Officer

For other uses, see Officer (disambiguation)

Some officers of the British Royal Navy with Commodore James Norrington and blacksmith Will Turner.

"I'm going to read you a list of your crimes before I execute you."
"Oh, dear. Couldn't you please just kill me instead?"
"For the crime of piracy on the high seas; humiliating a superior officer of the East India Trading Company—"
"Aw, did I hurt your feelings?"

―Benedict Huntington and Jack Sparrow

An officer was a commissioned military class. Generally, it is a person who was above the enlisted soldiers in a position of authority and command in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from French oficier, officier "officer, official"; from Medieval Latin officiarius "an officer," from Latin officium "a service, a duty" the late Latin from officiarius, meaning "official."

History

"He's quick, Jack. He could make an officer, if only..."
"He could go on the account. Pirates recognize a good man, and they'll elect anyone captain that can bring them prizes. Pirates 'care about the color of a man's skin."

―Robert Greene and Jack Sparrow

Robert "Robby" Greene was a good sailor and a good officer.

Among Captain Jack Sparrow's numerous crimes, he impersonated officers of the British Royal Navy and the Spanish Royal Navy, as publicly read by the Town Clerk during the infamous pirate's hanging. Growing up without William Turner as a father figure, Will Turner had to look up to the role models around him, and in Port Royal, those were the British Royal Navy officers. But despite Will's best efforts to adhere to the social class structure, he realized that some rules are meant to be broken.

James Norrington was considered a respectable British naval officer.

Loyal service to His Majesty the King of England had brought James Norrington respect and status. To maintain an air of authority, a loyal officer in the English Navy could not afford to show any emotion in front of his crew; Norrington himself had spent so many years masking his feelings that even in his personal affairs he is distant, including his feelings for Elizabeth Swann, daughter of Governor Weatherby Swann. When he captained the HMS Interceptor, Norrington had chased and captured some of the Caribbean's most fearsome pirates, and was eventually promoted to the Commodore of the Fleet. After Jack Sparrow escaped from his hanging at Port Royal, Commodore Norrington and the other officers moved off, but not before Norrington made it clear that Jack Sparrow was not off the hook entirely, and that recapturing the pirate became a mission that took over the commodore. Norrington chased Sparrow all over the world, until he made the fatal mistake of sailing the HMS Dauntless through a hurricane, losing his ship and nearly all hands, including officers. Because of the failed pursuit, Norrington was decommissioned and dishonorably discharged from the British Navy for his foolishness and became a penniless drunk. After a tireless fight with Will Turner, Jack Sparrow, and Davy Jones's crew of the Flying Dutchman, Norrington handed in exchange for stealing the heart of Davy Jones and handed it over to Lord Cutler Beckett, James Norrington had regained his place in the Royal Navy, given a new station as admiral of the East India Trading Company Armada, and was a respectable officer once more. Although in Elizabeth's eyes, however, he had become less respectable for doing so.

During the search for the Dead Man's Chest, Lord Cutler Beckett arrived to the Caribbean with officers to oversee the expansion of the East India Trading Company. Once the ship's officers have completed the company's business at the ports they visit, they are allowed to do a little trading on their own account. (They do a little smuggling, too, even though it's strictly forbidden.) Along the docks the merchants and farmers of Port Royal line up to load the officer's purchases.

Theodore Groves and Gillette were notable officers of the British Royal Navy.

Two other white-wigged officers of the British Navy include Lieutenant Gillette and Theodore Groves, who both served under Commodore Norrington aboard the Dauntless and the Interceptor, most notably in the mission to rescue Governor Swann's daughter, Elizabeth. Officer Groves notified Commodore Norrington of the notorious pirate Captain Jack Sparrow and blacksmith Will Turner appearing to commandeer the Dauntless, with Gillette and his men having been stranded within a small longboat nearby. However, it was all a distraction so Sparrow and Turner would sail away with the Interceptor, and leave the officers stranded aboard the Dauntless with a disabled rudder chain. Gillette was also among the officers, sailors, and Royal Marines who participated in the battle of Isla de Muerta, as well as having witnessed Captain Jack Sparrow's escape from Fort Charles. Over a year later, Groves was promoted to lieutenant, though still considered an officer, and served aboard the HMS Endeavour, the flagship to Lord Cutler Beckett and the East India Trading Company Armada. In his time as a British naval officer, Groves had shown admiration for Captain Jack Sparrow's actions against Norrington and Beckett. Both Lieutenant Commander Groves and Lieutenant Gillette would serve as the finest officers the Admiralty can produce under the command of Hector Barbossa, a privateer of King George II's court, as the crew of the HMS Providence sailed forth on its quest for the Fountain of Youth without fear. Bewigged and resplendent in their new uniforms, naval officers Groves and Gillette were always ready to give Captain Barbossa expert advice, though he ignored it, with Joshamee Gibbs being the only one who truly understood the outlandish perils ahead, such as mermaids. Unfortunately, most of the Providence crew died in their quest, with Gillette and Groves themselves killed during the battle at the Fountain.

During the quest for the Fountain of Youth, King Ferdinand had gave his most trusted agent, known only as "The Spaniard", a loyal crew to assist him, including a Spanish officer who examined the two silver Chalices of Cartagena. However, while Jack Sparrow and Hector Barbossa infiltrate the Spanish camp, they steal the two Chalices from the officer, who gets clonked on the head by Barbossa's crutch. Nevertheless, the crew's mission is successful as the Spanish officers help The Spaniard destroy the Fountain of Youth.

Blackbeard's zombie officers of the Queen Anne's Revenge were legendary for their ruthless discipline. Once mere men, the fearsome pirate used Greek fire, which was part of a voodoo ritual, to morph them into his fearless minions. Perpetually ill-tempered and devoid of personal free will, the zombie officers unquestioningly complied with Blackbeard's commands. Their uncompromising allegiance made them a formidable adversary for any sailor. Contending with an officer corps of zombies, an abused and terrified motley crew of humans, and Blackbeard's reputation for brutality, Jack Sparrow felt it was an entirely unacceptable combination as he found himself planning an attempted mutiny aboard the Revenge. Upon Blackbeard's death at the Fountain of Youth, his zombie officers apparently died with him.

Armando Salazar leading officers of the Spanish Navy aboard the Silent Mary.

While sailing aboard the Royal Navy vessel Monarch pursuing the pirate ship Ruddy Rose, Henry Turner was a sailor under Petty Officer Maddox, Officer Cole, and First Officer Wade in Captain Toms's command. Despite Henry's warnings about the "old sailor's myth" of the Devil's Triangle, none of the officers listened, and continued the pursuit. Sailing into the Triangle, the Monarch was attacked by the Silent Mary, and all the officers were massacred by Captain Armando Salazar's crew of ghosts. Among the ghostly crew were Officers Magda, Santos, Moss, and a Spanish Officer under Salazar's command. During the hunt for the Trident of Poseidon, a British officer served under Lieutenant John Scarfield at Saint Martin and aboard the Essex, only to be killed by the Silent Mary during its pursuit of the Black Pearl.

List of notable officers

• James Norrington
• Gillette
• Theodore Groves
• Endeavour Officer
• Spanish Officer
• Magda
• Santos
• Moss
• Spanish Officer
• Maddox
• Wade
• Cole
• British Officer

Behind the scenes

• Officers first appeared in the 2003 video game Pirates of the Caribbean.
• Although not all officers were identified by name or with their title in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies onscreen, the person(s) who hold the title do still have them behind the scenes or in other media, such as screenplays and junior novelizations, in all five movies.
• In the 2006 The Curse of the Black Pearl junior novelization, it was said that an officer of the Royal Navy listed Jack Sparrow's crimes during Jack's hanging. However, the individual was named as the "Town Clerk" in the film's ending credits, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Visual Guide and its follow-up.
• Contrary to the ending credits of On Stranger Tides, film's visual guide identified the Spanish Officer as "Spanish Captain" while the Spanish Soldier was identified as "Spanish Officer".

Appearances

• Climb Aboard If You Dare!: Stories From The Pirates of the Caribbean (First appearance)
• Pirates of the Caribbean (2003 video game)
• Jack Sparrow: The Sword of Cortés
• Jack Sparrow: Sins of the Father
• Jack Sparrow: The Tale of Billy Turner and Other Stories
• The Price of Freedom
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2006 junior novelization)
• The Accidental Pirate!
• Pirates of the Caribbean Online
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
  • 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: At World's End (Penguin Readers)
• 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
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales Novelization

Sources

• 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

• Officer on Pirates of the Caribbean Online Wiki
• Officer on Wikipedia