Barbossa's fleet

Barbossa's fleet
General information
Founder	Hector Barbossa
Leader	Hector Barbossa At least 9 pirate captains
Notable members	Mullroy Murtogg Pirate with Broom At least 10 pirate crews
Ships	Queen Anne's Revenge Red Dragon Jaunty Lark Golden Pheasant Rising Phoenix At least 5 pirate ships
Behind the scenes
First appearance	Dead Men Tell No Tales
Last appearance	Dead Men Tell No Tales
Cause	Destruction of the fleet

"The pirate Barbossa rules these seas now. Has ten ships. Guns full."
"Not to mention his cannon balls. Eighteen pounds each they say."

―Pike and Cremble to Jack Sparrow

Barbossa's fleet was a fleet of ten pirate ships led by Captain Hector Barbossa. During a brief period of time between 1750 and 1751, after becoming captain of the Queen Anne's Revenge, Barbossa had taken over the pirate world. He no longer had just one ship and a pirate crew, he had a fleet with crews. Barbossa's name was whispered with fear in ports across the Caribbean, and when his Jolly Roger was spotted at sea, pirates and soldiers alike knew it was only a matter of time before they were conquered in a round of pillaging and plundering. With the Revenge as Barbossa's command ship, the fleet ruled the seas of the New World. The fleet was destroyed by the cursed Captain Armando Salazar and his ghost ship the Silent Mary.

History

An idea

"You order your men to row out to the Dauntless; they do what they do best. Robert's your uncle, Fanny's your aunt, there you are with two ships. The makings of your very own fleet. You'll take the grandest as your flagship, and who's to argue?"

―Jack Sparrow to Hector Barbossa

The first idea about making his own pirate fleet came to Hector Barbossa from his hated enemy, Captain Jack Sparrow. Shortly before the battle of Isla de Muerta, Sparrow came to the treasure cave on the Island of the dead to make a deal with his treacherous former first mate. Sparrow informed Barbossa and his men about the HMS Dauntless, the pride of the British Royal Navy, floating off the coast of the dreaded isle, waiting for the pirates to come out. However, since the pirates were cursed by the Treasure of Cortés and therefore immortal, Sparrow proposed to them to kill the British and take their ship for their own. With two ships Barbossa could start making his own fleet, with the Dauntless serving as Barbossa's flagship and the Black Pearl under the command of Jack Sparrow, who would sail under Barbossa's colours and give him twenty-five percent of his plunder, and Barbossa could start introducing himself as Commodore Barbossa. Even though Barbossa agreed with Jack's plan, the entire idea turned out to be just another of Sparrow's schemes which he used to send the majority of Barbossa's crew out of the cave. In the battle that followed Sparrow fought and killed Barbossa, showing that he never actually intended to serve Barbossa.

Gaining rule of the seas

"All hands! Ply to windward! Get cracking, ye blooming cockroaches! The Crown served me well. But now, by the gods of sea and sky...make way for Tortuga!"

―Hector Barbossa

Years later, after the vile pirate returned from the dead, Hector Barbossa survived once again having lost the Black Pearl and his right leg in an attack by the infamous pirate Blackbeard. Barbossa became a reformed pirate and privateer, now sporting a peg leg and claiming to owe his allegiance to King George Augustus, but revenge on Blackbeard was Barbossa's true goal. After fatally wounding Blackbeard in the battle of the Fountain of Youth in 1750, Barbossa claimed the Queen Anne's Revenge, the ship's crew, and the Sword of Triton as payment for his missing limb.

Hector Barbossa had taken over the pirate world as the new captain of the Queen Anne's Revenge, which served as his command ship. Presumably using the power embedded within the Sword of Triton, Captain Barbossa finally fulfilled his old desire to live the life of a rich rogue and assembled a pirate fleet of at least ten ships. He no longer had just one boat; he had a fleet. He no longer had just a crew; he had crews. His name was whispered with fear in ports across the Caribbean, and when his Jolly Roger was spotted at sea, pirates and soldiers alike knew it was only a matter of time before they were conquered. His flagship became the terror of the Seven Seas, pillaging the wealthy trade ships and filling the holds of the Revenge with treasures beyond most men's wildest dreams. Barbossa surrounded himself with riches, dressing himself in finest uniforms he could steal, and even replaced his wooden peg leg with one made of gold. He seemed to do this for his men as well, because they all wore fine, elegant clothing.

End of the fleet

The Silent Mary destroys a part of Barbossa's fleet.

"The entire fleet is being sunk. And we'll soon be dead."
"And quite possibly out of business."

―Mullroy and Murtogg to Hector Barbossa

In 1751, the accursed Spanish pirate hunter Capitán Armando Salazar was released from the Devil's Triangle, and he decided to continue with his anti-piracy campaign. He first attacked the Red Dragon, and crushed it, leaving one survivor to tell the tale. In the next few hours, he destroyed three more ships: the Jaunty Lark, the Golden Pheasant, and the Rising Phoenix, but left a survivor in all three. In just a few days he destroyed all ships belonging to the fleet with the exception of the Queen Anne's Revenge. Later, after Barbossa learned of the destruction of his fleet, he sailed in search of Salazar and his undead crew. When he found them, the ghosts jumped aboard, and while Barbossa and Salazar were making a deal, Salazar had his crew killed at least eight pirates from Barbossa's crew. The Queen Anne's Revenge was abandoned, as the ghosts forced the pirates aboard their own ship.

Behind the scenes

"Barbossa has become extremely wealthy. He's got more money than he can deal with and he's not a guy of high taste. He's running a very big empire, maybe 10 or 12 ships, so he's the kingpin. That gets challenged by a surprise visitor and his quest in the film is to take this guy out."

―Geoffrey Rush

• Barbossa's fleet first appeared in the novelization for the 2017 film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.
• The name "Barbossa's fleet" was taken from the Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales: Movie Graphic Novel, in which the Queen Anne's Revenge was described as the command ship of Barbossa's fleet. It was also likely taken from Jack Sparrow's line to Hector Barbossa in The Curse of the Black Pearl, "The makings of your very own fleet." In the Dead Men Tell No Tales, Mullroy warned Barbossa about Captain Armando Salazar and that the "entire fleet is being sunk."
• According to Geoffrey Rush, when offering some insight into Barbossa's circumstances in Dead Men Tell No Tales, Barbossa had "10 or 12 ships" in his empire. However, it is likely Rush was just estimating as mentioned ten ships in later promotional interviews, further stated within dialogue featured in the film saying that Barbossa had ten ships.
• Pike and Cremble's conversation about Barbossa's ships, guns, and cannonballs in Dead Men Tell No Tales was adapted from Jeff Nathanson's earlier script drafts where two unnamed pirates in Jack Sparrow's crew discussed the possibility of being hired by the pirate William Kidd.

Appearances

• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (First mentioned)
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003 junior novelization) (Mentioned only)
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003 junior novelization) (Mentioned only)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales Novelization (First appearance)
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales: Movie Graphic Novel (First identified as Barbossa's fleet)