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A timeline of events as depicted and mentioned in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. A specific date for the placement of the first three films has not been given, though the film's scriptwriters, while making the first film, placed them in a "floating thirty-year environment" set in the 18th century, sometime around the 1720s to 1750s.[1] However, On Stranger Tides was said to be set in the year 1750[2][3] and the official comic book adaptation of Dead Men Tell No Tales shows the film's events are set in 1751. Those two dates also help to set the events of the first three films around 1728/1729 though that still has to be officially confirmed by The Walt Disney Company.

Known or estimated dates

1466

1474

1485

1497

1513

c.1519

1523

1547

  • Hernán Cortés died. However, his spirit remained in the Sword of Cortés, and would be unleashed by anyone who spoke an incantation over both the Sword and its scabbard.[7]

1576

1580

  • Island of Falaise de Fleur was colonised by the French. The colony was destroyed a few months later by the Spanish.

1590

c. 1600–1660

  • Davy Jones -4
    At an unknown date, a sailor named Davy Jones and the sea goddess Calypso fall in love with each other. Calypso rewarded that love by giving Jones captainy aboard the Flying Dutchman and the sacred task of ferrying souls who died at sea to the afterlife. Because of that love, Davy Jones agreed to set foot on dry land once every ten years; and if this love was true to him, his task would be complete, and a new captain of the Dutchman would be found. Jones would spend the following decade in this duty, at the end of which he could be reunited with Calypso for a single day.[8][9]
  • Ten years after pledging to serve as ferryman aboard the Dutchman, Davy Jones returns to land for one day to be with his love, Calypso. But whenever Davy Jones came ashore, Calypso was nowhere to be found. Around this time, the First Brethren Court convenes at Shipwreck Cove, where Davy Jones plotted with the Brethren. With his help, the Brethren bound Calypso into human form with the Nine Pieces of Eight, so that the rule of the seas would belong to men. These Pieces of Eight would be passed down through the generations as each Pirate Lord names his or her successor to the Court.[8][10]
  • Shortly after the First Court, Davy Jones' grief and guilt at what he had done became so great, he literally carved out his heart and locked it in the Dead Man's Chest, which he buried on Isla Cruces.[11] Refusing to continue his duty, Jones returned to the seven seas; only now sailors everywhere would fear him to the death. Because of this, Jones became cursed, in which he and his crew slowly transform into sea creatures the longer they serve aboard the Flying Dutchman.[9]

1600

1624

1630

c.End of 1630–1631

1661-1670

1673

1680

1682

1683

1684

1687

1688

  • Henry Morgan
    Henry Morgan was believed to have died because of liver failure in Port Royal. However, Morgan actually retreats to a remote island where he begins to study alchemy.[22]

1689

  • The Spanish dons attack and burn Don Rafael's estate, killing Esmeralda's parents. Don Rafael becomes a pirate, eventually rising to the position of a Pirate Lord of the Caribbean.[23]

1690

1695

1698

1699

c. 1700

1702

  • Jack is almost sold into servitude by Captain Lucille Graven when he is twelve years old.[33]

1703

1704

1705[37]

c. 1706[39]

1707

1708

Salazar orders

1709

1710

1711

1712

1713

1714

1715

1716

  • East India Trading Company employee Jack Sparrow refuses to transport a cargo of slaves for Cutler Beckett, so he sets them all free. In response, Beckett had Jack branded as a pirate and Jack's ship, the Wicked Wench, burned and sunk. Jack makes a deal with Davy Jones to raise the ship from the depths, allowing him to serve as Captain and to sail it for thirteen years before he must serve for a century aboard the Flying Dutchman. Jack renames his ship the Black Pearl.[50]
  • Jack Sparrow becomes the Pirate Lord of the Caribbean Sea.

1717

1718

  • Jack Sparrow, captain of the Black Pearl, shows up in Tortuga to recruit a crew to go after the Treasure of Cortés.[51] Three days into the voyage, Jack's First Mate, Hector Barbossa, leads a mutiny after Jack gives up the bearings to Isla de Muerta, and maroons Jack on a desert island.[52] Three days after his arrival, Jack barters passage off the island with a group of rumrunners.[5]
  • Captain Barbossa and the crew sail the Black Pearl to Isla de Muerta, where they find the treasure. After spending all the treasure, Barbossa's crew became cursed and set about returning all 882 pieces of the treasure.[5][52]
  • Bootstrap Bill Turner speaks out against the decision to mutiny against Jack and sent off his gold coin to his son, saying the crew deserved to remain cursed. Upon learning of Bootstrap Bill's actions, Barbossa has Turner strapped to a cannon, and sent to the bottom of the ocean. It is only after this point the crew learn they needed Turner's blood to lift the curse.[5][52] Bootstrap Bill began living out a tortured existence on the seabed, unable to die; until he eventually makes a bargain with Davy Jones, at an unknown time, agreeing to serve one hundred years aboard the Flying Dutchman.[11]
BlackbeardFacePortrait

An old drawing of Blackbeard

1720

Will Turner young

1721

1722

1726

1727

1728

  • James Norrington is promoted to the rank of Commodore. Jack Sparrow arrives in Port Royal prior to the Black Pearl's attack. Elizabeth Swann is kidnapped, and Will Turner recruits Jack to help save her. Jack assembles a crew at Tortuga, who set sail in the commandeered HMS Interceptor.[58][59]
  • During the voyage to Isla de Muerta, Jack and his crew sack the Earl King, with Jack and Will posing as members of the Royal Navy.[60]
  • Jack ultimately confronts Barbossa at Isla de Muerta. Turner lifts the curse, allowing Jack to kill Barbossa and his crew to be killed or captured by Norrington's men. Jack escapes a hanging with Will's help, and rejoins his crew. Will and Elizabeth pledge their love to one another. Jack the monkey takes a coin from the chest and becomes cursed once more.[5]
  • Will begins to train Elizabeth how to handle a sword.[11]

1729

  • One year after the battle of Isla de Muerta,[59] the marriage of Will and Elizabeth is interrupted by Lord Cutler Beckett, who arrests them both and takes control of Port Royal. Jack Sparrow escapes from the Turkish prison with a drawing of the key. Will sets off to obtain Jack's compass for Beckett, and Elizabeth later escapes prison to track him down. Ragetti and Pintel escape from Port Royal prison. Jack, Will and the rest of the crew seek Tia Dalma who tells them the history of Davy Jones and Calypso. Will is press-ganged aboard the Flying Dutchman, but escapes with the key. Jack arrives at Isla Cruces and unlocks the Dead Man's Chest, though Norrington later steals the heart. Jack and the Black Pearl are dragged down to Davy Jones' Locker by the Kraken. Norrington presents Beckett with the heart, and is reinstated as admiral. Davy Jones falls under Beckett's command.[61]
  • Maelstrom
    After about two months[62], the East India Trading Company calls a state of emergency, and carries out mass hangings at Fort Charles. While the Flying Dutchman, sailing under the Company, becomes the scourge of pirates in the Caribbean. Meanwhile, Jack Sparrow's crew, now under Barbossa's command, sail to reach World's End and rescue Jack Sparrow in Davy Jones' Locker. Sao Feng is killed onboard the Empress, and names Elizabeth Swann as Pirate Lord in his stead. James Norrington dies protecting Elizabeth as she escapes from the Flying Dutchman. The Fourth Brethren Court was called by Barbossa, convening as the EITC were advancing with an armada to destroy the world of pirates. Barbossa was eager to release Calypso, while Jack was eager to declare an act of war against the EITC, after which Elizabeth Swann was elected as the new Pirate King. Calypso is released from her human form and forms a maelstrom, where a battle raged at the center of it. During the battle, Will Turner and Elizabeth are wed by Barbossa, while Jack fights Davy Jones for the Dead Man's Chest. Jones is killed by a dying Will Turner, who replaces him as captain of the Dutchman, and Cutler Beckett dies aboard the Endeavour.[9]
  • After the battle with Beckett and the EITC, Will and Elizabeth spend their one day together before Will begins his duty aboard the Dutchman, and conceive a child. Barbossa steals the Black Pearl, Gibbs stays in Tortuga, and Jack Sparrow steals the navigational charts and begins the search for the Fountain of Youth.[9]

1730

1732

1739

  • August - Elizabeth Swann and her son Henry await the return of Will Turner. It is believed that because Will has carried out his duty for the past decade, and Elizabeth remain faithful, Will's curse is broken and he is freed from service.[65] However, Will Turner returns to his wife and son for just one day before returning to his duty.[66]

1741

1742

Will & Henry

A cursed Will Turner with his son Henry aboard the Flying Dutchman.

  • A twelve-year-old Henry Turner attempts to drown himself in order to see his father, Will Turner, aboard the Flying Dutchman. Now cursed, Will tries to tell Henry to go back home to his mother, while Henry tells his father about the Trident of Poseidon being the treasure with the power that may free him from the Dutchman and break his curse. Although Will resigns to his fate and tells Henry to forget him, Henry begins his search for the Trident.[68]

1746

1749

  • Carina Smyth sneaks into a university disguised as a man to attend a discourse about planetary satellites. Her ruse is discovered and she has to escape, causing a riot.[71]

1750

1751

Dates in relation to The Curse of the Black Pearl

c.-60y

c.-50y

c.-35y

c.-15y

c.-12y

c. -10y

-8y[54]

c.0y[83]

Unknown placements

See also

Notes and references

  1. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl production notes, pg. 23.
  2. 2.0 2.1 It was revealed that On Stranger Tides takes place in 1750. However, the exact time that had passed between At World's End and On Stranger Tides has yet to be revealed. All is known is that it takes place several years after At World's End, according to the film's visual guide: The quest for the Fountain of Youth began several years back after a pirate showdown with the East India Company..
  3. "The idea was to take the Pirates of the Caribbean world a few steps beyond, with our new characters engaged in a thrilling and sometimes hilarious search for the fabled Fountain of Youth that takes them from the teaming streets of mid-18th century London to mysterious and dangerous ships and islands inhabited by zombies and mermaids." - Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides: The Visual Guide Foreword by Jerry Bruckheimer
  4. 4.0 4.1 Jack Sparrow: The Coming Storm
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
  6. The Mao Kun Map had to be created between Ponce de Leon's discovery of the Fountain of Youth and the disappearance of the Santiago.
  7. 7.0 7.1 Jack Sparrow: The Pirate Chase
  8. 8.0 8.1 Story of Davy Jones and Calypso
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
  10. 10.0 10.1 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Pirates' Guidelines
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 11.7 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
  12. Estimation based on the Sins of the Father, Chapter One, where Grandmama is described as 82 years old. The narration there indicates that Jack run away from home not long before he met Arabella, which is further supported by the words "one of the first things Jack did upon securing his freedom was find a boat", specifically the Barnacle, from the same chapter and by the The Coming Storm, Chapter Two, where it is stated that Jack was new to Tortuga as he didn't know that place at all yet.
  13. 13.0 13.1 Pirates of the Caribbean (video game)
  14. Estimation based on Morgan's historical lifetime and his pirate career.
  15. DisneyShawn: Tortuga Tale
  16. In a possible backstory, at some point after the Jack Sparrow series, Arabella Smith returned to Tortuga to take over as the owner and operator of the Faithful Bride, which would be renamed "Tortuga Tavern". The Tortuga Tavern sign says that the tavern was established in 1673. However, the canonicity of the story is unknown.
  17. The Price of Freedom, Chapter Four, Cutler Beckett. Jane was five years older than Cutler Beckett.
  18. Bring Me That Horizon: The Making of Pirates of the Caribbean, p. 26
  19. The Price of Freedom Chapter Three, Doña Pirata
  20. The Price of Freedom, Chapter Two, Lady Esmeralda. Esmeralda is six years older than Jack Sparrow.
  21. The Price of Freedom, Chapter Eleven, Pirates and Rogues. Beckett was eighteen when he was captured by the pirate crew of Christophe-Julien de Rapièr.
  22. Pirates of the Caribbean: Legends of the Brethren Court
  23. The Price of Freedom, Chapter 3, Doña Pirata - Esmeralda's parents were killed when she was five.
  24. In Pirates of the Caribbean: The Price of Freedom Jack was 25 when Cutler Beckett gave him command of the Wicked Wench. One year later Beckett burned the Wench and Jack made a deal with Davy Jones who raised the Wench in exchange for Jack's soul. When Jones came to collect his debt thirteen years later Jack was 39. The events of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales are set approximately 22 years after the War Against Piracy in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, as evidenced by Henry Turner who was 21 during the Quest for the Trident of Poseidon and who was born nine months after the battle of Calypso's maelstrom which makes a 22-years gap between the two events, making Jack 61 in Dead Men Tell No Tales. The comic book adaptation of Dead Men Tell No Tales sets the events of the film in 1751, which sets Jack's birth in 1690.
  25. The Price of Freedom, Chapter One. Greene is five years younger than Jack Sparrow.
  26. The Price of Freedom, Chapter Two, Lady Esmeralda. The book was published fifteen years before the young Jack Sparrow was reunited with Esmeralda Maria Consuela Anna de Sevilla on Shipwreck Island.
  27. That happened approximately 10-11 years before Arabella joins Jack in his search for the Sword of Cortés, as stated by Arabella in the novel Jack Sparrow: Silver, Chapter Three.
  28. The inscription on the map in the Chart House says "Cartographer services & Sales. Est. 1698."
  29. Estimation based on Chapter One and Chapter Six of Sins of the Father.
  30. The Price of Freedom, Chapter Two, Lady Esmeralda. Jack Sparrow was nine years old when he met Esmeralda.
  31. The Captain Jack Sparrow Handbook, p. 15
  32. Estimation based on Jack Davenport's age during the filming of Jack Sparrow: Sins of the Father, p. 100 - James Norrington is approximately ten years younger than Jack Sparrow.
  33. Sins of the Father, Chapter One.
  34. The Price of Freedom, Chapter Seven, Lost and Found. John was twelve when Jack Sparrow captain the Wicked Wench for Cutler Beckett.
  35. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Visual Guide, p. 15: "Port Royal"
  36. Jack Sparrow: The Age of Bronze Tumen was kidnapped two years before he joined the crew of the Barnacle.
  37. Torrents starts his search for the Sword of Cortés one year before Jack steals the scabbard from him. See 1725.
  38. The Price of Freedom, Chapter Four, Cutler Beckett. Beckett was saved from pirates ten years before he met Jack Sparrow in Calabar.
  39. Estimation based on Jack Sparrow's age in The Price of Freedom. Jack is 25 years old in The Price of Freedom and 15 or 16 in the book series.
  40. Jack Sparrow and Arabella Smith are stated to be a "couple years" older than 13-year-old Tumen and Jean Magliore.
  41. Jack Sparrow: The Siren Song
  42. Jack Sparrow: The Sword of Cortés
  43. In an interview for Empire Magazine Jerry Bruckheimer revealed that Jack Sparrow was 18 when he trapped Salazar in the Devil's Triangle.
  44. 44.0 44.1 Irene Tremble's Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl junior novelization
  45. Zizzle.com: Dead Man's Chest "Heroes and Villains" series 1
  46. The Price of Freedom, Chapter Four, Cutler Beckett. Beckett was station in Nippon for three years before he was moved to Calabar.
  47. The Price of Freedom, Chapter 11, Pirates and Rogues - Christophe killed Don Rafael two years after Jack Sparrow left Shipwreck Island.
  48. The Price of Freedom Chapter Two. The meeting occurred two years before the Attack on the Fair Wind.
  49. The Price of Freedom Chapter Four. Jack Sparrow was twenty five years old when Cutler Beckett promoted him to the rank of a captain.
  50. 50.0 50.1 The Price of Freedom
  51. James "Jim" Carson's calendar of Henry Turner's waiting for Will Turner's return from Dead Men Tell No Tales sets the main events of The Curse of the Black Pearl in 1728. The mutiny occurs ten years prior to the main action of The Curse of the Black Pearl as evidenced by Barbossa's line to Jack Sparrow: "Ten years you carry that pistol, and now you waste your shot."
  52. 52.0 52.1 52.2 52.3 52.4 The Curse of the Black Pearl Audio Commentary with Screenwriters Stuart Beattie, Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio and Jay Wolpert
  53. Quote about the incident shows that Blackbeard's death never happened and it was just a legend, "And what of you? The mighty Blackbeard. Beheaded, they say. Still, your body swam three times around your ship and climbed back onboard."
  54. 54.0 54.1 "I recognize this ship, I saw it eight years ago on the crossing from England" - Elizabeth Swann on the Black Pearl (The Curse of the Black Pearl)
  55. James "Jim" Carson's calendar of Henry Turner's waiting for Will Turner's return from Dead Men Tell No Tales sets the events of The Curse of the Black Pearl in 1728. Elizabeth Swann's line in the film sets the journey eight years earlier.
  56. The Buccaneer's Heart!
  57. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (video game)
  58. James "Jim" Carson's calendar of Henry Turner's waiting for Will Turner's return from Dead Men Tell No Tales shows that Will Turner's first visit to his family after ten years of captaining the Flying Dutchman, which is shown in the after credits scene of At World's End, occurred in August 1739, which means the War against piracy occurred in 1729. Dead Man's Chest reveals that the events of The Curse of the Black Pearl took place one year earlier.
  59. 59.0 59.1 Dead Man's Chest takes place a year after The Curse of the Black Pearl as evidenced by Jack Sparrow's line about being captain of the Black Pearl for only "two years" before the mutiny, which was ten years before the first film. Davy Jones confirms their deal occurred thirteen years prior to DMC, leaving another year to account for the time between films.
  60. The Accidental Pirate!
  61. James "Jim" Carson's calendar of Henry Turner's waiting for Will Turner's return from Dead Men Tell No Tales shows that Will Turner's first visit to his family after ten years of captaining the Flying Dutchman, which is shown in the after credits scene of At World's End, occurred in August 1739, which means the Battle of Calypso's maelstrom occurred in August 1729. At World's End and its tie-in materials reveal the War Against Piracy lasted a few months, setting the events of Dead Man's Chest and At World's End in 1729.
  62. One of the original POTC sites stated that At World's End took place about two months after Dead Man's Chest. The At World's End novelization also reveals that at the moment of the destruction of the pirate fleet Weatherby Swann was searching for Elizabeth Swann for months.
  63. Lewis McGowan, who played Henry Turner in the opening scene of Dead Men Tell No Tales, was officially credited as "Henry Turner (12 yrs old)". The film's official novelization also confirms that Henry was twelve-years-old in that scene. The film and its comic book adaptation set the main story nine years after the opening scene, making Henry twenty-one in the rest of the film. The comic book sets the main events of the film in 1751 which sets Henry's birth in 1730.
  64. The Brightest Star in the North: The Adventures of Carina Smyth, p. 230 Barbossa left Carina in an orphanage nineteen years before the Battle of Poseidon's Tomb. The comic book adaptation of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales sets the events of the film in 1751, which sets Carina's birth in 1732.
  65. Wordplay Forums: Pretty close …, posted by Terry Rossio (May 23, 2007)
  66. James "Jim" Carson's calendar of Henry Turner's waiting for Will's return from Dead Men Tell No Tales shows that Will's first visit to his family after ten years of captaining the Flying Dutchman, which is shown in the after credits scene of At World's End, occurred in August 1739.
  67. The Brightest Star in the North: The Adventures of Carina Smyth, p. 65 The theft attempt happened five years before Carina moved from the orphanage to Hanover Hall.
  68. Lewis McGowan, who played Henry Turner in the opening scene of Dead Men Tell No Tales, was officially credited as "Henry Turner (12 yrs old)". The film's official novelization also confirms that Henry was twelve-years-old in that scene. The film and its comic book adaptation set the main story nine years after the opening scene, making Henry twenty-one in the rest of the film. The comic book sets the main events of the film in 1751 which sets Henry's birth in 1730, which means he was twelve in 1742.
  69. In Dead Men Tell No Tales, its official novelization, and the prequel novel The Brightest Star in the North: The Adventures of Carina Smyth Hector Barbossa reveals that the Black Pearl was captured "five winters" before the Quest for the Trident of Poseidon. The Dead Men Tell No Tales comic book sets the main events of the film in 1751 which sets this battle in 1746.
  70. The Brightest Star in the North: The Adventures of Carina Smyth, p. 65 Carina was fourteen when she moved to Hanover Hall.
  71. The Brightest Star in the North: The Adventures of Carina Smyth, p. 122 The riot occurred a year before Carina was eighteen.
  72. In the previous movies, there seemed to be quite a wide range in terms of historical accuracy, and I think they did, 'as long as it made sense, find out what's the most fun thing to use.' We picked a date of 1750, we all got together in a room, and said, 'right, let's have a date we can pick and choose from, so we said 1750… and if it was a bit earlier, or just a hair later, maybe we'd do what was most fun for the storytelling, but we're in that range, we're saying mid-1700s. - John Myhre
  73. The Brightest Star in the North: The Adventures of Carina Smyth, p. 131 Carina decided to leave when she was nearly nineteen years old.
  74. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales: Movie Graphic Novel
  75. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
  76. The Price of Freedom Chapter Two Barbossa was in his early forties when Jack Sparrow was twenty years old.
  77. "There's not been a gathering like this in our lifetime." - Barbossa on the Fourth Brethren Court.
  78. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End Estimation based on Keith Richards' age during the filming of AWE.
  79. The Price of Freedom Chapter One Christophe is ten years older than Jack Sparrow.
  80. Estimation based on Penélope Cruz's age during the filming of On Stranger Tides.
  81. http://www.oxmonline.com/article/previews/m-r/pirates-caribbean-armada-damned?page=0%2C1
  82. 82.0 82.1 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Visual Guide, p. 38 "A Motley Crew"
  83. It is unknown when most of these events took place, whether it was in the same year Curse of the Black Pearl took place or the year Dead Man's Chest took place.
  84. Revenge of the Pirates!
  85. "That was before I met him, back when he was captain of the Black Pearl." - Joshamee Gibbs. The Visual Guide also states Gibbs and Jack were old pirate friends, and Gibbs later left to join the Navy.
  86. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides: The Visual Guide, pp. 10-11: "Joshamee Gibbs"
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