- "Capitaine Chevalle, the penniless Frenchman!"
- ―Chevalle
Chevalle was a Pirate Lord hailing from Marseilles, the trade capital of France,[10] and operating during the time of Lord Cutler Beckett's attempts to eradicate piracy in the Caribbean. Chevalle was the lord of the Mediterranean Sea,[3] and was known to use the title "Capitaine".[11]
Biography[]
Early life[]
- "As always, it is up to me to be victorious."
- ―Chevalle while fighting alongside fellow pirates
Chevalle was a former member of the French aristocracy and the Pirate Lord of the Mediterranean Sea.[3] No one was quite sure whether Chevalle turned to piracy because his family lost all their money... or whether they lost their money after the monarchy punished them for Chevalle's piracy.[12] He spent many years pillaging the weak and wealthy trade ships of Europe in his flagship, the Fancy, as well as trading between the Old World and the New World in the French Caribbean Colonies, such as Montserrat and Haiti. He was also known to plunder the Spanish Treasure Fleets of fellow Pirate Lord, Captain Eduardo Villanueva as they returned from such locales as Mexico.[10]
He was wanted dead or alive by the East India Trading Company for crimes including piracy in the French seas, attempting to steal from the Swiss Bank, and defacement and destruction of French property both on land and at sea. The reward was 6,000 guineas.[11]
War Against Piracy[]
Hanging[]
- "Jack...always one for the last minute. I am most grateful for the rescue."
"Allow me to give you a means to express said gratitude: take part in the Conclave. Alas, I must return to my ship."
"Done. I shall see you at the Conclave, Jack Sparrow!" - ―Chevalle and Jack Sparrow at Fort Charles
Prior to the fourth meeting of the Brethren Court, Chevalle had fallen upon hard times, and was at some point captured by royal marines under the command of Lord Cutler Beckett. Chevalle was tried and sentenced to hang at Fort Charles in the town of Port Royal, now under the control of the East India Trading Company. Fortune sent Jack Sparrow to Port Royal, where he met with the mystic Tia Dalma, who told Jack of Chevalle's dire situation. So Jack made his way towards the fort to effect the rescue of Chevalle. As a condition of the rescue, Jack requested that Chevalle join the Brethren Conclave at Shipwreck City. Grateful for his rescue, Chevalle agreed and bade Jack farewell as the two pirates made their escape from Port Royal and later rejoining with other members of the Brethren.[13]
There were two known circumstances of how Jack managed to save Chevalle from his appointment with the gallows. Prior to his execution, Chevalle was held in the stockades, being pelted by the citizens of Port Royal with fruits and vegetables, much to Chevalle's indignation. Jack managed to make a distraction by releasing the prisoners from their cells, set some gun powder within the yard to cover their escape, and blocked the entrances to the yard to stop reinforcements before weakening the supports to the stocks platform, thereby making it easy to free Chevalle.[14] Another known occurrence was that Jack Sparrow and Will Turner enlisted the help of Montanari to smuggle them into Fort Charles. During Chevalle's execution, the hangman's rope snapped, revealing that it had been sabotaged by Jack Sparrow himself. Considering the escape as partial payment for a night in Tangiers, Jack rescued Chevalle and escaped from Fort Charles.[15]
Brethren Court meeting[]
- "Calypso was our enemy then, she will be our enemy now."
"It's unlikely that her mood's improved."
"I would still agree with Sao Feng. We release Calypso."
"You threaten me?"
"I silence you." - ―Jocard, Chevalle and Eduardo Villanueva
Chevalle was reunited with his crew, and sailed to Shipwreck Cove to join the Brethren Court meeting. During the meeting, Chevalle punched Villanueva in the face when he pulled a pistol on him. Chevalle was against Captain Hector Barbossa's idea of setting Calypso free, on the grounds that she would most likely be in a foul mood upon her release. He also thought it was unlikely that a second Pirate King would ever be elected, and so was more in favor of Mistress Ching's idea of waiting out the war in Shipwreck Cove. Chevalle voted for himself when the time came to elect a new king, but Elizabeth Swann won, and upon receiving her new position, she declared war on the East India Trading Company.[1]
Lord Beckett, however, had sent a force of Black Coats against them, in order to delay their departure. Chevalle was able to evade a confrontation with any Company troops, and was able to make it back to the Fancy safely. Upon exiting Shipwreck Cove, the Brethren were confronted with Lord Beckett's entire armada. King Swann went to treat with the Company, but to no avail. Swann ordered the fleet to hoist their colors, and Chevalle begrudgingly had his flag raised, and looked over the fleet with a grim uncertainty, and seemed very doubtful that the fleet would survive, deeming his favored idea of defense within the Cove to have been the better decision all along.
Chevalle later witnessed the battle around Calypso's maelstrom, and celebrated with his crew following the deaths of Davy Jones and Lord Beckett.[1] His further fate is unknown.
Personality and traits[]
- "Mere coins are no way to measure a pirate's strength. A pirate's true strength is in here!"
- ―Chevalle, pointing at his heart
Chevalle was very prideful and dignified. At the Brethren Court meeting he was reasonable and logical in his comments, pointing out what he thought others needed to be reminded of. When his rival Eduardo Villanueva pulled a pistol on him, he took it very personally and punched Villanueva in the face. He took his bad financial situation in stride, and was apparently not ashamed about it, even saying, "Capitaine Chevalle, the penniless Frenchman" when he cast his vote for Pirate King.[1] Chevalle had great respect for Sri Sumbhajee, thinking that, "His wisdom [ran] deeper than the bowels of the Kraken."[11]
Like many pirate captains, Chevalle used a flag with symbols traditionally associated with death and violence. His Jolly Roger was black with a white skull above a horizontal long bone between a heart and a dagger.
Equipment and skills[]
- "I am strong! I am a fearsome pirate! I am the greatest pirate the Mediterranean has ever seen!"
- ―Chevalle
Being a former aristocrat, Chevalle was seemingly very vain, wearing flamboyant and elegant clothing. However, he always said that he was a "penniless" Frenchman.[16] He often carried a gold-topped walking stick and wore a silver ring on his left hand.[17] Chevalle had two tricorn hats, one was dark blue with large blue feathers at the crown,[1] the other was a dark green hat with a green-feathered fringe[11]. He wore a light purple coat and a powder-blue waistcoat. Chevalle also wore a frilled cravat made with the same material used on the cuffs of his sleeves and rather than wearing boots as most pirates would wear, Chevalle wore breeches. A dull-yellow sash was tied about Chevalle's waist. Chevalle was very slim and his belt was folded into a knot around his waist to accommodate his slight frame. Chevalle had a powdered face with blushed cheek, a thin mustache, a goatee and a large mole on his right cheek.[1]
Chevalle owned a very sharp sword which he would use to hammer at his opponents in battle. He was so fast with the blade that it would look like he was attacking from all directions at once. He was as skilled as Mistress Ching, the Pirate Lord of the Pacific, renowned across the globe for her swordsmanship.[18]
Chevalle possessed a unique piece of eight, as did all of the Pirate Lords. It was a Queen of Spades playing card, which he kept up his sleeve at all times. It was destroyed during the freeing of Calypso, along with the eight other pieces of eight.[1]
Behind the scenes[]
- Chevalle was portrayed by Marcel Iures in At World's End.
- Chevalle bears a strong resemblance to Captain René Rottingham, a minor character in The Curse of Monkey Island. He also bears a strong resemblance to Captain Hook from the Disney's Peter Pan.
- In the first screenplay draft of At World's End, Chevalle's piece of eight was Magellan's signet ring, lost to Cutler Beckett in the game of cards several years earlier in the South China Sea.[19] There was also an idea that was toyed with that Calico Jack Rackham was one of the Pirate Lords, but he was replaced by Chevalle.[20]
- Chevalle's Jolly Roger is identical to the flag attributed to the historical pirate Stede Bonnet.
- Chevalle's name roughly translates into "horse" in French ("cheval").
Appearances[]
- Legends of the Brethren Court: The Caribbean (Mentioned only)
- Legends of the Brethren Court: Wild Waters (Mentioned only)
- Legends of the Brethren Court: Day of the Shadow
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (junior novelization) (First appearance)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (comic)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End: The Movie Storybook
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Penguin Readers)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (video game)
- The Return of Jack Sparrow (In flashback(s))
- LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game (Non-canonical appearance)
Sources[]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
- ↑ Estimation based on Marcel Iures' age during the filming of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. In addition, according to Legends of the Brethren Court: Day of the Shadow, Chapter Six, Chevalle was already a pirate captain (maybe even a Pirate Lord), when Jack Sparrow was a nine-year old boy, which makes Chevalle at least fifteen years older than Jack. And the current timeline, as established in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and its tie-in materials, sets Jack's birth around 1690 and Chevalle's birth around the 1670s.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Complete Visual Guide p. 90 "Pirate Lords"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End "Inside the Brethren Court" featurette
- ↑ The Pirates' Guidelines
- ↑ Chevalle's wanted poster
- ↑ Legends of the Brethren Court: Day of the Shadow, Chapter Eight
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Legends of the Brethren Court: Day of the Shadow
- ↑ Legends of the Brethren Court: Day of the Shadow, Chapter Eleven
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Yahoo! Summer Movie Guide
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - The Official Website: "Port Royal"
- ↑ Legends of the Brethren Court: Day of the Shadow, Chapter Six
- ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (video game) "Port Royal"
- ↑ This occurred in the PlayStation 2 version of the At World's End video game.
- ↑ This occurred in the PlayStation 3 version of the At World's End video game.
- ↑ The Pirates' Guidelines
- ↑ Chevalle's ring
- ↑ Legends of the Brethren Court: Day of the Shadow, Chapter Eight
- ↑ PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END by Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio
- ↑ Mr. Bruckheimer...?-Keeper thread-TPR
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