- "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
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
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.
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[]
- "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
- For filming Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, scenes on the abandoned island where Jack Sparrow and Elizabeth Swann were left by Captain Barbossa were filmed on Petit Tabac, one of the outer islands of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.[4]
- While the island was never named onscreen, it was given several names behind the scenes or in other media:
- Terry Rossio, one of the writers of the The Curse of the Black Pearl, revealed that "Black Sam's Spit" was the proposed name of the island. According to a post on Wordplay, they were asked to put a name to the "tiny sandy island" and named it for Sam, a huge Pirates fan who "works upstairs at Disney." According to Rossio, Sam was delighted, and then a year or so later, she sent 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."[5] The name "Black Sam's Spit" was later used for the Pirates of the Caribbean Monopoly game.[5][6]
- Jack Sparrow called the island "Rum Island" in the 2006 video game Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow.
- The name "Rumrunner's Isle" was mostly used in the 2007 online game Pirates of the Caribbean Online,[2] Pirates of the Caribbean Annual 2008, and a version of the official Pirates of the Caribbean website updated prior to the release of On Stranger Tides. After the closing of Pirates Online "Rumrunner's Isle" would continued to be used in the fan-made recreation, The Legend of Pirates Online.
- In the non-canonical LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game, the island was called the "Smuggler's Den".
- Pirates of the Caribbean: The Visual Guide and The Complete Visual Guide misuse a promotional image of the island for the background on the first page about Port Royal.[7]
- In the non-canonical Disney Adventures comic book The Buccaneer's Heart!, the Cursed crew, led by Bo'sun, commandeers the HMS Dauntless, but they were later defeated by the ghosts of Blackbeard, Mary Reade, Henry Morgan, and Bartholomew Roberts. Jack Sparrow later marooned them on the very island they twice left him to die.[8]
- In the non-canonical LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game a ship similar to the Black Pearl lies half sunken off the coast of the island. The rum cellar leads to large caves beneath the island.
Appearances[]
- Jack Sparrow: Silver (Mentioned only) (First identified as Rumrunner's Island)
- Jack Sparrow: Sins of the Father (Mentioned only)
- Legends of the Brethren Court: Wild Waters (Mentioned only)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (video game)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
- Mysterious Light
- Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow (First identified as Rum Island)
- The Buccaneer's Heart! (Non-canonical appearance)
- Pirates of the Caribbean Online (First identified as Rumrunner's Isle)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (video game)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Tides of War (Mentioned only)
- LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game (Non-canonical appearance) (First identified as Smuggler's Den)
Sources[]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Pirates of the Caribbean Online
- ↑ Masters of Design: The Code Book
- ↑ Pirates of the Carribean presskit, accessed Dec 9, 2006
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Wordplay: Nine Pieces of Eight
- ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean Monopoly
- ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean: The Complete Visual Guide, pp. 16-17 "Port Royal"
- ↑ The Buccaneer's Heart!