Black Pearl
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| Black Pearl | |
| Captain | Jack Sparrow—3 years total (rightful Captain) Hector Barbossa—10 years (due to a mutiny against Jack Sparrow) |
|---|---|
| Type | East Indiaman |
| Arms | 32 cannons |
| Appearance(s) | The Curse of the Black Pearl Dead Man's Chest At World's End |
The Black Pearl, originally HEIC Wicked Wench, is a fictional ship in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, 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 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 wot (which) can outrun the Flying Dutchman.
Disney wanted to rename the Wicked Wench on the ride to Black Pearl but were denied licensing rights.[citation needed]
There is actually a ship named The Black Pearl; a brigantine located in Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA.[1]
The Black Pearl is one of the locations that can be visited in the Port Royal world of Kingdom Hearts II.
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[edit] 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 Beckett. It was commissioned to Privateer 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 Jones, 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. The crew 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 they quickly frittered away on food, drink and prostitutes, unaware of a curse placed on it by an ancient Aztec overlord: that anyone who stole the coins would become an undead being, unable to eat, drink or feel anything, and that only Moonlight would reveal their true form. The cursed pirates were soon hideous living skeletons with tattered flesh and clothing clinging to their bones. Even the Pearl was affected, becoming constantly shrouded in an eerie mist (although the ship itself was not cursed; it was merely the curse's effect upon its crew).
[edit] Appearances
[edit] 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 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 his blood to break the curse and 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—the only 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.
[edit] Between the first and second installments
The Black Pearl was pursued by Commodore James Norrington and the Royal Navy. Off of Tripoli, a large hurricane battered the Pearl (though she survived) and the Dauntless, 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.
[edit] 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 Jones 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 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.
[edit] 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.
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 Pearl comes out of the maelstrom, alive but severely damaged. After the battle, the Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman (now captained by Will Turner) 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.
Afterwards, Jack loses his ship and crew yet again to Barbossa, with the exception of Gibbs who ends up staying behind in Tortuga.
[edit] Armament
The Black Pearl is moderately armed, she carries 32 twelve-pound cannons: 18 on the gun deck and 14 on the upper deck. Its full broadside contains 16 cannonballs and weighs 192 lb (87 kg). Strangely, the Pearl has no bow chasers or stern 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 her a grave tactical disadvantage during a chase; the Pearl isn’t able to shoot the ship she 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, 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.
[edit] 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 shipyards at Bayou La Batre in Alabama on the hull of ship Sunset to serve as the set, though it is not an authentic tall ship.[2][3]. Another version, mounted on a gimbal, was built for filming the Maelstrom battle. The ship formerly known as the sunset is in storage in Ensenada, Mexico.
[edit] References
- ^ Brigantine Black Pearl - I need information | American Schooner Association
- ^ Pirates of the Caribbean presskit, accessed Dec 9, 2006
- ^ Pirates of the Caribbean page at the-bahama-islands.com, accessed Dec 9, 2006
[edit] External links
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