For other uses, see Singapore (disambiguation) |
- "Captain Barbossa. Welcome to Singapore."
- ―Sao Feng to Hector Barbossa
Singapore was an island city located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, Asia. The name Singapore is derived from the Malay words singa (lion) and pura (city).
History[]
- "I never would have thought of that."
"Clearly you've never been to Singapore." - ―Murtogg and Jack Sparrow
During the Age of Piracy, Singapore was the domain of Captain Sao Feng, the feared Pirate Lord of the South China Sea.[1]
The port was a well-known haunt of Jack Sparrow's. Sparrow used a trick he had apparently learned there in the past to remove Elizabeth Swann's corset after rescuing her from drowning in Port Royal.[5] When Will Turner searched for Sparrow about a year later, he spoke with a fisherman who seemed very convinced that the pirate would be found in Singapore, though he was incorrect.[6]
Around the time of Cutler Beckett's War Against Piracy, following the death of Jack Sparrow, an uneasy alliance led by Hector Barbossa journeyed to Singapore in the hopes of acquiring a ship and navigational charts from Sao Feng, which would help them on their voyage to Davy Jones' Locker. The East India Trading Company had also recently made its arrival in the city, forcing the Singapore pirates and the motley crew to sneak past its troops. Barbossa and Elizabeth Swann went to meet with Feng in his bath house lair, where their negotiations led to a tense standoff. The intervention of the East India Trading Company led to a full-scale battle in the streets of Singapore, during which a fireworks factory was destroyed by Jack the monkey. With haste, Barbossa's crew set sail in the Hai Peng while Singapore burned in the distance, soon followed by Sao Feng himself in the Empress, intending to track down Jack Sparrow.[1]
Layout[]
- "You've been to the Orient?"
"Aye. Singapore. And other places."
"I was stationed in Nippon for three years."
"I can tell. Very nice collection of netsuke." - ―Cutler Beckett and Jack Sparrow
Though Singapore appeared to be little more than a dilapidated shanty town, the murky harbor concealed priceless secrets that could lead pirates to treasures beyond their dreams.[7] Tall ships and smaller junks crowded together around the ramshackle docks,[8] with Southeast Asian thatched huts and houses built on stilts (known as kampongs).[9] Unsavory characters, miserable sea-scum and sneaky cut-purses lurked amid the glow of traditional red-paper lanterns strung across the crooked bridges of the harbor. The chart-makers, glass-blowers, and wizened old fishermen that frequented the narrow byways of the port may have appeared to be minding their own business, but many were part of Sao Feng's network of spies and whisperers, passing on word of any new arrivals back to their master.[7]
Deep within the shadowy backwaters of the busy port was Sao Feng's hidden headquarters and most sacred retreat—the bath house.[1][7] The bath house was located in the seedy "red lantern" district, with meandering alleyways leading to a spice market and houses of ill-repute.[3] These buildings stood on the stone foundations from a 16th century fort,[7] and were more formally Chinese in design.[9] Singapore's marketplace was truly an assault on the senses, with stalls crammed with sacks of herbs, spices, rice, noodles, beans, and other goods. The air was filled with the pungent odor of fish heads, eels, cow tongues, frogs, and a turtle or two, mingled with the sweet fragrance of exotic fruits and vegetables.[7] The sewer system was used as a secret underground highway by Sao Feng's men.[10]
Madame Rosie's Tavern, a brothel purported to be the best in Singapore, sat on the Olde Captaine's Road, leading uphill from the harbour, three doors south of Tang Lee House.
Behind the scenes[]
- In real-world history, modern Singapore was founded by Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles in 1819 on behalf of the East India Trading Company. In the early mid-1700s, however, the inhabitants of Singapore would not have been Chinese but instead Malay due to the proximity of the Malaysian Peninsula to the island. Prior to 1819, Singapore would have been a small trading outpost of the Johor Sultanate, not a bustling port town inhabited by Chinese.
- The first edition of the Pirates of the Caribbean: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies book was printed in Singapore.
Appearances[]
- Jack Sparrow: City of Gold (Mentioned only)
- The Price of Freedom (Mentioned only)
- Legends of the Brethren Court: Rising in the East
- Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (Mentioned only)
- Pirates of the Caribbean Online (Mentioned only)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (Mentioned only)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (junior novelization) (Mentioned only)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest: The Movie Storybook (Mentioned only)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (video game) (First appearance)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (junior novelization)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End: The Movie Storybook
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Penguin Readers)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (comic)
Sources[]
External links[]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (video game)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 High Jinks on The High Seas - Johnny Depp Zone Movie Lore Archive
- ↑ Masters of Design: Kris Peck: The Code Book featurette, as well as what was actually written in Pirata Codex, reveals information about a Rosie's Tavern located in Singapore.
- ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
- ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Complete Visual Guide, pp. 74-75 "Singapore"
- ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (junior novelization)
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 POTC3 Presskit
- ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean: The Complete Visual Guide, pp. 76-77 "Sao Feng"