Jocard

"Over there I see Gentleman Jocard, the slave who took over his ship and took on his Captain's name."

- Hector Barbossa

Gombo, better known as Gentleman Jocard, was the Pirate Lord of the Atlantic Ocean, during the time of Lord Cutler Beckett's attempts to eradicate piracy in the Caribbean. .

Biography
Little was known of Jocard other than he took the name of his former master after he escaped slavery (He was previously known as Gombo and to be an excellent chef). And that he sailed with Jack Sparrow for a short time (as the Black Pearl's chef) to whom he owed a debt for helping him escape. Much of his life remained steeped in mystery and the supernatural. He was known, however, to be the Pirate Lord of the Atlantic Ocean, and from his flagship, the Ranger, he lead a band of pirates out of the Port of New Orleans with access to both the Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico.

Jocard was wanted dead or alive by the East India Trading Company for crimes including a slave revolt, assuming a false identity, and piracy on the British Isles. The reward was 3,600 guineas.

Jocard ran afoul of Davy Jones, and, whether it was by debt, or death by Kraken, he was imprisoned in Davy Jones' Locker. Jocard was soon captured within the Locker by another trapped pirate, Black Bart. Jocard was imprisoned further onboard Black Bart's ship. Jocard lost all hope of being free, until another imprisoned Pirate Lord, Jack Sparrow, tracked Jocard down and dueled Black Bart. Sparrow won the duel, and he then freed Jocard from his cell. It is unknown how Jocard escaped the Locker, as he was not onboard the Black Pearl when it escaped, and neither did he have the mysterious navigational charts of Sao Feng.

Jocard did escape, though, and he was reunited with his crew. He then traveled to Shipwreck Cove, to join in the fourth meeting of the Brethren Court. At the meeting, Jocard was against Hector Barbossa's idea of releasing Calypso, since he believed that if she was the Court's enemy in the past she would be the Court's enemy when released. He also suggested that the Brethren cut out Barbossa's tongue for suggesting the idea. During the vote for a new Pirate King, Jocard voted for himself, but was defeated by Elizabeth Swann, who then declared war on the East India Trading Company.

The East India Trading Company was the first to attack however, and they sent a force of Black Coats against them. Jocard was able to escape the chaos, and made it safely to his ship. He then sailed with the rest of the fleet, to meet the Company's armada in battle. Jocard and his crew became discontented when they saw that they were outnumbered ten to one. After the two fleets parleyed on a sandbar, the battle began. A large maelstrom formed in between the two fleets, and the Black Pearl, and the Flying Dutchman went forward to battle within the huge whirlpool. The Pearl won, and with the destruction of the HMS Endeavour, the rest of the Company's armada dispersed into the distance. Jocard then celebrated the victory with his crew.

Equipment and traits
Jocard was a tall man dressed in ceremonial-style robes, with lapels made of python skins. This clothing revealed a vain streak not uncommon among the Pirate Lords. His face was lined with scars, well earned in battle. He had black hair, and a beard that had been braided into four. He had a tall African headdress, two large gold earrings, and necklace which held a miniature version of a bull head. On his fingers were three large gold rings. He wore a brown and yellow embroided robe, over his bare muscular torso; unique among the Pirate Lords, as all of them wrapped themselves in several levels of clothing.



Jocard possessed some type of weapon that appeared to be made of bone, as well as a hook. These weapons were also unique to the Court, as most possessed purely Westernized weapons. Jocard's possessed a unique piece of eight, as did all of the Pirate Lords. It appeared to be an ancient pair of tobacco clippers which he stole from the tobacco fields where he was enslaved. Before escaping, however, he used the clippers to cut out his master's tongue. It was destroyed during the freeing of Calypso, along with the other eight pieces of eight.

Jocard was displayed extremely barbaric behaviour on the high seas, torturing captives and cutting out their tongues at random. He showed some restraint at the fourth Brethren Court meeting, though he became angry with Hector Barbossa when the the latter suggested freeing Calypso, and Jocard even tried to convince other Brethren to cut out Barbossa's tongue for suggesting the idea. Jocard did have a degree of respect for Mistress Ching, trusting her judgement, and sat beside her during the meeting of the Brethren.

Behind the scenes

 * Jocard is probably based on Black Caesar, historical African ex-slave and member of Blackbeard's crew.
 * Jocard's flag is the same flag of Bartholomew Roberts, most known as "Black Bart".

Appearances

 * Pirates of the Caribbean: Legends of the Brethren Court
 * Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
 * Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (video game)