Historical inaccuracies

Despite being based on the historical time period of the Age of Piracy and featuring several historical individuals and locations, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise features many historical inaccuracies.

The Price of Freedom

 * The time frame references in the novel contradict the historical events. The town of Ribeira Grande on the island of St. Jago (the modern-day town of Cidade Velha) is mentioned to be established by the Portuguese two hundred and fifty years earlier which would set the story around 1712. New Providence is depicted as a pirate-controlled island which would indicate that the story is set before 1718. However, Savannah, which was founded in 1733 in real-world history, is already a well established and prosperous town in the novel. The city of Raleigh also wasn't founded before 1792. In a flashback scene in Chapter Seven Jonathan Beckett Sr. mentions to a young Cutler Beckett that he could purchase him a good commission in the service of the king. However, the timeline established in the films On Stranger Tides and Dead Men Tell No Tales sets the scene around 1705, when Great Britain was ruled by Queen Anne. Ann C. Crispin herself commented that the world of Pirates of the Caribbean is "not our world" but "an alternate universe" where "there are historical events that don’t add up".

''The Curse of the Black Pearl

 * The film depicts Port Royal as a prosperous town and the main British port in the Caribbean in the early 18th century. In real-world history two thirds of Port Royal were destroyed by an earthquake in 1692. Some attempts were made to rebuild the city but these met with mixed success and numerous disasters. The town was largely abandoned in favor of the nearby Kingston which does not appear in the films.
 * The film depicts Tortuga as an active pirate port in the early 18th century. In real-world history the Treaty of Ratisbon banned piracy and privateering in Tortuga in 1684.

Dead Man's Chest

 * All the symbols used by the East India Trading Company in the film are entirely fictional.

At World's End

 * When Hector Barbossa commandeers the Black Pearl for the second time at the end of the film, Joshamee Gibbs can be seen seen sleeping with a teddy bear in his arms. Teddy bears weren't invented until 1902.

On Stranger Tides

 * The infamous pirate Edward Teach Blackbeard is the main villain of the film, which is set in 1750. In real-world history Blackbeard was killed during the battle of Ocracoke Inlet in 1718.
 * The Union Jack used on the HMS Providence has Saint Patrick's Cross, the symbol of Ireland, embedded on it. That version of the flag wasn't designed before the beginning of the 19th century, at least fifty years after the events of On Stranger Tides.

Dead Men Tell No Tales

 * Jack Sparrow is offered to be executed by "a new invention: the guillotine" in Dead Men Tell No Tales which is set in 1751, although the guillotine wasn't invented until the 1790s.
 * Carina Smyth is condemned to be executed for witchery in 1751. The last such execution in real-world history occurred in 1712.
 * Gunlocks are visible on the cannons on the Monarch and the Essex. In real-world history, gunlocks were rare since they could only be adapted to new guns, and only became a standard issue in the British Royal Navy around the 1800s, almost fifty years after the events of Dead Men Tell No Tales.