Pirates of the Caribbean Wiki

READ MORE

Pirates of the Caribbean Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Pirates of the Caribbean Wiki

"The situation was grim. The not-very-often heroic Will Turner had handed himself over as Barbossa's prisoner. While I was marooned once again on Rum Island, this time with the lady Elizabeth at me side, which improved the view dramatically. Nevertheless, we've no hope of escape."
Jack Sparrow[src]

Rumrunner's Isle, also known as Black Sam's Spit or Rum Island, was a small desert island in the Caribbean Sea, in relative proximity to Isla de Muerta, and located northwest of Tortuga. Rumrunners used the spit of land as a cache, and Jack Sparrow was marooned on the island following the first mutiny on the Black Pearl by Captain Hector Barbossa.

History[]

First visit[]

"Last time I was here a grand total of three days, all right? Last time...the rumrunners used this island as a cache. They came by and I was able to barter passage off. From the looks of things, they've long been out of business. You probably have your bloody friend Norrington to thank for that."
Jack Sparrow to Elizabeth Swann[src]
18024-5-large

Jack Sparrow and Elizabeth Swann on Rumrunner's Isle.

During their voyage to Isla de Muerta, the crew of the Black Pearl staged a mutiny, led by Hector Barbossa, against Jack Sparrow. They then marooned Jack on the island and left him for dead, but Jack later escaped.[1]

In order to improve his own mystique and legend, Jack Sparrow fabricated numerous elaborate stories about his escape from Black Sam's Spit, most famously that he had roped together two sea turtles (using hair from his back as rope) to fashion an impromptu raft. In actuality, Sparrow had simply resigned himself to his fate, discovered the rumrunners' cache and spent three days lying on the beach drinking rum. The rumrunners then arrived and he was able to barter passage off the island.[1]

Second visit[]

"'Must've been terrible for you to be trapped here, Jack. Must've been terrible for you—' Well, it bloody is now!"
Jack Sparrow after Elizabeth Swann burned all of the rum supply.[src]
Jack Rumrunners Isle COTBP

Jack Sparrow after Elizabeth Swann burned his rum supply.

Jack was later marooned on Rumrunner's Isle by Barbossa once more, along with Elizabeth Swann, some ten years after his first, legendary escape, following the destruction of the HMS Interceptor. By now, the rumrunners had long abandoned their cache, possibly due to James Norrington's efforts to eradicate piracy in the Caribbean. As Jack had no plan of escape, Elizabeth took matters into her own hands, and burned the remaining rum and food on the island, along with several trees, to create a smoke signal one thousand feet high. The plume was spotted by the crew of the HMS Dauntless, and the two were quickly rescued.[1] It's unknown if Rumrunner's Isle was ever visited again, but a map to the rum locker was drawn amongst the pages of the Pirata Codex.[3]

Behind the scenes[]

Rumrunner's beach

The beach of Rumrunner's Isle.

"Sam, who works upstairs at Disney, is a huge PIRATES fan, so when we were asked to put a name to the tiny sandy island where Jack and Elizabeth are marooned, we called it 'Black Sam's Spit.' Sam was delighted, and then a year or so later, she sent Susan this sweet e-mail: 'Will you thank you guys for me? You have all made me something of an unknown immortal. In the new Monopoly game, there is a card about the marooning titled 'Black Sam's Spit'. I may just swoon.'"
Terry Rossio[src]

Appearances[]

Sources[]

Notes and references[]

Advertisement