Queen Anne's Revenge

"This be the Queen Anne's Revenge, right enough." "How do you know?" "I've seen the name. On the back of the ship."

- Scrum and Jack Sparrow

The Queen Anne's Revenge was an infamous pirate vessel, formerly known as Concord and La Concorde de Nantes. Imposing, terrifyingly beautiful, a brutal beast of the sea, this legendary ship of the seven seas comes to life, as long as its captain wielded the Sword of Triton.

Bristling with cannons and spiked with human bones, the Queen Anne's Revenge was the flagship of the notorious pirate Blackbeard. Under his command, the Revenge was manned by zombies, festooned with the bones of his victims and spat fire from its bow to incinerate many enemy ships, or the occasional crew member fallen out of favor. During the quest the Fountain of Youth, Blackbeard held no ordinary ship's crew, but a crew consisting of a mixture of humans and zombies. After the death of Blackbeard, the Revenge and its crew would be led by Hector Barbossa.

The Concord
She was built in England in 1710 and named Concord. At first she served as merchant ship but she was captured by French privateers a year later. While in France, her stern was modified to resemble that of the Dutch flute, and she was later sold to Spain. In 1713 she was returned to France and again underwent a transformation. She was eventually sold to Rene Montaudoin, a French merchant who refitted her as a slave ship and renamed La Concorde de Nantes.

La Concorde de Nantes
La Concorde left Nantes on March 24, 1717. The ship was armed with sixteen cannons and had a crew of seventy-five. On July 8, La Concorde arrived at the port of Judas, on the coast of West Africa. There they took on a cargo of 516 captive Africans. The captain and officers also obtained about twenty pounds of gold dust for their own account. La Concorde took nearly eight weeks to cross the Atlantic Ocean and the hardships of the notorious Middle Passage took their toll on both the Africans and the French crew. By the time they reached the Caribbean, sixty-one slaves and sixteen crewmen had perished.

After crossing the Atlantic, and only 100 miles from Martinique, the French ship encountered two pirate sloops, one with 120 men and twelve cannons, and the other with thirty men and eight cannons. The pirates were led by none other than Blackbeard, a notorious pirate captain. With the French crew already reduced by sixteen fatalities and another thirty-six seriously ill from scurvy and dysentery, the French were powerless to resist. After the pirates fired two volleys at La Concorde, Captain Dosset surrendered the ship.

Blackbeard's pirates took La Concorde to the island of Bequia in the Grenadines where the French crew and the enslaved Africans were put ashore. While the pirates searched La Concorde, the French cabin boy, Louis Arot, informed them of the gold dust that was aboard. The pirates searched the French officers and crew and seized the gold. The cabin boy and three of his fellow French crewmen voluntarily joined Blackbeard's pirates, and ten others were taken by force including a pilot, three surgeons, two carpenters, two sailors, and the cook. La Concorde was the grandest and most elegant ship that Blackbeard ever captured, so he decided to keep her for himself. His crew left the French the smaller of the two pirate sloops. The French gave their new and much smaller vessel the appropriate name Mauvaise Rencontre (Bad Encounter) and, in two trips, succeeded in transporting the remaining Africans from Bequia to Martinique. Soon, Blackbeard doubled the number of the ship's guns and renamed her the Queen Anne's Revenge, in honor of Queen Anne of Great Britain.

Blackbeard's pirate ship
"Where am I?" " 'Scuse me, Captain Sparrow, sir. I be right honored to welcome you aboard our world-renowned vessel of infamy&mdash;Queen Anne's Revenge." "...Blackbeard."

- Jack Sparrow and Scrum

Leaving Bequia in late November, Blackbeard with his new ship cruised the Caribbean taking prizes and adding to his fleet. From the Grenadines, Blackbeard sailed north along the Lesser Antilles plundering ships near St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Nevis, and Antigua, and by early December he had arrived off the eastern end of Puerto Rico. From there, the pirates were headed to Samana Bay in Hispaniola. By April 1718 the pirates were off the Turneffe Islands in the Bay of Honduras. It was there that Blackbeard captured the sloop Adventure, forcing the sloop's captain, David Herriot, to join him. Sailing east once again, the pirates passed near the Cayman Islands and captured a Spanish sloop off Cuba that they also added to their flotilla. Turning north, they sailed through the Bahamas and proceeded up the North American coast. In May 1718, the pirates arrived off Charleston in South Carolina, with the Queen Anne's Revenge and three smaller sloops.

Blockade of Charleston
In perhaps the most brazen act of his piratical career, Blackbeard blockaded the port of Charleston for nearly a week. The pirates seized several ships attempting to enter or leave the port and detained the crew and passengers of one ship, the Crowley, as prisoners. As ransom for the hostages, Blackbeard demanded that the pirates be given a chest of medicine. The medicines eventually delivered, the captives were released, and the pirates continued their journey up the coast. Before they departed, the pirates also plundered all valuables from the captured ships.

Grounded
In June 1718, Blackbeard's fleet attempted to enter Old Topsail Inlet in North Carolina. During that attempt, the Queen Anne's Revenge grounded on the ocean bar and was abandoned. Blackbeard then disbanded his fleet except for the Adventure and twenty men. But after the battle of Ocracoke Inlet, Blackbeard returned to the wreck of the Queen Anne's Revenge, and had her repaired for him to use as his flagship once again. At some point in repairing the Revenge, Blackbeard had a cage put on the back, added Greek fire cannons on the bow, and had the entire ship decorated with the skeletons of his victims.

Later years
In the following years, Blackbeard studied Voodoo where he became a master of the dark arts. Because of his passion for the forbidden dark magic, Blackbeard changed his pirate flag from a horned, spear wielding skeleton, to a large flaming skull. At this point in time, Blackbeard would have obtained the Sword of Triton, a powerful weapon which was said to be forged in the lost city of Atlantis, which he would use on a number of occasions, including sea battles, increasing the speed of his voyages, and to keep members of his crew in line. Blackbeard also learned how to shrink the ships he defeated and put them into a bottle. He would put the many ships he took over and put them in a cabinet in his cabin aboard the Revenge.

War of Jolly Roger
"Invasions, Fleets, and now the Queen Anne's Revenge. 'Tis a time of great conflict in the Caribbean."

- Unnamed townsfolk

Sometime after he repaired the Queen Anne's Revenge, Blackbeard assembled a new crew. All of them were jumbees, malevolent supernatural beings, well-known throughout the Caribbean. Enslaved by Blackbeard's dark magic, they served their master without question. Blackbeard would put LaSchafe, his loyal jumbee first mate, in charge of the Queen Anne's Revenge. But, in 1740s, during the War of Jolly Roger, the undead pirate Jolly Roger managed to take control of LaSchafe, his soulless crew, and the Queen Anne's Revenge. Controled by Jolly Roger's voodoo powers, the Revenge and her ghastly crew started to attack pirate ships in the Caribbean.

For many months, the Queen Anne's Revenge sailed around wild islands like Isla Cangrejos, Isla Perdida, and Isla Tormenta, attacking ships of the Brethren Court. But, through unknown circumstances, Blackbeard managed to retake the Revenge.

Acts of Piracy
"We were off the coast of Hispaniola when we came under attack. No provocation nor warning or offer of parley. We were peppered with cannon fire."

- Hector Barbossa to Jack Sparrow



At some point in time, upon his learning how to raise the dead through practiced rituals, Blackbeard began to include zombies to his crew as his loyal officers aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge. Through unknown circumstances, Blackbeard would be reunited with his beloved daughter, Angelica. Taking her aboard the Revenge, they endured many voyages together, where Blackbeard soon trusted Angelica enough to make her his second in command, giving her the rank of a First Mate.

Blackbeard would soon learn of a prophecy, foreseen by the Quartermaster, which revealed Blackbeard's death in the hands of a one-legged man. Upon learning of this, Blackbeard wanted to find the fabled Fountain of Youth, which was discovered by conquistador Juan Ponce de León in 1523. With the help of Angelica, Blackbeard began his search for the Fountain, which would last for the next several years, all the way through the end of the War Against Piracy.

Sometime after the war, the Queen Anne's Revenge encountered the Black Pearl, a pirate ship in command of Captain Hector Barbossa, off the coast of Hispaniola. After firing a broadside at the Black Pearl, Blackbeard used his sword to bring the rigging of the Black Pearl to life and used it against Barbossa and his crew. Barbossa's men were eventually defeated and the Black Pearl was captured by Blackbeard, though Barbossa managed to escape with the cost of cutting off his own right leg. During one of Blackbeard's raids on a remote island in the Caribbean, the crew of the Queen Anne's Revenge captured a young missionary named Philip Swift in the process. Because Angelica didn't want Blackbeard to kill a man of God, Blackbeard had Philip tied to the Revenge's mast.

Jack Sparrow
"You...are a ruthless, soulless, crossgrained cur." "I told you I had a ship." "No, Blackbeard has a ship. Upon which I am now imprisoned."

- Jack Sparrow and Angelica



In 1750, Blackbeard had to find Jack Sparrow, a pirate rumored to have been to the Fountain of Youth. Blackbeard sent Angelica to find Jack and force him aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge. Angelica was able to find Jack by impersonating him in London at the pub called the Captain's Daughter, where she was able to capture him. During this time, Angelica was able to recruit a number of sailors and pirates, whom she had promised a modest venture sailing under Jack Sparrow, as part of the crew of the Queen Anne's Revenge.

About five days later, Jack Sparrow would wake up aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge, where he was forced to work with the rest of the crewmen. As the Revenge sailed gloriously over the ocean, Jack would befriend a fellow crewmen named Scrum, who told him of everything he needed to know, including the zombie crew, Philip Swift, and their first mate: Angelica. Realizing his predicament, Jack confronted Angelica in the belowdecks of the Revenge. Angelica tried to convince Jack to go along with it because of Blackbeard's need to find the Fountain because of the Quartermaster's prophecy of Blackbeard's death at the hands of a one-legged man.

The Mutiny
"Gentlemen...I be placed in a bewilderment. There I were, resting. And upon a sudden, I hear an ungodly row on deck. Sailors abandoned their posts, without orders, without leave. Men before the mast, and taking the ship for themselves. What be that, First Mate?" "Mutiny, captain."

- Blackbeard and Angelica



Although trapped aboard a ship led by zombies and sailing to a place of certain death, Jack Sparrow continued to work with his fellow crewmen aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge. As he was lashing the topsail, Jack began to spread the word for a meeting. The message soon came in full circle, in which the majority of the crew met with Jack at the gun deck of the Revenge to discuss the topic of mutiny. In the meeting, Jack revealed to the crewmen that they were deceived by not being informed of their destination: the Fountain of Youth. The men were shocked by this revelation and knew that death was certain, unless they took the ship. After Scrum and Jack gave the order to take the ship, the crewmen began their attack aboard the Revenge. Jack's mutiny went on intensely as the human crewmen fought against zombie crewman. During the battle onboard, Jack and Salaman rescued Philip Swift from the Revenge's mast. Soon Angelica and and all of the zombies were defeated by Jack's mutineers.

However, Blackbeard himself appeared and used his sword to hang the mutineers with the ship's rigging, crushing the mutiny relatively easy. After Blackbeard punished the Cook, by unleashing Greek fire at him, Jack was brought into Blackbeard's cabin for a talk. Angelica entered the cabin as Blackbeard started to manipulate Jack by using a voodoo doll, which he used to force Jack into helping him in his quest for the Fountain.

Voyage to the Fountain
"Back to the ship. We head for a protected cove. Now."

- Blackbeard after capturing Syrena



As the Queen Anne's Revenge sailed under the moonlit sky, as Scrum played a tune on his mandola, Jack and Angelica entered in a dance on deck. While they danced aboard the Revenge, Jack tried to gain knowledge of the Profane Ritual from Angelica. After revealing the ritual to Jack, Angelica and Jack snuck into Blackbeard's cabin while Blackbeard was in the chart room. It was here that Angelica showed Jack the cabinet full of Blackbeard's trophies&mdash;captured ships that were shrunk and put in individual bottles; the Black Pearl among them. Jack and Angelica then entered a discussion regarding Blackbeard's redemption, in which Jack tried to warn Angelica that Blackbeard cannot be saved and would kill her, given the chance. But before they could go further into the matter, the Quartermaster rang the ship's bell alerting all aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge that they had arrived to their destination: Whitecap Bay.

Blackbeard led his crew ashore and prepared to capture a mermaid, as one of the items required for the Profane Ritual was a mermaid's tear. The crew suffered a mermaid attack, in which the crew suffered casualties, until Blackbeard was able to use his sword to control the Queen Anne's Revenge and unleashed Greek fire on the mermaids, forcing them towards shore. By the end of the attack, Blackbeard's crew managed to capture a mermaid named Syrena. After that, Blackbeard ordered the crew to return to the ship, where they would continue their quest. The majority of Blackbeard's crew later returned ashore, leaving the Queen Anne's Revenge docked in a protected cove.

Theft aboard the Revenge
"What of Blackbeard's men, guarding the ship?" "I employed the selfsame maneuver we perfected in New Guinea." "Oh." "Seemed a shame to leave an entire fleet behind." "Shame indeed."

- Jack Sparrow and Joshamee Gibbs



While Blackbeard was searching for the Fountain of Youth, many of Blackbeard's men stayed aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge, guarding it while their captain was away. However, Joshamee Gibbs was able to find the Revenge with the use of Jack Sparrow's compass. Gibbs was able to sneak aboard and retrieved the shrunken Black Pearl for Jack, though he ended up taking all of Blackbeard's shrunken ships in a bottle. Putting them in a gunny sack, Gibbs was able to get off the Revenge to meet with Jack Sparrow.

Barbossa's command
"The Revenge is mine."

- Hector Barbossa



After Blackbeard's death at the Fountain of Youth, his pirate crew joined a privateer named Hector Barbossa, who killed Blackbeard and took his sword, claiming his ship and crew as his own. Barbossa was able to find the Queen Anne's Revenge anchored off of the island, proclaiming that the ship was now his. Having changed into his pirate regalia, Barbossa took the helm of the Revenge. Putting on his old hat, which the Cabin Boy found belowdecks, Barbossa pulled out his new sword and pointed it towards the bow, making the Queen Anne's Revenge to go full sail. Taking and ripping apart his Letters of Marque, Barbossa took full command as captain as the Queen Anne's Revenge made way for Tortuga. The further fate of the ship is unknown.

Design and appearance
"Still, I pray for every unfortunate soul on this hellbound vessel."

- Philip Swift



The Queen Anne's Revenge was a three-masted frigate. Her stern was decorated in red and gold colors. Legends say that the Revenge was built and designed by Blackbeard's victims, though in reality, it was actually constructed from them as well. The bow and the stern castle were decorated with numerous miniature skeletons, while the outer walls of Blackbeard's cabin were decorated with numerous skulls of Blackbeard's victims. Aside from her striking visual features, the Revenge was shown to be incredibly fast, at least by those who wielded the Sword of Triton.

At the aft of the ship beneath the helm, was the captain's quarters. The captain's quarters, most notably used by Blackbeard, appeared more like the den of an evil magician. The nightmarish vision painted on the stained glass window, which can also be seen on the stern of the Revenge, depicts dead men writhing in flames. The fires stoked by devilish characters. The window made the cabin, as well as the Queen Anne's Revenge itself, look truly fiendish.

Like many other pirate ships, the Queen Anne's Revenge flew its own Jolly Roger flag. Blackbeard had two different variations of his pirate flag aboard the Revenge. The first flag had a great horned skeleton holding a goblet of wine in one hand and a spear in the other, as if he's toasting his victims&mdash;this would later be used in the design of the Revenge's figurehead. The second flag was a large skull with flames, which revealed Blackbeard's passion for forbidden dark magic.

The Queen Anne's Revenge was armed with about 38 twelve-pound cannons. Her firepower was strong enough to damage a ship gravely The secret weapon located at the bow of the Revenge was based on the Greek fire device of the Byzantine Empire. Unleashed by the skeletal figurehead, a sulphurous spray spreads all the fiery terror of the inferno. The stern of the Revenge had lit whale oil lanterns. A stunning stained-glass window can be seen where a nightmarish vision was painted on the stained glass window, which depicts dead men writhing in flames.

During the quest for the Fountain of Youth, the Queen Anne's Revenge had a mysterious advantage over the other ships racing for the Fountain. Holding no ordinary ship's crew, the Revenge carried a crew consisting of a mixture of humans and zombies alike. After Blackbeard's death at the Fountain of Youth, the zombies died along with him.

The crew's quarters were near the middle of the Queen Anne's Revenge, close to the ship's gun deck. This area was filled with hammocks that the crew slept in, or have secret meetings. The Revenge also had a brig in the gun deck. Near the gun deck was a room most notably used by Angelica as her personal quarters.

The rigging of the Queen Anne's Revenge had three masts: the fore, the mizzen, and the main. Unlike the Black Pearl, the Revenge had a spritsail topmast at the end of the bowsprit. The Revenge was also heavily loaded with sails to keep it moving even in low winds. The ship's sails were painted blood red, but they were dirty, torn and tattered from long use and many battles.

Behind the scenes

 * The Queen Anne's Revenge was portrayed by the Sunset in On Stranger Tides. Scenes of the Revenge's gun deck were filmed on a set constructed on a soundstage near Honolulu International Airport.
 * Before portraying the Queen Anne's Revenge, the Sunset previously portrayed the Black Pearl in Dead Man's Chest and At World's End. In 2010, because the Black Pearl didn't "figure into the story of On Stranger Tides", the Sunset was redesigned to portray the Queen Anne's Revenge.
 * In real-world history, the Queen Anne's Revenge was armed with forty cannons but she wasn't saved from the sand bar in 1718. She was stripped of Blackbeard's pirate plunder and abandoned, six months before Blackbeard's death.
 * The Queen Anne's Revenge and the Santiago were the first historical ships that appears in POTC film series.
 * In Pirates of the Caribbean Online, the Queen Anne's Revenge is crewed by jumbees led by LaSchafe.
 * The Queen Anne's Revenge appears briefly in Tim Powers' novel, On Stranger Tides, which was used as the basis for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. However she had no active role in the novel.
 * In Rick Riordan's book, The Sea of Monsters, the Queen Anne's Revenge is stolen from Blackbeard by the protagonists.

Appearances

 * Pirates of the Caribbean Online
 * Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
 * LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game