The
Black Pearl, originally EItC
Wicked Wench, is a fictional ship in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black PearlPirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is a 2003 adventure film, based on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney theme parks...
, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's ChestPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is a adventure film of the Pirates of the Caribbean series, the sequel to the film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and the first film from Walt Disney Pictures to feature the current logo...
, and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
. The Black Pearl
is easily recognised by her distinctive black hull and sails. This turns out to be an advantage in more than one way. Not only do the black sails act as a sort of intimidation tactic, but the Pearl's
crew can put out the deck lamps for added stealth at night. The ship was originally named Wicked Wench
before she was ordered burned and sunk by Lord BeckettLord Cutler Beckett, more commonly known as Cutler Beckett, is a fictional character in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series, first introduced in Dead Man's Chest as a secondary antagonist and returning in At World's End as one of the two major antagonists . He is portrayed by Tom Hollander...
. It was later raised from the sea floor by Davy JonesDavy Jones is a fictional character from the Pirates of the Caribbean film series, loosely based on the old seaman's legend of Davy Jones' Locker...
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 DutchmanThe Flying Dutchman, or simply referred to as the Dutchman, is a fictional ghost ship in 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.
The Black Pearl
is one of the locations that can be visited in the Port Royal world of Kingdom Hearts IIis an action role-playing game developed by Square Enix and published by Buena Vista Games and Square Enix in 2005 for the Sony PlayStation 2 video game console...
.
Background
Originally named the Wicked Wench
(the Wicked Wench
is the ship from the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction, which is shown shelling a fort), the Black Pearl
was a ship that was registered to the East India Trading Co. and owned by Lord Cutler BeckettLord Cutler Beckett, more commonly known as Cutler Beckett, is a fictional character in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series, first introduced in Dead Man's Chest as a secondary antagonist and returning in At World's End as one of the two major antagonists . He is portrayed by Tom Hollander...
. It was commissioned to Jack Sparrow, who was asked to bring some cargo over from Africa. However, when Captain Sparrow learned that the "cargo" was West African slaves, he set them free. The furious Beckett had the Wench
sunk, removed Sparrow from his position, and branded him a pirate. Sparrow eventually grew to like his new position, but wanted his ship back. He made a deal with Davy JonesDavy Jones is a fictional character from the Pirates of the Caribbean film series, loosely based on the old seaman's legend of Davy Jones' Locker...
, captain of the Flying Dutchman
: if he would resurrect the Wicked Wench
, Jack would owe Jones his soul after being captain for thirteen years. Jones kept his end, and the resurrected ship was rechristened the Black Pearl
.
Jack then went to Tortuga to find a crew for his ship. Two years after, the Pearl
was heading to the mysterious Isla de Muerta where the legendary Chest of
CortésHernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marqués del Valle de 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 King of Castile, in the early 16th century...
was hidden. Captain and crew agreed to equal shares of the treasure, but First mate
BarbossaHector Barbossa or "Captain Barbossa" is a fictional character and pirate in the popular Disney film trilogy Pirates of the Caribbean. Barbossa was first introduced in the series as the primary antagonist and pirate captain of the Black Pearl after committing mutiny against the ship's former...
persuaded Jack that equal shares included knowing the treasure's location. Jack complied, and soon after Barbossa led a
mutinyMutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly-situated individuals to openly oppose, change or overthrow an existing authority...
and marooned Jack on an island.
The crew found the
AztecThe 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.Often the term...
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
undeadUndead is a collective name for fictional, mythological, or legendary beings that are deceased yet behave as if alive. Undead may be incorporeal, such as ghosts, or corporeal, such as vampires and zombies...
being, unable to taste or feel anything, and that only
MoonlightMoonlight is the light that comes to Earth from the Moon. This light does not originate from the Moon, but is actually reflected sunlight. In many legends and fantasy games, moonlight is an important part of magical processes .- Illumination :The intensity of moonlight varies greatly depending on...
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 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
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 TurnerWilliam "Will" Turner, Jr. is a fictional character in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. He is played by Orlando Bloom . Will is a blacksmith's apprentice working in Port Royal. He is in love with the governor's daughter, Elizabeth Swann, although he is a member of a lower social class...
, 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' lockerDavy Jones's Locker is an idiom for the bottom of the sea: the resting place of drowned sailors. It is used as a euphemism for death at sea , whereas the name Davy Jones is a nickname for what would be the devil/saint/god of the seas...
" 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 CaribbeanThe Caribbean is a region consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands , and the surrounding coasts...
as the pirates searched for the coins until all but one was found. As a boy, Will TurnerWilliam "Will" Turner, Jr. is a fictional character in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. He is played by Orlando Bloom . Will is a blacksmith's apprentice working in Port Royal. He is in love with the governor's daughter, Elizabeth Swann, although he is a member of a lower social class...
brought the gold medallion with him on his journey to the Caribbean, although Elizabeth SwannElizabeth Swann is a fictional character in the Walt Disney Pictures Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise. 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 Worlds End...
, the governor's daughter, came into possession of it and kept it hidden. The Pearl
later attacked Port RoyalPort Royal was a city located at the end of the Palisadoes at the mouth of the Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. It was the centre of shipping commerce in the Caribbean Sea during the latter half of the 17th century. It was one home port of the privateers employed to nip at superpower...
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 is a military rank used in many navies for officers whose position exceeds that of a navy captain, but is less than that of a rear admiral...
James NorringtonAdmiral James Norrington is a fictional character in Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean film trilogy. He is played by English actor Jack Davenport.-Character history:...
and the Royal NavyThe Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of HM Armed Forces . From the beginning of the 18th century until well into the 20th century, it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power from 1815 until the early...
. Off of TripoliTripoli is the largest and capital city of Libya.Tripoli has a population of 1.69 million...
, a large hurricane battered the Pearl
(though it survived) and the DauntlessDauntless may refer to:* The Douglas Aircraft Company SBD Dauntless dive bomber.* HMS Dauntless, five ships of the Royal Navy.* USCGC Dauntless , a cutter of the United States Coast Guard....
, which sank, along with most of its crew. Norrington survived, and was discharged from the Navy in which he is 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 is a fictional character from the Pirates of the Caribbean film series, loosely based on the old seaman's legend of Davy Jones' Locker...
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 spotThe Black Spot is a fictional literary device invented by Robert Louis Stevenson for his novel Treasure Island. In the book, a pirate is presented with a "black spot" to officially pronounce a verdict of guilt or judgment. It consists of a piece of paper or card, with a circular black spot in 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 TurnerWilliam "Will" Turner, Jr. is a fictional character in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. He is played by Orlando Bloom . Will is a blacksmith's apprentice working in Port Royal. He is in love with the governor's daughter, Elizabeth Swann, although he is a member of a lower social class...
, and travel to
Tia DalmaTia 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 good amount of the plot revolves around her and her powers.-Character History:Little is...
'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 ElizabethElizabeth Swann is a fictional character in the Walt Disney Pictures Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise. 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 Worlds End...
and NorringtonAdmiral James Norrington is a fictional character in Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean film trilogy. 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 is heavily damaged. 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 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 SwannElizabeth Swann is a fictional character in the Walt Disney Pictures Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise. 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 Worlds End...
and Jack Sparrow, the real captain of the Black Pearl
.
The Pearl
and the Dutchman engage in a sea battle in a
maelstromA maelstrom is a very powerful whirlpool; a large, swirling body of water. A free vortex, it has considerable downdraft. The Nordic word was introduced into English by Edgar Allan Poe in his story "A Descent into the Maelström"...
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 BeckettLord Cutler Beckett, more commonly known as Cutler Beckett, is a fictional character in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series, first introduced in Dead Man's Chest as a secondary antagonist and returning in At World's End as one of the two major antagonists . He is portrayed by Tom Hollander...
, 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.
Armament
The Black Pearl
is moderately armed. It carries 32 twelve-pound cannonA cannon is any tubular piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellants 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,...
s: 18 on the gun deckThe 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 deckUpper deck may refer to :*The Upper Deck Company*The upper deck is the highest level internal deck on a ship, i.e. just below the superstructure and open deck....
. Its full broadsideA 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 cannonballsRound shot is an obsolete 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 lbThe 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 bowThe 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 sternThe stern is the rear or aft part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter to the taffrail...
chasers (cannons 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 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. 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 shipyardShipyards 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 AlabamaAlabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States of America. 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...
on the hull of ship HMS SunsetSunset is the daily disappearance of the sun below the horizon as a result of the Earth's rotation. The atmospheric conditions created by the setting of the sun, occurring before and after it disappears below the horizon, are also commonly referred to as "sunset".In astronomy the time of sunset is...
to serve as the set, though it is not an authentic tall ship.. Another version, mounted on a gimbal250px|thumb|right|Illustration of a simple two-axis gimbal set.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...
, was built for filming the Maelstrom battle. The ship formerly known as Sunset
is in storage in Ensenada, Mexico.
External links
Pirates of the Caribbean wiki
In depth article on the Black Pearl from IGNIGN is a multimedia news and reviews website that focuses heavily on video games...