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Union Jack

The Union Jack.

"What are your orders 'Wicked Will'? Shall we raise the Union Jack—"
"Or the Jolly Roger?
"
Elizabeth Swann and Jack Sparrow to Will Turner[src]

The Union Jack, otherwise referred to as British colors or the British flag was the de facto national flag of Great Britain. It was originally used for maritime purposes to represent the union of England, Scotland, and Ireland in the 1600s. The original design of the flag consisted of the flag of England, a red cross on a white background, known as St George's Cross, to be joined with the flag of Scotland, a white saltire (X-shaped cross, or St Andrew's Cross) on a blue background. When the first flag representing Britain was introduced, it became known simply as the "British flag" or the "flag of Britain" though it was commonly called the "Union Jack" by the 1700s. By the Age of Piracy, the Union Jack flag was used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions of the British Empire. The design was mainly used on ships on the high seas and more generally seen on important buildings, like forts, and land forces.

History[]

UnJackP1

The British flag flies over Fort Charles in Port Royal, Jamaica.

"I am Don Carrera de la Vega. Why do you fly British colors?"
"That...is a stolen flag. Overcome with remorse, we are even now on our way to deliver it back.
"
Carrera de la Vega and Jack Sparrow[src]

By the Age of Piracy, the Union Jack flag was used to represent the union of England, Scotland, and Ireland as well as the British Empire. Various nations, islands, and colonies that have used the British flag at some stage have included Barbados,[citation needed] Bermuda,[1] Dominica, Hong Kong,[citation needed] and Jamaica.[2]

A British flag flapped in the wind high above the docks of the Bermuda harbour when the merchant ship the Sea Star approached the island. The same flag waved from the mast of the Sea Star, though the ship's flag was far more weatherworn than the pristine one over Bermuda.[1] Following the failure of the mutiny against Captain Laura Smith on the Fleur de la Mort, the pirate ship encountered the Pride of London, a giant, trim-looking vessel with a lot of cannons and British flags fluttering off its masts.[3]

When the East India Trading Company brig the Fair Wind encountered the pirate frigate the Venganza in the Caribbean Sea, Captain Nathaniel Bainbridge was tricked into believing the other vessel belonged to the British Royal Navy. He calmly ordered First Mate Jack Sparrow and Second Mate Robert Greene to hoist the colors, and the red, white, and blue Union Jack rose fluttering into the air all the way to the peak of the spanker gaff. The pirates responded by hoisting the Navy's mostly white version of the Union Jack, and Bainbridge was pleased when he saw the British flag raised on the other ship.[4]

UJ Norrington Elizabeth

The Union Jack flies from the bowsprit of the British Navy ship, the HMS Dauntless.

The HMS Dauntless, a warship and pride of the British Royal Navy, flew the Union Jack from a small flagstaff on the bowsprit when the ship carried Governor Weatherby Swann and his young daughter Elizabeth from England to the British colony at Port Royal on the island of Jamaica. Eight years later, the flag would still be in use, proudly waving in the wind from a tall pole in the courtyard of Fort Charles, notably during Captain James Norrington's promotion to commodore as well as the attempted execution and rescue of Jack Sparrow.[2] The British flag was also displayed in the Port Royal harbour.[5]

At the beginning of the search for the Dead Man's Chest, following Lord Cutler Beckett's arrival to Port Royal, the Royal Navy sloop anchored in the harbour, the Perseverance, flew the Union Jack.[6] The captain's cabin of the HMS Endeavour, Lord Beckett's flagship during his ruthless campaign against the "uncivilized" seas, was decorated with a model of a British warship with two Union Jacks on the mizzenmast and the mainmast.[7]

Modern Union Jack

A variation of the Union Jack flag, flown on the HMS Providence, under the command of the privateer Hector Barbossa.

By the quest for the Fountain of Youth in 1750, a variation of the Union Jack was created with the St. Patrick's Cross embedded on it. This unique flag design was prominently used by the crew of the HMS Providence, under the command of Captain Hector Barbossa, who served as a privateer under His Majesty King George II. Lieutenant Commander Theodore Groves carried a huge British flag in a pack as the Providence crew's search for the Fountain of Youth continued in the jungles of a mysterious island where the fabled Fountain was believed to be situated. At the end of the quest, Barbossa and his British crew battled the zombie and human crewmen of the notorious pirate Blackbeard until the arrival of The Spaniard, backed by Spanish soliders carrying tall banners of the Spanish Monarchy. As Groves saw the Spanish flags, he pulled out the British flag from his pack, unfurled it, trying to claim the Fountain and all its attendant mystical properties in the name of King George. However, The Spaniard used his pistol to shoot Groves, who then crumpled to the ground, partly covered by the flag.[8]

Dying Gull & Essex

The Union Jack flies from the stern of the Essex.

About one year later,[9] the original Union Jack flag was used on the island of Saint Martin, notably displayed on the front side of the Royal Bank of Saint Martin on its opening day. However, as a down-on-his-luck Captain Jack Sparrow and his pirate crew of the Dying Gull attempted to steal the bank's vault, the pirates pulled the whole building from its foundations, causing the flag to fall on the ground. Later, during the hunt for the Trident of Poseidon, the Union Jack flew from the stern flagsaff of the Essex, the warship of Lieutenant John Scarfield, as the Navy vessel pursued Sparrow and the "witch" Carina Smyth across the sea.[10]

Behind the scenes[]

Overview[]

The Union Jack first appears in the 2003 film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, the first film installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy.[2] "British flag" was a name used in most Pirates of the Caribbean media, its first known use being in Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio's early screenplay draft for the first film,[11] which was retained in the 2006 junior novelization by Elizabeth Rudnick.[12] It was first identified as the "Union Jack" in The Buccaneer's Heart!, a comic published in Disney Adventures magazine in 2004,[13] which has since been considered non-canon due to, among other inconsistencies in the franchise, Blackbeard's appearance in the 2011 film Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.[8] The Union Jack has since been named in the 2011 novel The Price of Freedom by A. C. Crispin.[4]

Deleted and Extended scenes[]

In the 2007 film Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, a model of the HMS Endeavour in Lord Cutler Beckett's cabin flies the two Union Jacks, one blue EITC flag, and one striped blue and white flag. One of the soldier figures on Beckett's desk holds the British flag. Although unseen in the final cut of the film,[7] they can be seen in the "It's Just Good Business" extended scene featured in Blu-ray releases beginning in 2011.[14]

Unused concepts[]

In Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio's screenplay for On Stranger Tides, during the battle at the Fountain of Youth, Groves tries to claim the Fountain in the name of King George the second before unfurling the flag. It was also written that Groves is cut down, and the flag slashed as well.[15] Whereas in the final cut of the film, Groves unfurls the flag before claiming the Fountain, and is shot by The Spaniard's pistol.[8]

In Terry Rossio's 2012 screenplay draft for Dead Men Tell No Tales, during the final battle, Jack Sparrow hallucinated several events from his past, and swam into a huge British flag, becoming tangled in it.[16]

Real-world discrepancies[]

Unlike the 18th century version of the British flag, the modern version of the Union Jack has St. Patrick's Cross, instead of the one without it. Among the various Pirates of the Caribbean media, the modern version of the Union Jack was first used in the trailers for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,[2] the bonus feature Scoundrels of the Sea: Piecing Together the Treasured Past of Pirates,[17] the first in-universe appearance in the 2007 book Pirates of the Caribbean: The Missing Pirate,[18] as well as flown on the HMS Providence and used by Theodore Groves in the 2011 film Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.[8] The modern British flag was also flown at Fort Charles and the Providence in the non-canonical video game LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game.[19] Although the modern flag was used in concept art of the Royal Bank of Saint Martin by Steve Jung for the 2017 film Dead Men Tell No Tales,[20] it had since been replaced with the more historically accurate flag in the final cut of the film.[10]

Several British merchant ships in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise fly the Union Jack, notably the Princess and the Henrietta in The Curse of the Black Pearl,[2] as well as the Fair Wind in The Price of Freedom.[4] In real-world history, the use of the Union Jack at sea was limited to military vessels. By 1674, all British merchant vessels were specifically ordered to fly Saint George's Cross or the red flag with Saint George's Cross in the upper left canton.[citation needed]

British military vessels were also required to fly the Union Jack from the jackstaff at the head of the bowsprit. The flag is incorrectly flown from the peak of the gaff on the HMS Providence in On Stranger Tides,[8] and from the stern flagstaff on the Essex in the 2017 film Dead Men Tell No Tales.[10]

Appearances[]

Sources[]

  • Scoundrels of the Sea: Piecing Together the Treasured Past of Pirates

External links[]

Notes and references[]

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