General information
Location	Caribbean Sea
Notable inhabitants	Jack Sparrow Elizabeth Swann Bastien Craven
Societal
Population	Cursed Crabs Cursed Wasps
Affiliation	Black Sam Rumrunners Smugglers
Behind the scenes
First appearance	The Curse of the Black Pearl
Latest appearance	Pirates of the Caribbean Online

"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 of Captain Hector Barbossa.

HistoryEdit

First visitEdit

"Last time...I was here a grand total of three days, all right? Last time...The rumrunners used this island as a cache, came by, and I was able to barter passage off."

―Jack Sparrow to Elizabeth Swann^[src]

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 visitEdit

"'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 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 marines aboard HMS Dauntless, and the two were quickly rescued.^[1]

Behind the scenes Edit

"Did ye not notice? That be the same little island we made you governor of on our last little trip."
"...I did notice."

―Hector Barbossa and Jack Sparrow^[src]

• Terry Rossio, one of the writers of the The Curse of the Black Pearl, revealed that the proposed name of the island, which was unnamed at the time, was "Black Sam's Spit".^[2] The name was later used for the Pirates of the Caribbean Monopoly game.^[3] However, as the official PotC website and Pirates of the Caribbean Online had named the island "Rumrunner's Isle", the island was named the latter. In The Legend of Jack Sparrow, the island was called "Rum Island". In the non-canonical LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game, the island was called the "Smuggler's Den".
• 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.^[4]
• In the non-canonical LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game a ship similar to the Black Pearl is grounded off the coast of the island.

The Pirates of the Caribbean wiki has a collection of images and media related to Rumrunner's Isle.

AppearancesEdit

• Jack Sparrow: Silver (Mentioned only) (First identified as Rumrunner's Island)
• Jack Sparrow: Sins of the Father (Mentioned only)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (video game)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (First appearance)
• 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)
• LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game (Non-canonical appearance) (First identified as Smuggler's Den)

Notes and referencesEdit