British Empire

British Empire
General information
Leader	King George II
Notable members	Cutler Beckett John Carteret Henry Pelham John Scarfield Weatherby Swann
Ships	HMS Dauntless HMS Interceptor Essex
Head­quarters	London, England
Locations	Caribbean Port Royal, Jamaica St. Martin
Other information
Affiliation	British Royal Navy East India Trading Company

"Only the British Empire will hold the power of the sea."

―John Scarfield

The British Empire, also known as the British Crown, British government, and more simply as the British, the Crown, or the Empire, comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by Great Britain. The foundations of the British Empire were laid when England and Scotland were separate kingdoms. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts established by England, and colonisation attempts by Scotland. The newly united Great Britain rose to be the world's largest empire and the foremost dominant colonial power. As a result, its constitutional, legal, linguistic, and cultural legacy was widespread.

During the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal and Spain pioneered European exploration of the globe, and in the process established large overseas empires. Envious of the great wealth these empires generated, England, France, and the Netherlands began to establish colonies and trade networks of their own in the Americas and Asia. A series of wars in the 17th and 18th centuries with the Netherlands and France left Britain the dominant colonial power in North America. While retaining control of North America and territories in and near the Caribbean in the West Indies, British colonial expansion turned towards Asia, Africa, and the Pacific.

History

Age of Piracy

"Lord Beckett. In the category of questions not answered..."
"We are under the jurisdiction of the King's governor of Port Royal and you will tell us what we are charged with."
"The charge is 'conspiring to set free a man convicted of crimes against the Crown and Empire and condemned to death, for which the...'"
"For which the punishment, regrettably, is also death."

―Will Turner, Elizabeth Swann, Weatherby Swann and Cutler Beckett

The foundations of the British Empire were laid when England and Scotland were separate kingdoms. By the Age of Piracy, large overseas empires began to establish colonies and trade networks of their own in the Americas and Asia. While retaining control of North America and territories in and near the Caribbean in the West Indies, British colonial expansion turned towards Asia, Africa, and the Pacific.

Various officers, sailors and ships in service of the British Royal Navy served the British Empire, with the capital being London, England. By the time Commodore James Norrington was promoted as the newly appointed commander of the British Naval Fleet, the HMS Dauntless was one of the Empire's premiere warships, with the HMS Interceptor purported to be the fastest vessel in the fleet, both docked in Port Royal, Jamaica. Both ships were used by Commodore Norrington to hunt down the last dregs of piracy on the Spanish Main in the Caribbean Sea, chasing and capturing some of the Caribbean's most fearsome pirates, most notably the Black Pearl.

Believing it would not be in the best interests of the Empire to be bound by matters of geography, Lord Cutler Beckett furthered the achievements of the East India Trading Company growing power to the Caribbean. Using his emergency powers intended to rid the seas of piracy, Lord Beckett first took control of Port Royal, beginning with the arrests of Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann, both accused of helping set the notorious pirate Captain Jack Sparrow free, a crime for which the punishment was death. Beckett's unexpected arrival shocked Governor Weatherby Swann, who demanded to know what authority he had to arrest them. "By the Crown's authority," Beckett replied, and to prove it, he had a pile of documents with Will, Elizabeth, and Norrington's names on arrest warrants. Lord Cutler Beckett used the overwhelming might of the British Royal Navy and the East India Trading Company in an armada, alongside Davy Jones's ghost ship, the Flying Dutchman, in a war against the Brethren Court. However, following a battle between the Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman, and the sinking of Beckett's flagship, the HMS Endeavour, the British armada retreated.

Lieutenant Scarfield declares that only the British Empire will hold the power of the sea.

Years later, the British would be involved in a race to find the Fountain of Youth, which King George II wanted to find before the Spanish King Ferdinand gained eternal life. The King's Royal Guards would capture Jack Sparrow, who was rumored to have come to London to procure crew and be in possession of a map, only for the infamous pirate to escape. Privateer Hector Barbossa was instead sent by King George to find the Fountain aboard the HMS Providence, only for the British to fail in their mission as the Spanish destroyed the Fountain. About one year later, Lieutenant John Scarfield served the British Empire by leading the various British forces, like the navy and royal guards, in the Caribbean island of Saint Martin. Lieutenant Scarfield sailed the Essex in his ambition to find the Trident of Poseidon, claiming only the British Empire would hold the power of the sea, only for the Essex to be attacked by Armando Salazar and the Silent Mary as well as Henry Turner having destroyed the Trident.

Behind the scenes

The British Empire would first appear in the 2003 film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, only identified as "the Crown" in the film, and as "the Empire" in the film's production notes. Although "the British" was used behind the scenes, the term would first be published in Richard Platt's reference book Pirates of the Caribbean: The Visual Guide as well as Glenn Dakin's reprint version Pirates of the Caribbean: The Complete Visual Guide. "Crown and Empire" would be uttered by Governor Weatherby Swann in the 2006 film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, while "British government" would be used in the film's promotion guide. The term "British crown" would also be used within the pages covering "The British" in Dakin's visual guide for the 2011 film Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. The name "British Empire" would first be identified by name in any media by Lieutenant John Scarfield in the 2017 film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.

In Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio's screenplay for Dead Man's Chest, as Lord Cutler Beckett summons Will Turner in his office, Turner asks Beckett what the East India Trading Company is doing in the Caribbean. Beckett's response, indicating the map on the wall, "It would not be in the best interests of the Empire to be bound by matters of geography, would it?" He adds that when goods do not cross borders, armies will. With Will not being keen on Beckett's economic lesson, Beckett proceeded to the "business transaction" with Captain Jack Sparrow. The scene never made it to the final cut of the film but was retained in the deleted scene "East Of India" featured in Blu-ray releases beginning in 2011. However, the Empire was never mentioned in the deleted scene, with Beckett's response to Turner being, "Well, we are East of India. Just the long way around."

Richard Griffiths (King George) was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2008.

Appearances

• The Price of Freedom
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (First identified as the Crown)
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003 junior novelization) (First appearance)
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2006 junior novelization)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (First identified as Empire)
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (junior novelization)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (junior novelization)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (junior novelization)
• The Brightest Star in the North: The Adventures of Carina Smyth
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (First identified as British Empire)
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales Novelization
  • Pirates des Caraïbes : La Vengeance de Salazar
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales: Movie Graphic Novel

Sources

• Below Deck: An Interactive History Of Pirates (First identified as the British)
• An Epic At Sea: The Making of Pirates
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Visual Guide
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Complete Visual Guide
• Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides: The Visual Guide

External links

• British Empire on Wikipedia