Black Pearl
Encyclopedia
The Black Pearl, originally 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. The ship was originally named Wicked Wench before she was ordered burned and sunk by Lord Beckett
. It was later raised from the sea floor by Davy Jones
after making a pact with Jack Sparrow who rechristened her the Black Pearl. She is said to be "nigh uncatchable". Indeed, in the three films she either overtakes or flees all other ships, including the Interceptor (regarded as the fastest ship in the Caribbean) and the Flying Dutchman
(which is actually faster against the wind). Her speed is derived from the large amount of sails she carries. She is noted in At World's End as being "The only ship as what (which) can outrun the Flying Dutchman."
attraction at Disneyland Park
, which is shown shelling a fort), registered to the East India Trading Co. and owned by Lord Cutler Beckett
. At the time, Jack Sparrow was in the employ of the East India Trading Co. and was given 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)
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 a parting of the 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 probably 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", Cutler Beckett had Sparrow thrown into jail. After allowing him to languish for a couple of months, he had him 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 branded a pirate) Cutler Beckett gave the order to loose carcass charges at his own ship, the Wicked Wench, in order to totally demoralize his prisoner. Sparrow fought his way free from his guards, dived 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, the resourceful Sparrow called upon Davy Jones, and struck a bargain with him...his soul and one hundred years serving 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 sailing the seven seas. Jack christened his resurrected Wench, now a black vessel with an angel figurehead, The Black Pearl.
In keeping with their bargain, Jones raised the ship, with Jack aboard, in the Harbor of Tortuga, to find a crew for his ship. Two years after, the Black Pearl was heading to the mysterious Isla de Muerta where the legendary Chest of Cortés
was hidden. Captain and crew agreed to equal shares of the treasure, but first mate Barbossa
persuaded Jack that equal shares included knowing the treasure's location. Jack complied, and soon after Barbossa led a mutiny
and marooned Jack on an island.
The crew found the Aztec
gold, which was spent very quickly, not believing in the curse placed on it by ancient Aztec Gods: that anyone who stole the coins would become an undead
being, unable to feel anything but pain and unsoothable hunger, and that only moonlight
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, with moonlight revealing tattered sails.
The curse could only be lifted when every coin was returned to the chest along with a trace of blood from each pirate who stole one. William "Bootstrap Bill" Turner, the only crew member who defended Jack during the mutiny, sent a coin to his young son Will Turner
, believing the crew deserved to remain cursed. Barbossa, as Pintel put it, "strapped a cannon to old Bootstrap's bootstraps and the last we saw of old Bill Turner, he was sinking to the crushing black oblivion of Davy Jones' locker
" in retaliation. Only later did they learn 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 Pearl menaced the Caribbean
as the pirates searched for the coins until all but one was found. As a boy, Will Turner
brought the gold medallion with him on his journey to the Caribbean, although Elizabeth Swann
, the governor's daughter, came into possession of it and kept it hidden. The Pearl later attacked Port Royal
and abducted Elizabeth, believing she was Bootstrap's child—their only remaining source of Turner blood.
The Pearl is eventually commandeered by Sparrow with a new crew. While its pirates are battling the Royal Navy at Isla de Muerta, the crew make off with the Pearl, leaving Jack behind. However, they later rescue him after he escapes execution in Port Royal.
James Norrington
and the Royal Navy
. Off of Tripoli
, a large hurricane battered the Pearl (though it survived) and the Dauntless, which sank, along with most of its crew. Norrington survived, and later resigned from the Navy. He is later seen as a pirate in Tortuga.
sends Bootstrap Bill Turner to remind Jack that he owes his soul and the Black Pearl to Jones, and his time is now up. Jack is marked with the black spot
, which means that the Kraken is now out to pull him and the ship into the Locker.
Jack has the ship sailed to the nearest land - Pelegosto, the cannibal island. Jack and the surviving crew escape the cannibals with Will Turner
, and travel to Tia Dalma
's shack for advice. When Jack sends Will over to the Flying Dutchman, the Pearl is briefly commandeered by Jones' crew. Jack makes a deal with Jones: 100 souls in three days. The crew (minus Will, who is a good-faith payment) travel to Tortuga to find 99 more souls.
Jack meets Elizabeth
and Norrington
at Tortuga, and travels to Isla Cruces, the island where the Dead Man's Chest is buried. After Jack steals the Heart (which is stolen from him by Norrington) the Black Pearl is attacked by the Kraken and successfully fight it off twice but the ship still retains heavy damage and most of the crew dies in the second round. After figuring out that the Kraken is after Jack and not the Black Pearl, Elizabeth kisses Jack, and (while she's kissing him) chains him to the ship's mast and leaves him behind. He is swallowed whole by the kraken, and the ship is dragged down into Davy Jones' Locker as the surviving crew watches.
After the Pearl is resurrected, it is desired by many characters: Jack, as it is his ship; Barbossa, as it was his ship; Pintel, who just wanted to throw his name into the hat (and implied a future mutiny at the end of the film); Feng, who wants a new ship; Will, who desires to free his father from Jones; and Beckett, who wants the only ship that can outrun the Dutchman. The Pearl sails to the fourth meeting of the Brethren Court, and becomes the flagship of the Pirate Armada, led by Pirate King Elizabeth Swann
and Jack Sparrow, the real captain of the Black Pearl.
The Pearl and the Dutchman engage in a sea battle in a maelstrom
during the battle between the pirates and Lord Cutler Beckett's armada. The two ships are evenly matched, and both are damaged by the other's cannons and later boarded. The ships' masts are entangled during the fight. As the ships circle closer to the bottom of the maelstrom, the Dutchman begins to be pulled down. Barbossa orders a chain shot to be fired at the entangled masts, and the Pearl breaks away while the Dutchman sinks. The Pearl comes out of the maelstrom, still afloat but severely damaged. As the Endeavour advances on the Pearl, it is obvious that the Pearl is no match for it. However, the equally damaged Dutchman resurfaces with Will Turner in command. After the battle, the Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman sail alongside each other towards the East India Company Fleet and destroy the Endeavour, killing Lord Cutler Beckett
, and forcing the massive armada to flee, as they no longer have somebody to lead them.
Afterward, Jack loses his ship and crew yet again to Barbossa, with the exception of Gibbs who ends up staying behind in Tortuga. Yet the crew seems unsettled about leaving Jack behind.
, a ship captained by the infamous pirate Blackbeard
. Using his Voodoo powers, Blackbeard brought the rigging of the Black Pearl to life, and used it against Barbossa and his crew. Barbossa's men were defeated, and the Black Pearl captured, shrunk and put in a bottle by Blackbeard. Barbossa was the only survivor as he was apparently hanging by one leg, being forced to cut it off in order to set himself free. After Blackbeard's death, Jack regains the Pearl in a bottle, and Gibbs fills the bottles of other fallen ships from Queen Anne's Revenge in a large bag. Barbossa also claims the Queen Anne's Revenge and its crew after Blackbeard's death.
: 18 on the gun deck
and 14 on the upper deck. Its full broadside
contains 16 cannonballs
and weighs 192 lb
(87 kg). The Pearl has no bow
chasers or stern
chasers (cannon used while being chased or chasing, as one cannot use a regular broadside volley in this situation), which is very unusual for a pirate ship, giving it a grave tactical disadvantage during a chase; the Pearl isn’t able to shoot the ship it chases or to reply to her hunter’s fire. 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 then the ship is no longer visible on the sea thanks to her black hull and sails. This is also seen in Curse of the Black Pearl where she is able to sneak into Port Royal under the cover of darkness, unhindered.
Also, to allow the ship to maneuver in shallows, Captain Barbossa implemented an ingenious system of oars on one of the lower decks. It allowed a detachment of his pirates to act as a galley crew during one scene of The Curse of the Black Pearl, propelling the Pearl a short distance by rowing. Finally, like Jack Sparrow himself, the Black Pearl seems to be exceptionally difficult to destroy, having been sunk on three separate occasions, only to appear again somewhere else. She flies a jib, forestaysail, foresail, foretopsail, foretopgallant sail, mainsail, topsail, topgallant sail, mizzen lateen sail, mizzen topsail, main staysail, topmast staysail, topgallant staysail. It's unknown if she has studdingsails.
s at Bayou La Batre in Alabama
on the hull of ship HMS Sunset to serve as the set, though it is not an authentic tall ship. Another version, mounted on a gimbal
, 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
in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
.
Pirates of the Caribbean
Pirates of the Caribbean is a multi-billion dollar Walt Disney franchise encompassing a series of films, a theme park ride, and spinoff novels as well as numerous video games and other publications. The franchise originates with the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction, which opened at Disneyland in...
. In the screenplay, the Black Pearl is easily recognized by her distinctive black hull and sails. The ship was originally named Wicked Wench before she was ordered burned and sunk by Lord Beckett
Cutler Beckett
Lord Cutler Beckett is a fictional character portrayed by Tom Hollander in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. He appears as a main antagonist in Dead Man's Chest and in At World's End...
. It was later raised from the sea floor by Davy Jones
Davy Jones (Pirates of the Caribbean)
Davy Jones is a fictional character and antagonist in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. Davy Jones is the captain of the Flying Dutchman , roaming the seas in search of souls to serve upon his vessel for a century...
after making a pact with Jack Sparrow who rechristened her the Black Pearl. She is said to be "nigh uncatchable". Indeed, in the three films she either overtakes or flees all other ships, including the Interceptor (regarded as the fastest ship in the Caribbean) and the Flying Dutchman
The Flying Dutchman (Pirates of the Caribbean)
The Flying Dutchman, or simply referred to as the Dutchman, is a powerful ship of the Caribbean seas in Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean. The ship made its first appearance in Dead Man's Chest under the command of the fictional captain, Davy Jones...
(which is actually faster against the wind). Her speed is derived from the large amount of sails she carries. She is noted in At World's End as being "The only ship as what (which) can outrun the Flying Dutchman."
Background
There was once a real ship named Black Pearl. It was captained by Sir Henry Morgan but sank in a battle. The fictional Black Pearl is much different than the real one. Originally named Wicked Wench (Wicked Wench is the name of the ship from the Pirates of the CaribbeanPirates of the Caribbean
Pirates of the Caribbean is a multi-billion dollar Walt Disney franchise encompassing a series of films, a theme park ride, and spinoff novels as well as numerous video games and other publications. The franchise originates with the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction, which opened at Disneyland in...
attraction at Disneyland Park
Disneyland Park (Anaheim)
Disneyland Park is a theme park located in Anaheim, California, owned and operated by the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts division of the Walt Disney Company. Known as Disneyland when it opened on July 18, 1955, and still almost universally referred to by that name, it is the only theme park to be...
, which is shown shelling a fort), registered to the East India Trading Co. and owned by Lord Cutler Beckett
Cutler Beckett
Lord Cutler Beckett is a fictional character portrayed by Tom Hollander in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. He appears as a main antagonist in Dead Man's Chest and in At World's End...
. At the time, Jack Sparrow was in the employ of the East India Trading Co. and was given 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
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Price of Freedom
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Price of Freedom is a 2011 adventure novel written by Ann C. Crispin. The book details the adventures of Captain Jack Sparrow as a young man after the events of Pirates of the Caribbean: Jack Sparrow and before the events of Pirates of the Caribbean: Legends of the...
, written by A.C. Crispin)
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 a parting of the 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 probably 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", Cutler Beckett had Sparrow thrown into jail. After allowing him to languish for a couple of months, he had him transported to the Wicked Wench
In keeping with their bargain, Jones raised the ship, with Jack aboard, in the Harbor of Tortuga, to find a crew for his ship. Two years after, the Black Pearl was heading to the mysterious Isla de Muerta where the legendary Chest of Cortés
Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca was a Spanish Conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century...
was hidden. Captain and crew agreed to equal shares of the treasure, but first mate Barbossa
Hector Barbossa
Hector Barbossa is a fictional character and pirate in the Disney film series Pirates of the Caribbean. Barbossa was first introduced in the series as the main antagonist of the first film, and pirate captain of the Black Pearl after committing mutiny against the ship's former captain, Jack...
persuaded Jack that equal shares included knowing the treasure's location. Jack complied, and soon after Barbossa led a mutiny
Mutiny
Mutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly situated individuals to openly oppose, change or overthrow an authority to which they are subject...
and marooned Jack on an island.
The crew found the Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
gold, which was spent very quickly, not believing in the curse placed on it by ancient Aztec Gods: that anyone who stole the coins would become an undead
Undead
Undead is a collective name for fictional, mythological, or legendary beings that are deceased and yet behave as if alive. Undead may be incorporeal, such as ghosts, or corporeal, such as vampires and zombies...
being, unable to feel anything but pain and unsoothable hunger, and that only moonlight
Moonlight
Moonlight is the light that reaches Earth from the Moon. This light does not originate from the Moon, but from sunlight. The Moon does not, however, reflect sunlight like a mirror, but it reflects light from those portions of its surface which the Sun's light strikes. See diffuse reflection.In...
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, with moonlight revealing tattered sails.
The Curse of the Black Pearl
Will Turner
William "Will" Turner, Jr. is a central character in the first three titles of the Pirates of the Caribbean film series produced by Walt Disney Pictures. He is played by Orlando Bloom . Will is a blacksmith's apprentice working in Port Royal...
, believing the crew deserved to remain cursed. Barbossa, as Pintel put it, "strapped a cannon to old Bootstrap's bootstraps and the last we saw of old Bill Turner, he was sinking to the crushing black oblivion of Davy Jones' locker
Davy Jones' Locker
Davy Jones's Locker is an idiom for the bottom of the sea: the state of death among drowned sailors. It is used as an euphemism for death at sea ....
" in retaliation. Only later did they learn 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 Pearl menaced the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
as the pirates searched for the coins until all but one was found. As a boy, Will Turner
Will Turner
William "Will" Turner, Jr. is a central character in the first three titles of the Pirates of the Caribbean film series produced by Walt Disney Pictures. He is played by Orlando Bloom . Will is a blacksmith's apprentice working in Port Royal...
brought the gold medallion with him on his journey to the Caribbean, although Elizabeth Swann
Elizabeth Swann
Elizabeth Swann is a major character in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series produced by Walt Disney Pictures. She appears in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and its two sequels, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End...
, the governor's daughter, came into possession of it and kept it hidden. The Pearl later attacked Port Royal
Port Royal
Port Royal was a city located at the end of the Palisadoes at the mouth of the Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1518, it was the centre of shipping commerce in the Caribbean Sea during the latter half of the 17th century...
and abducted Elizabeth, believing she was Bootstrap's child—their only remaining source of Turner blood.
The Pearl is eventually commandeered by Sparrow with a new crew. While its pirates are battling the Royal Navy at Isla de Muerta, the crew make off with the Pearl, leaving Jack behind. However, they later rescue him after he escapes execution in Port Royal.
Between the first and second installments
The Black Pearl was pursued by CommodoreCommodore (rank)
Commodore is a military rank used in many navies that is superior to a navy captain, but below a rear admiral. Non-English-speaking nations often use the rank of flotilla admiral or counter admiral as an equivalent .It is often regarded as a one-star rank with a NATO code of OF-6, but is not always...
James Norrington
James Norrington
James Norrington, CB is a fictional character in Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean film series. He is played by English actor Jack Davenport.-Character history:...
and the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
. Off of Tripoli
Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
, a large hurricane battered the Pearl (though it survived) and the Dauntless, which sank, along with most of its crew. Norrington survived, and later resigned from the Navy. He is later seen as a pirate in Tortuga.
Dead Man's Chest
The Black Pearl is still being captained by Jack Sparrow, although his crew is not content with him; they want to do more "pirating" and are upset about the hurricane. Davy JonesDavy Jones (Pirates of the Caribbean)
Davy Jones is a fictional character and antagonist in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. Davy Jones is the captain of the Flying Dutchman , roaming the seas in search of souls to serve upon his vessel for a century...
sends Bootstrap Bill Turner to remind Jack that he owes his soul and the Black Pearl to Jones, and his time is now up. Jack is marked with the black spot
Black Spot (Treasure Island)
The Black Spot is a literary device invented by Robert Louis Stevenson for his novel Treasure Island. In the book, pirates are presented with a "black spot" to officially pronounce a verdict of guilt or judgment. It consists of a circular piece of paper or card, with one side blackened while the...
, which means that the Kraken is now out to pull him and the ship into the Locker.
Jack has the ship sailed to the nearest land - Pelegosto, the cannibal island. Jack and the surviving crew escape the cannibals with Will Turner
Will Turner
William "Will" Turner, Jr. is a central character in the first three titles of the Pirates of the Caribbean film series produced by Walt Disney Pictures. He is played by Orlando Bloom . Will is a blacksmith's apprentice working in Port Royal...
, and travel to Tia Dalma
Tia Dalma
Tia Dalma, played by Naomie Harris, is a fictional character from the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and a primary character in the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, in which a significant amount of the plot revolves around her and her powers...
's shack for advice. When Jack sends Will over to the Flying Dutchman, the Pearl is briefly commandeered by Jones' crew. Jack makes a deal with Jones: 100 souls in three days. The crew (minus Will, who is a good-faith payment) travel to Tortuga to find 99 more souls.
Jack meets Elizabeth
Elizabeth Swann
Elizabeth Swann is a major character in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series produced by Walt Disney Pictures. She appears in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and its two sequels, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End...
and Norrington
James Norrington
James Norrington, CB is a fictional character in Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean film series. He is played by English actor Jack Davenport.-Character history:...
at Tortuga, and travels to Isla Cruces, the island where the Dead Man's Chest is buried. After Jack steals the Heart (which is stolen from him by Norrington) the Black Pearl is attacked by the Kraken and successfully fight it off twice but the ship still retains heavy damage and most of the crew dies in the second round. After figuring out that the Kraken is after Jack and not the Black Pearl, Elizabeth kisses Jack, and (while she's kissing him) chains him to the ship's mast and leaves him behind. He is swallowed whole by the kraken, and the ship is dragged down into Davy Jones' Locker as the surviving crew watches.
At World's End
Will, Elizabeth, the surviving Pearl crew and the newly resurrected Barbossa vow to rescue Jack and his ship. After acquiring navigational charts that will lead them to World's End, the crew meets Jack in Davy Jones' Locker, along with the Pearl. Jack uses a clue from the map (Up is Down) to return the Pearl to the Living World. They flip the ship upside down in the water at sunset, and it shoots up into the Living World at sunrise. Returning to the Living World seems to repair the damage done to it by the Kraken as the ship seems undamaged in At World's End.After the Pearl is resurrected, it is desired by many characters: Jack, as it is his ship; Barbossa, as it was his ship; Pintel, who just wanted to throw his name into the hat (and implied a future mutiny at the end of the film); Feng, who wants a new ship; Will, who desires to free his father from Jones; and Beckett, who wants the only ship that can outrun the Dutchman. The Pearl sails to the fourth meeting of the Brethren Court, and becomes the flagship of the Pirate Armada, led by Pirate King Elizabeth Swann
Elizabeth Swann
Elizabeth Swann is a major character in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series produced by Walt Disney Pictures. She appears in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and its two sequels, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End...
and Jack Sparrow, the real captain of the Black Pearl.
The Pearl and the Dutchman engage in a sea battle in a maelstrom
Maelstrom
A maelstrom is a very powerful whirlpool; a large, swirling body of water. A free vortex, it has considerable downdraft. The power of tidal whirlpools tends to be exaggerated by laymen. There are virtually no stories of large ships ever being sucked into a maelstrom, although smaller craft are in...
during the battle between the pirates and Lord Cutler Beckett's armada. The two ships are evenly matched, and both are damaged by the other's cannons and later boarded. The ships' masts are entangled during the fight. As the ships circle closer to the bottom of the maelstrom, the Dutchman begins to be pulled down. Barbossa orders a chain shot to be fired at the entangled masts, and the Pearl breaks away while the Dutchman sinks. The Pearl comes out of the maelstrom, still afloat but severely damaged. As the Endeavour advances on the Pearl, it is obvious that the Pearl is no match for it. However, the equally damaged Dutchman resurfaces with Will Turner in command. After the battle, the Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman sail alongside each other towards the East India Company Fleet and destroy the Endeavour, killing Lord Cutler Beckett
Cutler Beckett
Lord Cutler Beckett is a fictional character portrayed by Tom Hollander in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. He appears as a main antagonist in Dead Man's Chest and in At World's End...
, and forcing the massive armada to flee, as they no longer have somebody to lead them.
Afterward, Jack loses his ship and crew yet again to Barbossa, with the exception of Gibbs who ends up staying behind in Tortuga. Yet the crew seems unsettled about leaving Jack behind.
On Stranger Tides
At some point after departure from Tortuga, the Black Pearl was attacked by the Queen Anne's RevengeQueen Anne's Revenge
Queen Anne's Revenge was the name of English pirate Blackbeard's flagship, used by him for less than a year, but an effective tool in his prize taking....
, a ship captained by the infamous pirate Blackbeard
Blackbeard
Edward Teach , better known as Blackbeard, was a notorious English pirate who operated around the West Indies and the eastern coast of the American colonies....
. Using his Voodoo powers, Blackbeard brought the rigging of the Black Pearl to life, and used it against Barbossa and his crew. Barbossa's men were defeated, and the Black Pearl captured, shrunk and put in a bottle by Blackbeard. Barbossa was the only survivor as he was apparently hanging by one leg, being forced to cut it off in order to set himself free. After Blackbeard's death, Jack regains the Pearl in a bottle, and Gibbs fills the bottles of other fallen ships from Queen Anne's Revenge in a large bag. Barbossa also claims the Queen Anne's Revenge and its crew after Blackbeard's death.
Armament
The Black Pearl is moderately armed. It carries 32 thirty-two-pound cannonCannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
: 18 on the gun deck
Gun deck
The term gun deck originally referred to a deck aboard a ship that was primarily used for the mounting of cannon to be fired in broadsides. However, on many smaller vessels such as frigates and unrated vessels the upper deck, forecastle and quarterdeck bore all of the cannons but were not referred...
and 14 on the upper deck. Its full broadside
Broadside
A broadside is the side of a ship; the battery of cannon on one side of a warship; or their simultaneous fire in naval warfare.-Age of Sail:...
contains 16 cannonballs
Round shot
Round shot is a solid projectile without explosive charge, fired from a cannon. As the name implies, round shot is spherical; its diameter is slightly less than the bore of the gun it is fired from.Round shot was made in early times from dressed stone, but by the 17th century, from iron...
and weighs 192 lb
Pound (mass)
The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement...
(87 kg). The Pearl has no bow
Bow (ship)
The bow is a nautical term that refers to the forward part of the hull of a ship or boat, the point that is most forward when the vessel is underway. Both of the adjectives fore and forward mean towards the bow...
chasers or stern
Stern
The stern is the rear 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 of the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Originally, the term only referred to the aft port section...
chasers (cannon used while being chased or chasing, as one cannot use a regular broadside volley in this situation), which is very unusual for a pirate ship, giving it a grave tactical disadvantage during a chase; the Pearl isn’t able to shoot the ship it chases or to reply to her hunter’s fire. 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 then the ship is no longer visible on the sea thanks to her black hull and sails. This is also seen in Curse of the Black Pearl where she is able to sneak into Port Royal under the cover of darkness, unhindered.
Also, to allow the ship to maneuver in shallows, Captain Barbossa implemented an ingenious system of oars on one of the lower decks. It allowed a detachment of his pirates to act as a galley crew during one scene of The Curse of the Black Pearl, propelling the Pearl a short distance by rowing. Finally, like Jack Sparrow himself, the Black Pearl seems to be exceptionally difficult to destroy, having been sunk on three separate occasions, only to appear again somewhere else. She flies a jib, forestaysail, foresail, foretopsail, foretopgallant sail, mainsail, topsail, topgallant sail, mizzen lateen sail, mizzen topsail, main staysail, topmast staysail, topgallant staysail. It's unknown if she has studdingsails.
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 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 shipyardShipyard
Shipyards and dockyards are places which repair and build ships. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance and basing activities than shipyards, which are sometimes associated more with initial...
s at Bayou La Batre in Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
on the hull of ship HMS Sunset to serve as the set, though it is not an authentic tall ship. Another version, mounted on a gimbal
Gimbal
A gimbal is a pivoted support that allows the rotation of an object about a single axis. A set of two gimbals, one mounted on the other with pivot axes orthogonal, may be used to allow an object mounted on the innermost gimbal to remain immobile regardless of the motion of its support...
, 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
Queen Anne's Revenge was the name of English pirate Blackbeard's flagship, used by him for less than a year, but an effective tool in his prize taking....
in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is a 2011 adventure fantasy film and the fourth installment in the Pirates of the Caribbean series...
.
External links
- Black Pearl at the Pirates of the Caribbean wiki
- In depth article on the Black Pearl from IGNIGNIGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
- Photographs of the Black Pearl at sea in Hawaii