"I Can Help You Escape"

In our last post about the novel The Price of Freedom, Jack and Beckett had just agreed to work together to find the hidden island of Zerzura.  Beckett agreed to give Jack his servant, Ayisha, who was suspectedly from there so that Jack could charm her into giving him the location.  Now is the time in which Jack gets her to run off with him.  Keep in mind that she is still disguised as an ugly old hag with "strategically placed warts".  The funny thing is that Ayisha was listening through the door with her secret knowledge of English.  So she knows that she's suppose to meet Jack, who is going to some how take her back, qhich asbolutely excites her.  But she doesn't quite plan on doing it the same way.  She wants to send him close to the island, and then use a spell to make the whole crew, including the captain, fall asleep so she slip overboard and back home without revealing anything to anyone.  To find Ayisha and get her on his side, Jack gets the help of his new and young crew member, Chamba, who can speak pidgin to Ayisha, since none of them know that Ayisha can speak English.   Chamba does the first bit of scoping out and reports back to Jack.  Chamba: "She be wearin' a blue calico dress, with a white apron and head wrap, Cap'n.  And of course that gray shawl you told me to watch for.  It be tied round her waist." That shawl is the key to her disguise, the ones that turns a beautiful young lady to an ungly old hag.  Chamba thne points her out to him.  
Jack: "God's toenails, she is really ugly."  So kind, so nice.  Jack says the strangest things, including 'God's toenails'.  Together they stage the perfect set up.  They want to meet her butnot amke it too obvious.  SO Chamba goes running into her as she walks home from the market, making her drop all of the groceries everywhere.  Then Jak comes along and scolds him for being such a clutz.  Then he makes Chamba buy her a new coconut, since the one she got split open.  Then, they both escort her back to Beckett's house as Chamba holds her groceries and tells her all about how awesome Jack is and what a saint/hero he is.  Jack helped Chamba escape, and could do the same.  She thinks that he only helped Chamba to get back at Blount, Chamba's master, which we all know is of course not the case.  Chamba explains this to her.  He asks her if she wants to escape, and she admits yes.  They then agree to see her later to discuss more escape plans.   Every few days Chamba would then meet her at the market place to discuss plans.  Then, one days she agrees to meet with Jack in the night to discuuss the plans in greator details.  Chamba: "She said she want to talk to you about somethin' first.  She have questions.  And you gonna have to promise her something', before she come abaord and we set sail."  So that night they sneak over to Beckett's house to talk with her.  Jack gets right to the point.  Jack: "Miss Ayisha, it's time for us to speak frankly and straightforwardly.  Enough tacking back and forth, savvy?  I"m going to run striaght bfore the wind, and I want you to do the same.  You obviously want to escape slavery, Miss Ayisha.  I can help you escape.  If you could do it, I'd free every slave here in Calabar.  I'd bloodly free them all, everywhere.  So, Miss Ayisha, I can take you with me when I sail away from here, if come to an agree ment.  I'll be leaving port soon."  

Aysisha wants to know what his other motives are, for going out of his way for a slave woman.  He admits that he wants to find Kerma and that he met another man who was from Zerzura.  She asks if it could possibly be her broher, but Jack admits that he didn't fit the discription.  She starts to cry, which makes Jack feel rather uncomfortable, so he offers her some rum.  She takes a nice chug.  Jack: "There you go, love.  That should fix you right up.  Works wonders for me."  They move on.  Ayisha says that she can't give him the exact bearings for the island, except that it's between the Canaries and Cap Verdes.  When she gets close, whe will be able to feel the pull of her magical island and lead them to it.  It is guarded by an illusion.  Jack: "I guess that's going to be the way of it, then.  I'll sail to that area, between the Cape Verde Islands and the Canary Islands, and together we'll find her home."  Ayisha informs him that the wueen of Zerzura would likely give him and his men a reward for her safe passage when they return, which of course makes her happy.  However, she has one last cath.  Chamba: "She says she fine to leave tomorrow night.  She say ther ebee some things she want to bring with her, but she don't have them now, they back in her room.  But she also say that before she leave Calabar, there be someone she have to bring along with her.  Another slave.  She say she will not leave without him."  She wants to take her body guard Tarken, who is at a manor outside Calabar before she goes.  Jack reluctantly agrees to help her get him the next night before they take off to freedom together.  

"You and Your Fiancee Face the Hangmans Noose"

So now we find ourselves in the next installment of PotC where we are inroduced to Cutler Beckett. He doesn't make a very good first impression when he barges in and tells us he wants to kill the main characters. But after more explaining we learn he really wants the main characters to find the other main characters so he can rule the EITC. Soldier: " Lord Beckett, the prisoner as ordered, sir." Beckett: " Those won't be necessary." The first kind thing we hear from Beckett. So exciting. Oh and now Will can use his hands! Beckett: " The East India Trading Company has need of your services. [Beckett offers Will a drink but Will ignores him. awkward.] We wish for you to act as our agent in a business transacton with our mutual friend, Captain Sparrow." 

Will: "More acquaintance than friend. How do you know him?" LIES, HE IS YOUR BFF!!! Beckett: "We've had dealings in the past. And we've each left our mark on the other." If you don't know what he's talking about read the Price of Freedom. Will: "What mark did he leave on you?" Beckett ignores him back. looks like their even. Beckett: "By your efforts Jack Sparrow was set free. I would like you to go to him and recover a certain property in his possession." Will: "Recover. At the piont of a sword?" Told you they were BFF's. beckett: "Bargain." Then he walks over to a really safe wooden box opens it and gets out, "Letters of Marque. You will offer what amounts to a full pardon Jack will be free, a privateer in the employ of England." 

Will: "Somehow I doubt Jack will consider employment the same as free." Cutler Beckett: "Freedom. . . Jack Sparrow is a dying breed. The world is shrinking. The blank edges of the map filled in. [Actually you just found two new continents. I don't know if you could say that.] Jack must find his place in the New world or perish. Not unlike you Mr. Turner. You and your fiancee face the Hangmans noose. [Will's thoughts: Nooo. I totally forgot my wife and I are abou to di a horrible death.]" Will : "So you get Jack and the Peral? " Cutler: "The BlackPearl?" Will: " The property you want that he possesses. " Beckett: "A ship? Hardly. The item in question is considerably smaller a far more valuable, something Sparrow keeps on his person at all times. A compass." And so the quest begins. Will will now det off to find Jack and get the compass (Iknow I just said will will). But little does anyone know much more is at stake than Elizabeth and Will's life. . . 

"You Knew My Father"

#Flashbackfriday!  Ok, not really.  This isn't twitter or instagram.  (Speaking of which you should really follow us at @snippetsofjack).  Regardless, we are still going back in time to when Will didn't know who his father was.  Jack breaks the news to him in a rather harsh way in The Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl.  They miraculously make it off of Tortuga alive on thier own ship, the HMS Interceptor.  Men really bond when they are forced to man a whole ship on their own.  Will: "When I was a lad living in England, my mother raised me by herself.  After she died, I came out here, looking for father."  That's actually when we first see Will.  He's a little boy on a ship with his father's piece of gold around his neck.  The Black Pearl under Barbossa attacked his ship on the way out to find it, but ended up leaving with out it, not knowing Will had it.  
Jack is really intirgued by Will's life story, NOT.  Jack: "Is that so?"  But Will isn't willing to drop the subject.  Will: "My father, Bill Turner?  It was only after you learned my name that you agreed to help.  Since that's what I wanted, I didn't press the matter.  I'm not a simpleton, Jack.  You knew my father."  No, I am your father!  Heehee.  Imagine being the son of Jack Sparrow.  Wouldn't that be nice.  Seeing as he can't get out of this one, Jack reluctantly carries on the conversation.  Jack: "I knew him.  Probably one of the few who knew him as William Turner.  Everyone else called him 'Bootstrap' or 'Bootstrap Bill'."  Will is confused: "Bootsrap?"  What kind of a nickname is that?  It's a pirate one I tell you!  Jack: "Good man.  Good pirate.  I swear, you look just like him."  It's so like Jack to add that little phrase after it to try to lighten the mood.  
Now it's Will's turn to not really feel it.  Will: "It's not true.  He was a merchant sailor."  THe irony here is great.  Boy who hates pirates is actually the son of one!  I wonder if Beckett is the son of a pirate too.  Just kidding, we alreayd discussed how his father was a jerk buisness dude.  Will: "A good, respectable man who obeyed the law."  How exactly would ynou know.  Unfortunately, you have no memory of him.  Jack rolls his eyes in annoyance.  I'm really feeling the friendship bonding here.  Jack: "He was a bloody pirate, a scallywag."  Considering Will is actually currently teamed up with a pirate, I'm not so sure how hte cant talk about how pirates should be avoided at all costs.  Will just takes things to a whole new level.  He pulls out his sword angrily and points it at Jack, who is actually steering the ship.  Kinda dangerous . . . 
Will: "My father was not a pirate!"  Jack is just exasperated.  Jack: "Put it away, son.  It's not worth you getting beat again."  Will: "you didn't beat me.  You ignored the rules of enagement.  In a fair fight, I'd kill you."  It's true.  Will certainly does have quite the skill with a blade.  Jack: "That's not incentive for me to fight fair, is it?"  Another true point to Captain Jack Sparrow!  Jack is done with this and would like to get to Tortuga quickly without any more interruptions so he turns the wheel abruptly which makes the mast turn sharply, hitting Will and making him dangle over the open sea.  Jack is going to assert his power once and for all!  Jack: "As long as you're just hanging there, pay attention.  The only rules that really matter are these: what a man can do and what a man can't do.  For instance, you can accept that your father was a pirate and a good man, or you can't.  But pirate is in your blood, boy, so you'll have to square with that someday."  
Oh turst me he does.  Especially when he bcomes a pirate and ends up meeting his pirate father!  Then they end up both being pirates together on the Flying Dutchman, but in the mean time Will is still in denial.  Jack: "Now, me, or example, I can let you drown, but I can't bring this ship into Tortuga all by me onesies.  Savvy?  So."  He uses the wheel to bring Will back on board.  Will falls on his back onto the deck.   Jack puts his sword out above Will's chest.  Jack: "Can you sail under the command of a pirate?"  He flips the sword around so that he is holding the blade (ouch) and the handle is extended towards young Turner.  Will timidly accepts the sword.  Will: "Tortuga?"  Will: "Tortuga."  Because you're not really a pirate until you've enjoyed the "beauties" of the not-so-lovely port of Tortuga.  

"You Will Go. You Will Return."

I just realized that we haven't had a favorite list in such a long time!  So I decided that tonight was the night!  I thought I'd do one to accompany our most recent poll, asking you which characters you would like to see returning in the fifth and probably final installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean.  Now, in the past I many have said it was set to come out on July 15, 2015, but actually it's July 10, 2015, meaning it's five days closer than I expected!  I absolutely cannot wait for its release.  That's only 845 days away!  So who do you want to see once again on the big screen?  Well, besides Captain Jack Sparrow, because no really pirates fan would ever want to see him leave.  
5) Philip Swift

While I'm not a big fan of him, I am hoping to see his return in 2015.  In the mean time I'll be watching him in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire in which Sam Clafin will play Finick Odair!  YAYAY!  But as far as his character goes in this series, I think it could use a bit more development, which I'm hoping to see in the next movie.  I want to really see him fight.  I think he was in a bit of battle during the Battle for the Fountain of Youth, but he got injured pretty quickly o he ran back to his love.  I'm really hoping to see some more action come from him.  Perhaps he can permanently join Jack's crew and become a true pirate.  He would make a nice moral compass for them. As for his counter part, Syrena, I'm less excited to see her in.  Perhaps their love can die and he can find someone better.
4) Angelica

I really would like to know if she ever gets off that island.  Hopefully she didn't die there.  I really also wonder if she and Jack will ever actually kiss.  They do seem to have some deep history, and we all know that unfortunately, Jack actually did have feelings for her.  Those feelings probably haven't entirely disappeared so there could be more drama in the next movie.  Not to mention she makes a pretty good partner for Jack in battle.  They could kick some serious butt together.  At the very end of the last movie, she also has Jack's voodoo doll with her on the island.  If you didn't know that you should really know better than to just leave before the end of the credits of a movie likes this.  Now you'll have to watch it again, and this time actually watch it all, which shouldn't be too much of a chore.  I also want to know what Angelica is really like without having to kiss up to her daddy, Blackbeard.  Now he's dead so she can go on her own crazy rampages.  She won't have the Queen Anne's Revenge either though since Barbossa took that.  Gee, I wonder if that's what will happen next movie.  I'm sure she'll want it back to avenge her father.
3) Pintel and Ragetti

I know that technically they are two different people but really they are a set to me since they are always together and one without the other really just wouldn't be the same.  Plus, it's not like I could list one over the other.  They are so stupidly hilarious that neither one is more so than the other. The way they are always bickering is classic.  And you can't really bicker with yourself can you?  Well, maybe that's not true because even I find myself talking to myself sometimes. It's rather embarrassing.  I really missed this pair in the last movie.  However, hopefully now that Jack has the Pearl back, he can get them out of the bottle and they can all set sail together again!  I wouldn't be surprised if that is a big part of the plot of the next movie.  
2) Hector Barbossa

He's been in all of the movies, while very little in Dead Man's Chest and this next one should really be no different. He and Jack are a bit like Pintel and Ragetti: always at odds with each other yet sometimes they do have to work together to achieve a common goal.  This movie, however, he should have his monkey back.  It just wasn't the same without it in the last movie.  His crazy pirate talk is hilarious because usually you don't have the slightest clue what he is even talking about.  He is also so rude the his crew, always yelling insults at them.  Imagine if you used this kind of language towards the people you were mad at.  Like, if you teacher gives you three hours of math homework and you scream, "YOU BLOOMING COCKROACH!"  Think of how people would respond to that!
1) Joshamee Gibbs

I didn't list him as an potion on the poll because I thought, "Who wouldn't want Gibbs back?"  Am I right?  If you think I'm wrong, feel free to let me know by commenting, (but please do not spam us).  He's been Jack's loyal first mate in all of the past movies and this one should really be no exception!  He seems to get Jack on a level that perhaps no one else can (well, except me of course :P).  They are always sharing a good laugh, or a drink!  He's also pretty darn good at explaining things throughout the series, like how Jack was captain of the Pearl and marooned, or the dangers of the Kraken, or how Jack has an impostor.  Who would know anything with out him?  Hopefully, the actor is asked and signs on again for a fifth movie because we desperately need him to come back!

"A toast to piracy and it's many shiny rewards!"

Hey guys!  I know it's been a few weeks but we are back to posting now!  Just a heads up to all, we have been getting a ridiculous amounts of spam comments lately.  We would love to read what you have to say, but please only post if you have something relating to the Pirates of the Caribbean.  Also, tell all your friends about us and follow us!  We have been dropping page views even though the number of posts have been raising.  Now, after that brief public service announcement, I would like to continue on to our topic today: real pirating.  Now, I didn't know all that much about real pirates during the time the Pirates of the Caribbean took place.  So I recently watched this documentary on pirates during that very time period.  It was put out by the History Channel in 2005 and is all about pirate ships.  

So I thought I should give you a brief summary of what they had to say.  You should really watch it some time.  It's on instant queue on Netflix so you should really check it out. Now, the Golden Age of piracy was during the seventeenth and early eighteenth century.  This began when Spain and England were at temporary peace so many seamen found it very difficult to be privateers or join the Navy.  They turned to piracy instead.  There were two main types of ships that pirates usually sailed: large three-masted vessels which usually used to be merchant ships, and then there were smaller ships like single masted sloops or a two masted sooner.  Big ships were used to scare the opposing side where as the smaller ones were better for surprise attacks.  
The word "pirate" actually comes from a Greek word which means to attack.  Pirates would often sail these ships over whole oceans, so they had to be in good shape and sea worthy.  In The Price of Freedom the Wicked Wench has to go through quite a bit of alterations before she is ready for Jack to set sail.  When Columbus discovered the New World in 1492, he sparked a new age of sea exploration, trade, travel, and of course, piracy.  Most ships crossing the Atlantic, merchant or Navy or pirate, were three masted because they were the most efficient.  Often, when pirates wanted to obtain a better ship, they did so in the same way that they got everything else: they attacked and stole it.  They would have a whole succession of ships that they owned, all named the same.  Pirate crews were infamous for the viciousness in battle, as seen by many of the Pirates in the movies, including the cursed crew of the Black Pearl under Hector Barbossa. While the movies make the pirate life seem like all about gold, women, and rum, pirates actually lead a rather difficult life style.  Often they were poor and starving as they had to capture and fight for their basic necessities.  If you remember, in the Price of Freedom, the red flag flying over a pirate ship warned its prey that there would be no quarter: no surrendering, only defeat.   

That is actually how it was in real life.  The red flag was dreaded and feared by any merchant ship sailing the seas.  However, when you think of it pirate crews were actually more democratic than other ships of that time period.  Crew members came from all sorts of backgrounds: slaves and prisoners from all around the world.  Some where even women!  All were united on one ship carrying out the same types of duties despite their race or other factors.  A.C. Crispin mentions this in her novel when Jack thinks about how Chamba, the run away slave, would do much better in the pirating world than he would in the colonies.  Towards the beginning of the novel, Bainbridge, an EITC captain, has a total fit when he sees Lady Esmeralda is pirate of a ship. It was outrageous for the British that a woman would have such a powerful position, but not quite so much in the pirating world.  

Many buccaneers had codes that promised the crew members compensation for any damage that occurred to them while at sea and agreed to split any profit between all of them equally.  Similar to the movies, captains were at the top of the system, so we can see why Jack was so pleased to be one.  They were actually often elected by the crew! Crew expected their captains to be tough during attacks and good at navigating the sea, both of which Jack is.  While marooning did unfortunately exist, walking the plank was never actually proven to be a punishment on board pirate vessels.  Also alike the movie, the pirate Blackbeard was a great example of piracy.  He sailed the seas right at the peak of the Golden Age of Piracy and personified the whole practice.  

He started out as a privateer for Britain, but when he as thrown out of work he turned to piracy.  In 1716, he was elected captain of the Queen Anne's Revenge.  The ship went on great rampages throughout the Atlantic, attacking plenty of merchant vessels.  Sound familiar?  The documentary talks about many other pirates and aspects of piracy during the Golden Age of Piracy, but the rest is for you to discover for yourself!  Hope you feel a bit more enlightened on piracy now!