- "Means shall be arranged to transport this prisoner to the Tower of London!"
- ―Bailiff concerning Joshamee Gibbs
The Tower of London was a fortress and a castle in the city of London, England. An Execution Dock, consisting of a scaffold for hanging, was located within the area where it was used to execute pirates, smugglers and mutineers that had been sentenced to death. Joshamee Gibbs was a notable prisoner that was prepared to hang by Hector Barbossa, a reformed pirate-turned-privateer.
History[]
- "I'm on a tight schedule, Gibbs. The HMS Providence sets sail at first light, and if you do not care to watch it hanging here dead with a mouthful of flies...speak now."
- ―Hector Barbossa and Joshamee Gibbs
Since it was built, the Tower was used for many different purposes, including housing the Royal Treasury, but it most notably served as a prison. Henry Morgan was imprisoned in the Tower in 1672 when he broke the peace between England and Spain by attacking Panama City. In 1750, Joshamee Gibbs was sentenced by Jack Sparrow, disguised as Justice Smith, to life imprisonment in the Tower, but Gibbs managed to escape that fate when Sparrow bribed the carriage transport driver to take him and Gibbs to shore. However, they were soon captured by the Royal Guard.[1]
While Jack was taken to St. James' Palace for an audience with King George II, Gibbs was taken to the Tower with a death sentence. Gibbs' hanging was to take place in the Tower's execution courtyard,[2] with the King's most trusted privateer, the former pirate Hector Barbossa, presiding over it. It was here that Barbossa threatened to hang Gibbs if he did not reveal the whereabouts of Jack Sparrow, who escaped his meeting with the King. After Gibbs burned a map that Barbossa needed, Barbossa recruited him as a navigator on the HMS Providence.[1]
Behind the scenes[]
- "No pirate would sail to London, for fear of Execution Dock."
- ―Elizabeth Swann to Will Turner
- The scene at the Tower of London and Execution Dock were filmed in the outer walls of 15th-century Knole House in Sevenoaks, Kent in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.[3]
- Execution Dock was first mentioned in Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio's early screenplay draft for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. It was spoken by Elizabeth Swann to Will Turner as a reason why the Aztec Gold medallion was sent to Will, because no pirate would sail to London for fear of Execution Dock.[4]
- Simon McGuire's concept artwork for the Execution Dock was based upon a site at Hampton Court Palace, which was originally selected as the location for the scene between Hector Barbossa and Joshamee Gibbs in On Stranger Tides. However, due to the Thameside look director Rob Marshall desired, the Hampton Court Palace location was not used for this scene, but instead, used for the scene where Jack Sparrow was captured by the Royal Guards at St. James's Palace. Instead, the outer walls of 15th-century Knole House in Sevenoaks, Kent, were chosen as the final location, as shown by a sketch by Temple Clark. This selection took place at nearly the last moment, following the rejection of two previous sites that proved unusable for production needs.[3]
- In Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio's screenplay for On Stranger Tides, "Execution Dock" was the name given to the location where Barbossa threatened Gibbs.[5] The name was retained in the book The Art of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.[3] However, in the film's junior novelization, it was described as the execution yard at the Tower of London.[2] While the film's tie-in materials imply Execution Dock as part of the Tower of London, both locations were never truly explored onscreen.
- In real-world history, the Tower of London and Execution Dock were separate locations.
- In LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game, instead of the Tower of London and Execution Dock, the scene with Barbossa and Gibbs took place somewhere in the streets of London.
Appearances[]
- Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
- Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (junior novelization) (First appearance) (First identified as Tower of London)
Sources[]
- The Art of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (First identified as Execution Dock)
External links[]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (junior novelization), p. 39
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 The Art of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
- ↑ Wordplayer.com: PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL by Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio
- ↑ Wordplayer.com: PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES by Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio