Weatherby Swann's Mansion

"We are an unimaginative lot when it comes to naming things." The title of this article is conjectural. Although this article is based on canonical information, the actual name of this subject is pure conjecture.

Weatherby Swann's mansion
General information
Type	Mansion
Location	St. Paul's district, Port Royal, Jamaica
Notable occupant(s)	Weatherby Swann Elizabeth Swann Butler Estrella Footman
Chronological and political information
Affiliation	Swann family

"You have a name, Missy?"
"Elizabeth... Turner. I'm a maid in the Governor's household."

―Hector Barbossa and Elizabeth Swann

Governor Swann's grand mansion, otherwise known as the Governor's Mansion or Governor's Palace, was a place of residence situated in Port Royal, Jamaica. The estate most notably served as the home of the Swann family, namely Governor Weatherby Swann and his daughter Elizabeth, as well as the staff, including the maid Estrella. Set in the fashionable St. Paul's district, the mansion is far from the squalor of Port Royal's docks and slums. Governor Swann's mansion most notably came under siege when the crew of the Black Pearl, led by the cursed Captain Hector Barbossa, launched an attack on Port Royal. Lured by the Aztec gold medallion that Elizabeth Swann wore around her neck, the pirates storm the governor's mansion to kidnap her.

History

Little is known of this mansion prior to being the home of Governor Weatherby Swann, as the head of the household, and his daughter Elizabeth following the Swann family's voyage from England to Port Royal, Jamaica. Set in the fashionable St. Paul's district, Governor Swann's grand mansion was far from the squalor of Port Royal's docks and slums. There were several servants in Swann's employ, chief among them being the butler. At least two maids were known to work in the mansion, including Estrella, who cared for Elizabeth. Other servants included a footman, and a coachman who drove the governor's carriage. From their home, the residents could see the buildings in the town as well as the docks, harbors, and Fort Charles.

Around the time of James Norrington's promotion ceremony to commodore, Elizabeth woke up from a dream about the day she and Will Turner met as children, and Elizabeth took a "Aztec Gold pirate medallion" Will wore around his neck. On that day, Elizabeth was then visited by her father Governor Swann, who came into her bedroom to give her a gift—a dress with a corset that was considered "the latest fashion" in London. As the maids helped Elizabeth into her dress, the butler told Governor Swann of his visitor, Will Turner, now a blacksmith, who ceremonial sword for the ceremony.

The butler inside of the mansion.

Later that night, in Elizabeth's bedroom, Estrella removed a bed warmer from the fireplace and slid it between the sheets at the end of Elizabeth's bed as they briefly discussed the events of that day before the maid left the room. The Swann family's cozy world was turned upside down when the crew of the Black Pearl under the command of Captain Hector Barbossa launched an attack on Port Royal. Lured by the cursed gold medallion that Elizabeth wore around her neck, the pirates storm the governor's mansion.

Elizabeth stood on a balcony of the governor's mansion and stared at the terrible scene in front of her. Through the fog and smoke that filled the sky, she could make out the buildings in the town—or what was left of them. Fires raged all over the harbor and docks, illuminating the night with an unnatural glow. As Elizabeth watched from the mansion, cannons continued to boom from the Pearl, and from Fort Charles, the sound of heavy gunfire could be heard. Suddenly, the gate to the mansion was thrown open and pirates led by Pintel and Ragetti rushed into view. Elizabeth gasped, turning, and ran inside and headed toward the top of the stairs. Reaching the landing that looked out over the foyer, she saw the butler approaching the front door. Elizabeth started to shout but it was too late as the butler opened the door to be shot dead.

The mansion was devastated by cannonfire, and many of its valuables plundered by the cursed pirates. Of the servants, only Estrella was known to have escaped the attack, with the butler having been shot dead, and the other inhabitants of the mansion left to an uncertain fate. By the time Governor Swann returned to his wrecked home, his daughter was sailing from the port, a captive of Barbossa.

Within the following year, the Governor's mansion was a notable location during the War of Jolly Roger. Some time after the arrival of Lord Cutler Beckett and the East India Trading Company, the mansion was notably seen on the hillside as the merchant ship Edinburgh Trader was underway, leaving Port Royal.

Behind the scenes

"The Governor's Mansion" as it appears in Pirates of the Caribbean Online.

Governor Weatherby Swann's mansion first appeared in media relating to the 2003 film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. It was first unveiled through a preview for Pirates of the Caribbean reported in 2002, and later made its debut in the trailer for The Curse of the Black Pearl in 2003. The governor's mansion made its first full appearance in Irene Trimble's junior novelization. It was first identified as "The Governor's Palace" in the film's behind-the-scenes documentary "An Epic At Sea" originally included in the DVD release. It was also named "Governor Swann's grand mansion" in the 2006-2007 reference books Pirates of the Caribbean: The Visual Guide and The Complete Visual Guide. "The Governor's Mansion" was named in Pirates of the Caribbean Online, as well as the 2010 update of the official Pirates of the Caribbean website.

For The Curse of the Black Pearl, scenes in Fort Charles was built on a three-acre bluff on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, south of Los Angeles, on the site of Marineland, a one-time amusement park (near the Point Vicente Lighthouse seen in Pearl Harbor). The Governor's elaborate mansion was also built here, while the interior being a set at Raleigh Studios in Manhattan Beach, a little further north up the coast. Dining room, bedrooms, hallways, linen closet, a first and second floor foyer and staircase—which the crew promptly destroyed with cannon blasts.

Appearances

• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Missing Pirate
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003 junior novelization) (First appearance)
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2006 junior novelization)
  • Fluch der Karibik
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (comic)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow
• Breakout! (Mentioned only)
• Pirates of the Caribbean Online (First identified as Governor's Mansion)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Sources

• DisneyPirates.com
• An Epic At Sea: The Making of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (First identified as Governor's Palace)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Visual Guide (First identified as Governor Swann's grand mansion)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Complete Visual Guide