Madagascar

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Madagascar
General information
Continent	Africa
Location	Indian Ocean
Points of interest	Libertalia King Samuel's fortress
Notable inhabitants	Edward Teague Jack Sparrow Grandmama King Samuel Edward England
Societal
Affiliation	Brethren Court Kingdom of France
Behind the scenes
First appearance	Wild Waters
Latest appearance	Day of the Shadow

"Hector, how long till we arrive in Madagascar?"

―Jack Sparrow to Hector Barbossa

Madagascar was an island near the coast of southeastern Africa. During the Age of Piracy in the 17th and 18th centuries, Madagascar was an infamous stronghold for pirates. Good weather, secluded coves, friendly natives and an abundance of fresh food and water made it a haven for pirates operating in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.

History

"Make sail for the fort of King Samuel. It's on the western coast of Madagascar."

―Benedict Huntington to Roland McTavish

Small bands of native peoples populated the island, but none lived in close proximity to each other. European contact began in the year 1500, when Portuguese sea captain Diogo Dias sighted the island after his ship seperated from a fleet going to India. In 1665, Francois Caron, the Director General of the French East India Company, sailed to Madagascar. The Company failed to establish a colony on Madagascar but established ports on the nearby islands of Bourbon and Ile-de-France. In the late 17th century, the French established trading posts along the east coast.

Around 1690, Madagascar became haven to pirates, who used the island as a stronghold and a safe port from which they would sail and prey on the rich trade of the Indian Ocean. Toward the end of the 1700s, the age of the buccaneers was coming to a close. Tortuga was beginning to settle down under French rule and Port Royal was still reeling under the shock of the earthquake of 1692, a blow from which it's piratical population never recovered. The Caribbean pirates began to make the long voyage around the Cape of Good Hope beginning what was to become known as the "Pirate Round". Prior to meeting in Shipwreck Cove, the original Brethren Court gathered in Madagascar in secret, well before it became a pirate stronghold.

Bands of pirates established a variety of bases on Madagascar. Usually each was under the command of a single pirate captain referred to as a "king". Around 1700s, 1500 pirates lived on the island and seventeen vessels made it their home port. The best known pirate port on Madagascar was Libertalia, founded by the famous Captain James Misson.

Jack Sparrow and Captain Teague on the coast of Madagascar.

By 1711, Madagascar's popularity and pirate population declined. Squadrons of warships patrolled the Indian Ocean and Red Sea. Less then one hundred pirates remained on the island.

When Woodes Rogers in 1718 succeed in driving the pirates from Port Nassau in the Bahamas, Madagascar reclaim it's popularity with the pirates. At that time pirates such as Christopher Condent and Edward England chose Madagascar as their base of operations.

Captain Edward Teague was the Pirate Lord of Madagascar, as well as Keeper of the Code, though he gave up his lordship at some point prior to the Fourth Brethren Court. Sometime before the Fourth Court, both Teague and his son Jack Sparrow came to Madagascar after escaping from the vicious Indian Akshay. Teague then commandeered Jack's boat, stole the precious tears of Kali from him, and sailed away, leaving Jack stranded on Madagascar.

Behind the scenes

• Madagascar was first mentioned in the junior novelization for the 2006 film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.
• In Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio's revision screenplay draft of Dead Man's Chest, a bartender said that Jack Sparrow ran off with a Creole woman, who was half his age and twice his height, to Madagascar. The scene never made it into the final cut of the film, but was retained in the film's junior novelization.

Appearances

• Legends of the Brethren Court: The Turning Tide (Mentioned only)
• Legends of the Brethren Court: Wild Waters (First appearance)
• Legends of the Brethren Court: Day of the Shadow
• Tears of the Goddess
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (On a map)
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (junior novelization) (First mentioned)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (On a map)

Sources

• Pirates of the Caribbean: Legends of the Brethren Court
• The Pirates' Guidelines

External links

• Madagascar on Wikipedia