Battle of Calypso's maelstrom

"Advise your Brethren: You can fight and all of you will die, or you can not fight, in which case only most of you will die."

- Cutler Beckett to Elizabeth Swann

This battle was an act of war between the fleet of the Brethren Court and the armada of the East India Trading Company that saw the decline of the East India Trading Company's influence in the Caribbean.

Pre-battle
"And so&hellip;we shall go to war!"

- Sumbhajee

The decision to go to war against Lord Cutler Beckett and his forces was made by Elizabeth Swann during the fourth meeting of the Brethren Court, during which she was voted as Pirate King. Under her authority, the combined fleets of the Pirate Lords sailed out to assemble off Shipwreck Island, and await the arrival of Beckett's armada, having located Shipwreck Cove through the use of Jack Sparrow's compass.

Beckett's armada arrived in full force; almost three hundred vessels, easily outnumbering the fleet of the Brethren. The fleet, led by the Flying Dutchman and with Beckett himself present aboard the flagship HMS Endeavour, was an imposing sight, motivating Jack Sparrow to call for parley.

Parley
"We will fight and you will die." "So be it."

- Elizabeth Swann and Cutler Beckett



The meeting between the leaders of the fleets was held on a sandbar between both armadas. Sparrow, Swann and Hector Barbossa confronted Beckett, Davy Jones and William Turner, with both Swann and Beckett vowing to show no mercy to the opposing side. During the brief meeting, a trade was made: Sparrow for Turner, to appease Davy Jones. With the battle lines drawn, the crews returned to their respective ships, but the pirates had one additional strategy to employ.

Barbossa had collected all nine pieces of eight from the Pirate Lords, and used them as part of a ritual to release the sea goddess Calypso from the form of Tia Dalma. Barbossa implored Dalma to spare himself and his crew, and focus her rage on those who had betrayed her&mdash;with Will supplying the name of her betrayer, Davy Jones. The goddess grew in size, and exploded into millions of crabs, showering the Black Pearl's crew before disappearing into the sea.

The crew recovered from this unexpected event, and prepared for war. Elizabeth Swann gave a rousing speech to the men, reminding them that the Brethren would be looking to the Black Pearl to lead the attack. The colors of all pirate vessels present were raised, and the Pearl sailed out to meet the Flying Dutchman in ship-to-ship combat.

The wrath of Calypso
Although it appeared the pirates stood little chance of defeating the armada, the battlefield was levelled somewhat by Calypso herself, who created a great storm over the sea, and formed a maelstrom between the two oncoming ships. Davy Jones assumed control of the Dutchman from the overwhelmed Mercer, while Barbossa matched his maneuvers from the helm of the Pearl. Both galleons circled the whirlpool, trading broadsides, crews preparing for boarding. Mercer was killed by Davy Jones after his guards were caught by cannonfire, and Jones left the helm to reclaim his heart.

While the battle raged, Jack Sparrow escaped from the Dutchman's brig and made to flee with the Dead Man's Chest, intent on killing Jones and taking command of the ship himself. However, Jones confronted him, engaging Sparrow in a duel. During the fight, Jack lopped off Jones' tentacle holding the key to the chest, and subsequently shot the chest itself from Jones' grasp while up in the rigging.

Meanwhile, Will and Elizabeth fought side-by-side onboard the Black Pearl, and realized they might not survive the battle. With this in mind, they asked Barbossa, as captain of the ship, to marry them. Between duelling EITC marines and Dutchman crewmembers, the two pirates were wed, and shared a kiss as the maelstrom worsened. Will then swung over to the Dutchman, intent on freeing his father, Bootstrap Bill Turner.

Judgement day
"William Turner. D'you fear death?" "Do you?"

- Davy Jones and Jack Sparrow

Landing on the deck of the Flying Dutchman, Will was attacked by his father, who had begun to lose his mind due to spending so long aboard the ship. Will stalled him, reminding him of the promise Will had made to free him, before engaging Jones in battle. The captain proved too strong for Turner, however, and kicked him to the deck. Elizabeth fared no better when she boarded the ship, and looked on helplessly as Jones pressed his sword to Will's neck.

At that moment, Jack intervened, holding Jones' heart in his hand, his broken sword poised over it. In response, Jones plunged his sword into Will's chest, plunging Jack into a moral quandry, but worse, mortally wounding his friend. As Elizabeth tried to help his son, Bootstrap Bill suddenly became lucid, and launched a frenzied attack on Davy Jones. He was quickly defeated, though before Jones could act further, he was wracked by a terrible agony. He turned to find Will, with Jack's help, had stabbed his heart before passing away. Uttering Calypso's name in a final lament, Jones toppled over the side of the ship and into the maelstrom.

The business of war
"It's just&hellip;good business."

- Cutler Beckett

With the death of their captain, the crew of the Flying Dutchman assembled around Bootstrap Bill, who, to save his son, carved out William's heart to replace Jones' in the Dead Man's Chest. Jack Sparrow fled the ship with Elizabeth and Jack the monkey on a makeshift parasail, and all three were picked up by the Black Pearl as the Dutchman sank into the subsiding maelstrom.

With the Dutchman gone and the Pearl isolated in the calming sea, Cutler Beckett ordered the crew of the Endeavour forward, intent on destroying Sparrow and his vessel. Despite the contrary advice of his colleagues, Jack intended to face Beckett in a fight to the death. However, the Dutchman suddenly burst from the ocean depths, with Will Turner, returned to life and now commanding a transformed, human crew, at the helm.

Beckett could only watch on helplessly as both the Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman turned towards the Endeavour, aiming to flank it in a synchronous attack. His crew gave the order to abandon ship, but Beckett realized he had been out-maneuvered. With no options left, he remained aboard his vessel as it was subjected to a devastating double broadside. The powder magazines caught fire, and the entire ship exploded, throwing Beckett's lifeless body into the water.

The crews of the pirate ships celebrated as the remaining vessels of Beckett's armada turned to flee. The war was over.

Appearances

 * Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End