Black Pearl

"Wherever we want to go, we'll go. That's what a ship is, you know. It's not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails; that's what a ship needs&hellip;but what a ship is&hellip;what the Black Pearl really is&hellip;is freedom."

- Jack Sparrow to Elizabeth Swann

The Black Pearl was an infamous pirate galleon originally owned and operated by the East India Trading Company, and later by Captains Jack Sparrow and Hector Barbossa.

The Wicked Wench
The Black Pearl was first christened the Wicked Wench, and served as a merchant vessel with the East India Trading Company. Jack Sparrow was employed by Cutler Beckett on a number of errands for the Company, and was given command of the Wench. Jack became very attached to the ship, seeing her as less of a vessel and more a symbol of the freedom he so desired. When Beckett ordered Jack to transport slaves from Africa to the Caribbean, Jack refused, and Beckett sent men to track Sparrow and the Wench down. Jack was caught, and his ship was set aflame and sunk.

Jack was branded a pirate and incarcerated, but was able to escape from prison. He vowed to bring his ship back from the bottom of the ocean, even if he had to do it himself, and almost drowned in a futile attempt to do just that. He was saved by Davy Jones, and made a deal with him; Jack would spend one hundred years in service to Jones if he raised the Wicked Wench from the depths and gave Jack command of the vessel for thirteen years. Jones kept to his word, and returned the ship to Jack, who rechristened her the Black Pearl.

Mutiny
"The Black Pearl? I've heard stories. She's been preying on ships and settlements for near ten years. Never leaves any survivors."

- Prisoner at Port Royal

Jack captained the Pearl for the next two years, assembling a crew of pirates who became the scourge of the Caribbean, including Hector Barbossa, who became Sparrow's First Mate. Jack learned of the location of the mysterious treasure island, Isla de Muerta, and was set to lead his crew there. However, once he told Barbossa of the island's location, the crew mutinied, and left Jack marooned on a desert island. Now-Captain Barbossa took the Pearl to Isla de Muerta, and to the treasure within.

Misfortune struck the Pearl's crew, however, as the treasure they found in the Chest of Cortés was cursed, and turned them into the living dead. Over the next decade, they attempted to reclaim all 882 pieces of Cortés' treasure they had so carelessly frittered away, in order to reverse the effects of the curse. The Black Pearl herself also appeared to have been affected by the curse; she now operated with pitch-black sails ripped in several places, yet was still known as the fastest ship in the Caribbean. Further, a shroud of thick fog seemed to follow the Pearl wherever she sailed.

The Ghost Ship
"You've seen a ship with black sails, that's crewed by the damned and captained by a man so evil that Hell itself spat him back out?"

- Mullroy to Murtogg

The Pearl's exploits became infamous over the next ten years, and many stories and legends arose about the ship with black sails and its crew of ghosts. On one occasion, the Pearl sunk a vessel carrying young William Turner to the Caribbean, though unbeknownst to the crew, Turner was actually carrying the final coin needed to lift the curse. Turner and the crew of the Pearl ultimately crossed paths again, following the Pearl's attack on Port Royal. The crew captured Turner and brought him to Isla de Muerta, where Barbossa began the ritual to lift the curse. However, Jack Sparrow intervened, and killed Barbossa moments after the curse was lifted. The remaining members of the crew were captured by the Royal Navy. During the fighting, Jack's rag-tag crew from Tortuga made off with the Black Pearl.

For his dealings with pirates, Sparrow was sentanced for execution at Port Royal, though with the help of Will Turner, managed to escape. He was soon reunited with his crew, and once more took command of the Black Pearl. He and his ship set off on a voyage of freedom.

Freedom's Price
"Thirteen years you've been captain of the Black Pearl. That was our agreement." "Technically, I was only captain for two years before I was viciously mutinied upon."

- Davy Jones and Jack Sparrow

By this time, thirteen years had passed since Davy Jones had raised the Wicked Wench from the depths, and now it was time to call in Jack's debt. However, Sparrow was not ready to surrender his soul to Jones, and embarked on a quest to find the Dead Man's Chest and thus gain control of Jones himself. With the legendary Kraken in pursuit, Jack was forced to avoid the open water, and ran the Pearl aground on Pelegosto island. There, Jack and his crew were captured by cannibals, and while they attempted to escape, the pirates Pintel and Ragetti tried to steal the Pearl. The crew arrived back at the ship in time, however, and ultimately employed the pirates onboard the Pearl.

Despite his cunning, Jack could not run from Davy Jones for long. Although he believed he had Jones' heart in his possession&mdash;and thus could exert his influence over him&mdash;he found too late that James Norrington had stolen the heart from him on Isla Cruces, where the Dead Man's Chest had been found. Now aboard the Black Pearl, Jack was forced to face the wrath of Davy Jones, manifested in the form of the Kraken. Initially, he attempted to abandon the Pearl and its crew while he raced for land, but found he could not go through with this cowardly plan, and returned to the Pearl. The ship suffered serious damage by the Kraken, and Jack, with a heavy heart, ordered his crew to abandon ship.

However, Elizabeth Swann, realizing that so long as Jack remained with the crew they were in danger, manacled Jack to the ship's mast, and left him to his fate as the crew escaped on the longboats. Jack managed to free himself, but had no time to escape the doomed Pearl. Instead, he faced down the Kraken in a display of noble heroism, and, as a true Captain, went down with his ship.

Resurrection
"So tell me, what's become of my ship?"

- Hector Barbossa

The Kraken dragged the Black Pearl down to the depths of the ocean, though the ship, nor her Captain, were not truly lost. Tia Dalma offered the crew the means to find Jack and the Pearl at World's End, a feat which, with the aid of the resurrected Barbossa, they ultimately accomplished.

Behind the scenes

 * The Wicked Wench is the ship found at the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction at Disneyland.

Appearances

 * Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
 * Pirates of the Caribbean (video game)
 * Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow
 * Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
 * Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (video game)
 * Pirates of the Caribbean 3
 * Kingdom Hearts II