Pirate King

Elizabeth Swann was a Pirate Lord and King of the Fourth Brethren Court.

"As per the Code, an act of war, and this be exactly that, can only be declared by the Pirate King."
"You made that up."
"Did I now?"

―Hector Barbossa and Jack Sparrow

The Pirate King, also referred to as King of the Brethren Court, was the elective monarch of the Pirate Lords and leader of the Brethren Court. According to the Pirate Code, as set down by the Captains Morgan and Bartholomew and recorded in the Pirata Codex, the King was holder of a great amount of power, and would lead the pirates around the globe. To be elected Pirate King, the plurality of the Pirate Lords were required to vote on a single candidate. This process was fraught with difficulty as it was common for each Lord to vote for themselves. Elizabeth Swann was the Pirate King of the Fourth Brethren Court during the war against Lord Cutler Beckett and the East India Trading Company.

History

Rules on becoming King

"Hang on a minute. 'It shall be the duties, as the king, to declare war, parley with shared adversaries...' Fancy that."

―Jack Sparrow

During the Second Brethren Court, the Pirate's Code was set down by Captains Morgan and Bartholomew and recorded in the Pirata Codex. Subsequent to the recreation of the Code, new members of the Court were appointed, including Keeper of the Code, who would interpret the Code as written, clarify points of contention, and announce his findings to the Pirate Lords, including what was written about the Pirate King. At times when the very existence of pirates seemed imperiled, and the Brethren wish to declare an act of war against a common adversary, they could do so only upon the agreement and the election of a Pirate King.

A Pirate King was selected by a popular vote of the nine Pirate Lords of the Court, though each pirate only ever voted for themselves. Prior to nomination, there were three qualities and requirements in order to become King: the applicant must be captain of a ship, swear by the Code, and have killed a man. Once these prerequisites were proved, the elected King was sworn in by the Keeper of the Code. Duties of the Pirate King were detailed in the Pirata Codex and included declaring war, parlay with adversaries, assembling forces, and fashioning strategies.

King of the Court

"There has not been a king since the First Court. And that's not likely to change."
"Not likely."
"Why not?"
"See, the Pirate King is elected by popular vote."
"And each pirate only ever votes for hisself."

―Chevalle, Teague, Elizabeth Swann, Joshamee Gibbs and Hector Barbossa

Throughout the history of the Age of Piracy, there was only two Pirate Kings. The first King led the First Brethren Court in binding Calypso into her human form. Because each pirate usually only voted for himself, and they don't usually live that long for occupational hazard reasons, the Brethren wouldn't have a suitable King for the next two meetings. It wasn't until the Fourth Brethren Court, when the Pirate Lords argued and fought among themselves, that a new Pirate King was elected for the war against Lord Cutler Beckett and the East India Trading Company. The Pirate Lord Captain Hector Barbossa maintained that only a Pirate King could declare war and this was confirmed by the Keeper of the Code Captain Teague. When Jack Sparrow called for a vote, the other Lords voted for themselves, but Sparrow changed the balance by voting for Captain Elizabeth Swann and was the second vote. When the Pirate Lords expressed outrage over the vote, Sparrow addressed the assembled pirates of the Fourth Court as to whether they would be keeping to the Code or not, knowing Teague had his back on this. In resignation, the Pirate Lords kept to the Code with Elizabeth as King of the Brethren Court. As Elizabeth met the requirements for the position, she was elected King, thereby giving her power to vote for war against the EITC.

Known Pirate Kings

• First Pirate King
• Elizabeth Swann

Behind the scenes

The Pirate King first appeared in media relating to the 2007 film Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, notably the book The Pirates' Guidelines and the video game Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.

In Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio's first screenplay draft of At World's End, it was Captain Barbossa who nominated Elizabeth Swann for the position of the Pirate King. All the Pirate Lords and pirate captains at the meeting agreed with his proposal because she was the only one who hasn't made enemies among them. While the Pirate Lords argued and fought among themselves in a late production draft titled Calypso's Fury, the final version of the film, the Pirate Lords were more accepting of Elizabeth as Pirate King in the video game adaptation.

In Tim Powers' 1987 novel On Stranger Tides, which was used as the basis for the 2011 film Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Ed Thatch/Blackbeard was referred to as the "King of the West Indies" in-book, while Blackbeard as the "ghost-infested pirate king" in the back cover in the 2011 edition.

In Terry Rossio's original 2012 screenplay draft for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, a young girl named Cora June (actually the villainous Sea Widow in disguise) would have mentioned to Jack Sparrow that he was the one who orchestrated Elizabeth Swann's election as Pirate King.

Appearances

• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (video game) (First appearance) (First appearance)
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (junior novelization) (Special Edition)
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Penguin Readers)
• LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game (Non-canonical appearance)

Sources

• The Pirates' Guidelines (First identified as Pirate King)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End: "Inside the Brethren Court"

Notes and references

Members of the Brethren Court
First Court Pirate Kings First Pirate King Pirate Lords First Pirate Lord of the Atlantic Ocean Aides: Davy Jones Second Court Pirate Lords Henry Morgan – Bartholomew – Grandmama Third Court Pirate Lords Sao Feng's father Others: Tartaglia Court of Inquiry Pirate Lords Ching – Boris Palachnik – Rafael – Edward Teague – Eduardo Villanueva Aides: Davy Jones Keeper of the Code: Edward Teague Others: Hector Barbossa – Jack Sparrow – Ragetti – Melinda – Esmeralda Prison Dog Fourth Court Pirate Kings Elizabeth Swann Pirate Lords Ammand – Sumbhajee Angria – Hector Barbossa – Chevalle Ching – Jocard – Jack Sparrow – Eduardo Villanueva Aides: Askay – Pusasn – Ragetti – Joshamee Gibbs Keeper of the Code: Edward Teague Others: Sao Feng – Pintel –Prison Dog – Carriers of the Code
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