only regaining its full size when it returns to the sea. Barbossa then claims the ship for himself to battle the undead Captain Salazar, tying Jack to the rear of the ship, however later Jack managed to escape thanks to the help of Henry Turner, son of Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann, who has formed an alliance with him to find the Trident of Poseidon. After tracking down the island where the Trident is located, triggering a mystical convergence that opens a trench in the ocean, Salazar claims the Trident for himself, but Henry and Carina Smyth destroy the Trident when Salazar attempts to use it to kill Jack. The destruction of the Trident restores Salazar and his men to full life, but also causes the sea trench to collapse, with the ''Pearl''s crew lowering its anchor to pull Jack, Henry and Carina to safety. Salazar attempts to climb up the anchor to attack Jack, but Barbossa sacrifices himself to stab Salazar and save the others (Carina having been identified as his daughter). At the film's conclusion, Carina and Henry watch Will Turner's reunion with Elizabeth Swan due to the destruction of the Trident also freeing Will from his role as captain of the ''Flying Dutchman.'' Jack departs as he is restored to his traditional role as the captain of the ''Black Pearl'' with both his crew from the ''Dying Gull'' and Barbossa's crew from the ''Queen Anne's Revenge'' joining him.
Armament
The ''Black Pearl'' is moderately armed and carries 32 twelve-pound
cannon
A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...
s: 18 on the
gun deck
The term gun deck used to refer to a deck aboard a ship that was primarily used for the mounting of cannon to be fired in broadsides. The term is generally applied to decks enclosed under a roof; smaller and unrated vessels carried their guns o ...
and 14 on the
upper deck
The Upper Deck Company, LLC (colloquially as Upper Deck and Upper Deck Authenticated, Ltd. in the UK), founded in 1988, is a private company primarily known for producing trading cards. Its headquarters are in Carlsbad, California, United State ...
. Its full
broadside
Broadside or broadsides may refer to:
Naval
* Broadside (naval), terminology for the side of a ship, the battery of cannon on one side of a warship, or their near simultaneous fire on naval warfare
Printing and literature
* Broadside (comic ...
contains 16
cannonballs that weigh 192
lb (). Extremely unusual for a pirate ship, the ''Pearl'' has no
chase gun
A chase gun (or chaser), usually distinguished as bow chaser and stern chaser, was a cannon mounted in the bow (aiming forward) or stern (aiming backward) of a sailing ship. They were used to attempt to slow down an enemy ship either chasing ( ...
s (cannons used while being chased or chasing, as a regular broadside volley cannot be used in this situation) in her
bow or
stern
The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Ori ...
, giving her a grave tactical disadvantage during a chase as the ''Pearl'' cannot shoot a ship it is chasing or return fire at a pursuer; her high speed only partially negates this handicap. In ''Dead Man's Chest'' another advantage the ''Black Pearl'' has over her enemies is her ability to hide in the sea at night, since if all the ship's lamps are blown out the ship is no longer visible thanks to her black hull and sails. This is also seen in ''Curse of the Black Pearl'' where she is able to sneak unhindered into Port Royal under the cover of darkness.
Filming
In the first movie, the ''Black Pearl'' was a steel barge with wooden structures built on top to resemble a real ship. In addition, a
soundstage
A sound stage (also written soundstage) is a soundproof, large structure, building, or room with large doors and high ceilings, used for the production of theatrical film-making and television productions, usually located on a secured movie or ...
set was used to achieve better control over fog machines. For the second and third movies, a floating sailing ship was actually built in the
shipyard
A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...
s at
Bayou La Batre in
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
on the hull of the cargo ship ''Sunset'' to serve as the set, though it is not an authentic tall ship.
Another version, mounted on a
gimbal
A gimbal is a pivoted support that permits rotation of an object about an axis. A set of three gimbals, one mounted on the other with orthogonal pivot axes, may be used to allow an object mounted on the innermost gimbal to remain independent of ...
, was built for filming the Maelstrom battle. In 2010, the ''Sunset'', which played the ''Black Pearl'' in most of the films, was reconstructed to portray the ''
Queen Anne's Revenge
''Queen Anne's Revenge'' was an early-18th-century ship, most famously used as a flagship by Edward Teach, better known by his nickname Blackbeard. Although the date and place of the ship's construction are uncertain, it was originally believed ...
'' in ''
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides''.
References
External links
''Black Pearl''at th
''Pirates of the Caribbean'' wikifrom
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
Photographs of the ''Black Pearl'' at sea in HawaiiPhotographs of the ''Black Pearl''s current location on the coast of Oahu, Hawaii''Black Pearl'' Scale Model (Spanish)
{{POTC
Pirates of the Caribbean
Fictional ghost ships
Fictional ships
Fictional elements introduced in 2003