- "The chest is no longer safe. Chart a course to Isla Cruces!"
- ―Davy Jones
Isla Cruces (Spanish for "Cross Island") was an island in the Caribbean Sea, located east of Hispaniola and north of the Lesser Antilles.[2] The island was known as a plagued island ever since the Church came to the island, bringing salvation, disease and death. Isla Cruces was mainly known to be the location of the fabled Dead Man's Chest, which contained the heart of Davy Jones.
History[]
Legend[]
- "You know this place?"
"Stories. The Church came to the island, and brought salvation, and disease and death. They say the priest had to bury everybody, one after the other. It drove him mad, and he hung himself."
"Better mad with the rest of the world than sane alone." - ―James Norrington and Elizabeth Swann
Not much is known about the early history of this island, except that it was discovered during the European colonization of the New World and named Isla Cruces, the Isle of Crosses.[3] A church would be set up, though it is unknown if it was the Church of England or Spain.
Stories were told of Isla Cruces, in which the island was once populated and that the Church also established itself on the island. However, it was said to have brought disease to the island, resulting in a plague that wiped out the entire population. The priest had to bury the inhabitants, one by one, until he went insane and hung himself.[4][5] Davy Jones buried the Dead Man's Chest on Isla Cruces after he was forsaken by Calypso, and cut out his own heart in his rage. He was believed to have chosen Isla Cruces as it was a plague island, now deserted.[6] From that day on, all sane travelers avoided the island.[7]
Search for the Dead Man's Chest[]
The chest, buried on one of the island's beaches, became the subject of much interest as several factions attempted to gain possession of it. Captain Jack Sparrow was able to discern the location of the chest through his compass, and had James Norrington dig it out from under the sand. A race for possession of the chest ensued with the arrival of Will Turner, followed shortly by the crew of the Flying Dutchman.[8]
The chase continued into the island's dense jungles, finally ending at the abandoned church, where Jack, Will and Norrington fought for the key, taking the battle onto the old mill wheel, which broke away and rolled down to the island's beach. Though Jack opened the chest and stole the heart, it ultimately ended up in Norrington's possession, leaving Davy Jones with an empty chest. The pirates departed the island, shortly before Jones summoned the Kraken to destroy the Black Pearl.[8]
Later stories[]
Years later after the climatic battle of Calypso's maelstrom in which Davy Jones met his death, Sir Thomas Faye's book, titled The Secret Files of the East India Trading Company, was found in the skeletal hands of a long-dead sailor at Isla Cruces.[9] It is unknown if Isla Cruces was ever visited again.
Behind the scenes[]
- Scenes on Isla Cruces from Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest were shot at White Cay in the Exumas, a district in the Bahamas. It was also the location of the Parley on the sandbar scene in At World's End.[10]
- In Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio's screenplay for Dead Man's Chest, Elizabeth Swann and James Norrington would talk about the story of Isla Cruces. In addition, the church was described as an "abandoned Spanish church".[1] The scene with Elizabeth and Norrington never made it to the final cut of the film but was retained in the film's junior novelization,[4] as well as the deleted scene "Salvation" featured in Blu-ray releases beginning in 2011.[5]
Appearances[]
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (video game)
- LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game (Non-canonical appearance)
Sources[]
- Pirates of the Caribbean: The Visual Guide
- Pirates of the Caribbean: The Complete Visual Guide
- The Secret Files of the East India Trading Company
- The Captain Jack Sparrow Handbook
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Wordplayer.com: PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST by Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio
- ↑ The island's location on a world map in the At World's End video game.
- ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest Storybook and CD, p. 26
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (junior novelization), p. 115
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest Deleted Scene: "Salvation"
- ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - DVD writers' commentary
- ↑ The Captain Jack Sparrow Handbook, p. 102
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
- ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean: The Secret Files of the East India Trading Company
- ↑ At World's End Production Notes: 7 - Return to The Bahamas
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