East India Trading Company Armada

East India Trading Company Armada
General information
Leader	Cutler Beckett
Notable members	James Norrington Davy Jones Ian Mercer Theodore Groves Mullroy Murtogg Numerous EITC soldiers
Ships	Flying Dutchman HMS Endeavour HMS Raven HMS Diamond About 296 more ships
Head­quarters	Port Royal
Locations	Caribbean
Other information
Affiliation	East India Trading Company British Royal Navy
Behind the scenes
First appearance	At World's End
Last appearance	At World's End
Cause	Disbanded

"There's nothing can hold against the armada, not with the Flying Dutchman at the lead."

―Ian Mercer to Cutler Beckett

The East India Trading Company Armada, was a naval fleet of over three hundred East India Trading Company ships that banded together with the aim of eradicating piracy across the Seven Seas. It was sometimes referred to as Beckett's Armada or Beckett's fleet, named for the armada's founder and commander, Lord Cutler Beckett.

Led by the Flying Dutchman, the armada met with the fleet of the Fourth Brethren Court outside of Shipwreck Island, where they would fight each other. Almost all the ships in the armada didn't take part in the following battle, save for the Flying Dutchman and the HMS Endeavour, though the Dutchman would later switch sides. This event led the armada to retreat and later disbanded.

History

Founding

Lord Cutler Beckett and the fleet.

Under Lord Cutler Beckett, the East India Trading Company built itself a sizable naval presence in the Caribbean, bolstered by Royal Marines and ships serving escort duty for the Company's merchant vessels. Beckett commanded his marine forces from the flagship, the HMS Endeavour, which transported him to Port Royal at the start of his tenure in the Caribbean Sea.

War Against Piracy

Battle

"The enemy...has opted for oblivion. Ready the fleet."
"To your stations!"

―Cutler Beckett and Theodore Groves

After Lord Beckett had gained control of Davy Jones and the Flying Dutchman, his armada began to grow with each of its many conquests. By the time the Pirate Lords of the Brethren Court declared to go to war with the EITC, Beckett's Armada had a strength of over three hundred vessels,, all manner of sizes, all heavily armed and read for battle, numerically outmatching the Brethren's fleet gathered for the fight. With the supernatural Flying Dutchman at its head, the armada was given an even greater tactical advantage than the pirates.

The HMS Endeavour, the Armada's flagship.

However, despite the armada's numerical advantage, Beckett didn't send the entire armada out at once to overwhelm the Brethren. Instead, only the armada's strongest ships, the Dutchman and the HMS Endeavour went out to do battle with the pirates' flagship, the Black Pearl. This reckless action lead to the conversion of the Dutchman to the Pirates when Davy Jones was killed in the titanic battle.

Defeat

"They're turning away!"

―Marty

Following the defeat of the Flying Dutchman, the Endeavour alone went out to face the Black Pearl. Before the Endeavour could attack, the Flying Dutchman resurfaced, now under the command of Will Turner. Caught completely by surprise, Beckett failed to react in time and the two pirate ships performed a dual broadside of the Endeavour. While at least some of the crew were able to abandon ship, including Theodore Groves, Beckett remained on board and was killed when the Endeavour was destroyed by the Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman.

Though the armada still had nearly three hundred ships and greatly outnumbered the Brethren fleet, the destruction of the Endeavour and the death of Cutler Beckett left the armada without strong leadership and demoralized, along with the threat of facing the invincible Flying Dutchman. The armada turned and ran from the pirate fleet without a further fight and was subsequently disbanded.

The Flying Dutchman, leading the Armada into battle

Known ships

"Where's the profit in killing Jones when instead we could add another ship to your fleet?"

―Cutler Beckett to James Norrington

• Flying Dutchman
• HMS Endeavour
• HMS Raven
• HMS Diamond
• About 296 more ships

Behind the scenes

• The name "East India Trading Company Armada" came from one of the previous versions of the official POTC website as well as the Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End production notes and the book Bring Me That Horizon: The Making of Pirates of the Caribbean. It was mainly referred to as "Beckett's Armada" or simply the "Armada" in several At World's End-related material. In the At World's End junior novel, "Beckett's fleet" was used to describe the armada.
• Though the approximate number of ships in EITC Armada hadn't been revealed in At World's End, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Complete Visual Guide revealed that Beckett's Armada consisted of at least three hundred vessels.
• In Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio's original screenplay draft for At World's End, the EITC Armada was mainly composed of merchant vessels and warships of other countries that were captured by the Flying Dutchman under the command of James Norrington.

Appearances

• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (junior novelization) (First appearance) (First identified as Beckett's fleet)
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (comic)
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End: The Movie Storybook
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Penguin Readers)
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (video game)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Tides of War (Mentioned in flashback(s))
• LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game (Non-canonical appearance)
• Kingdom Hearts III (Non-canonical appearance)

Sources

• Bring Me That Horizon: The Making of Pirates of the Caribbean (First identified as East India Trading Company Armada)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Complete Visual Guide (First identified as Beckett's Armada)