Calico Jack Rackham

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John Rackham
Biographical information
Gender	Male
Ethnic group	English
Born	21 December 1682
Died	18 November 1720
Title(s)	Captain Quartermaster (formerly)
Also known as	Calico Jack[1]
Statistics
Weapon(s) owned	Cutlass Pistol
Ship(s) captained or crewed	Ranger William
Affiliation	Brethren Court
Behind the scenes
First appearance	The Curse of the Black Pearl
Last appearance	The Curse of the Black Pearl
Cause	His corpse hangs in Port Royal.
.

John Rackham, better known as Calico Jack, was a notorious English pirate who operated in the Caribbean during the early 18th century. He was best known for having two female pirates in his crew, Anne Bonny and Mary Read.

BiographyEdit

Early careerEdit

John Rackham started his career as quartermaster on the ship of Charles Vane, a pirate who was operating out of New Providence, Bahamas. At the end of 1718, Vane fired on a French vessel that he then discovered was a warship. Although he felt discretion and retreat was the better part of valor, his crew disagreed, and the next day he was sent off after Rackham was elected captain.

Calico JackEdit

Rackham spent several months cruising the Caribbean, having as much success in attacking smaller vessels that his little sloop would allow. He earned the nickname Calico Jack, after the colorful calico cotton attire he wore.^[2] In December he captured a richly-laden merchant ship (the Kingston) within sight of Port Royal, provoking the merchants there to outfit several privateers to apprehend him. Three months later, they found Rackham at Isla de los Pinos, south of Cuba, still in his ship with the Kingston anchored alongside; Rackham and most of his crew were dozing ashore in a camp of tents made from old sails, and hid in the woods while their ships were captured. In late spring of 1719, Rackham returned to New Providence and received a Royal Pardon from Governor Woodes Rogers.

When Rackham began an affair with Anne Bonny, the pardon was soon forgotten. They had a baby that was eventually left in the care of some pirate families in Cuba, and Rackham returned to his former ways, stealing the sloop William and taking Bonny along, dressed as a man.

Return to piracyEdit

Rackham and Bonny spent over a year attacking small vessels around the West Indies and took on a sailor that would later prove to be a woman named Mary Reade^[3]. Rackham at first confronted the 'man' who was spending too much time around Anne, but later relented upon discovering her identity and realizing the benefit of friendship for the pair.^[4]

Calico Jack Rackham's run came to an end around October 1720, after Woodes Rogers found out about his return to piracy. A British sloop led by the pirate hunter Captain Jonathan Barnet caught up with him at the west end of Jamaica while the crew was drunk and unable to fight. The women tried to sail the ship away, but it was soon overtaken. Reade, Bonny, and one man were said to be the only fighters, shooting into the hold to try and rouse the others from their hiding spot. Their shots wounded one and killed another.

DeathEdit

The entire crew was soon arrested and taken to Jamaica to be tried for piracy. The proceedings caused quite a stir because of the women pirates, but the women themselves escaped the noose because of pregnancy. The rest of them were hanged on November 27, 1720.^[4] Calico Jack's body was gibbeted and hung as a deterrent on Deadman's Cay near Port Royal. At some point after Rackham's death one small island off the coast of Port Royal was named Rackhams Kay.^[5]

Behind the scenesEdit

• Marc Davis originally intended to put historical pirates into the Pirates of the Caribbean ride but he eventually decided to "find ways to add something that people could get a laugh out of" instead.^[6] However, he did make a sketch of Calico Jack, Anne Bonny, Mary Read, and their crew dividing the stolen treasure.^[7]
• Calico Jack's only possible appearance in POTC universe was in The Curse of the Black Pearl, as a corpse hanging near Port Royal. The pirate flag usually attributed to Calico Jack could also be seen being used by Hector Barbossa on the Black Pearl.
• According to Terry Rossio from the audio commentary of The Curse of the Black Pearl, Calico Jack was identified as one of the hanging pirates next to the "Pirates Ye Be Warned" sign. However, it later confirmed to be speculation, mainly because the name was often considered for other characters in the subsequent films.
• In the first screenplay draft of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Calico Jack was one of the pirates present at the Fourth Brethren Court. There was also an idea that was toyed with that Rackham was one of the Pirate Lords, but he was replaced by Capitaine Chevalle, the penniless Frenchman.^[8]
• Calico Jack is mentioned on one occasion in the novel On Stranger Tides, which was used as the basis for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

AppearancesEdit

• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (As a corpse)
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (comic) (As a corpse)

SourcesEdit

• Walt Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: The Story of the Robust Adventure in Disneyland and Walt Disney World
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
• Bring Me That Horizon: The Making of Pirates of the Caribbean
• The Captain Jack Sparrow Handbook
• Disney Pirates: The Definitive Collector's Anthology

External linksEdit

• Calico Jack on Wikipedia

Notes and referencesEdit