Though the viewer does not actually see Barbossa at the beginning of the film, he/she learns almost immediately that “cursed pirates sail these waters.” Of course, the word “cursed” herein used has a double meaning, the first obviously a denouement of piracy in itself. But, as the film begins to unfold, a fog obscures the horizon, covering everything in a thick blanket of mist; a mist Gibbs calls an “unnatural fog.” And well he might, for the presentation of the ship's crew going about their appointed duties implies daylight, yet no sunlight penetrates the fog. An unnatural fog indeed, for, in the absence of a storm, the sun would have burned off the evening fog from the waters by midmorning. Gibbs, a superstitious Irishman, may have hit the nail on the head when he stops Elizabeth from “singing about pirates,” afraid she'll “bring them down upon us” by singing about them. Moments later, the burning wreck of a merchant ship appears, though not the means by which she met her demise. In the hustle and bustle of searching for survivors and salvaging whatever can possibly be salvaged from the wreck, Elizabeth alone sees a ragged, black ship flying the pirate flag of the Jolly Roger sailing away from the scene of the wreck. A strange wind fills the tattered, black sails silently, helping it to slip away into the fog as a ghost or an illusion. No sound, no oars, no lights, and no men! Is it the lost mariner's ship? Or some evil shadow of a once proud ship now lost forever and condemned to sail the seas without rest or fellowship?

     When this ghostly ship appears again, it sails silently into the harbor of Port Royal and readies the guns for an attack on the town. It is Captain Jack Sparrow who names the ship…it's the Black Pearl, traveling the seas “preying on ships and settlements for near ten years.” The prisoner who makes this comment also adds, “Never leaves any survivors!” implying the intense fear and danger that surrounds the Black Pearl, tales that have grown to horror proportions during its ten year rampage. Obviously a ship neither raids nor pillages; it must needs have a crew…a crew of pirates. And the pirates blast the fort, land in the town, raid, pillage, and plunder the valuables, finally kidnapping the governor's daughter, a now grown Elizabeth. (Although, as a short note here: Elizabeth, by invoking the right of parley, agrees to go with the pirates to see their captain, as per the code “set down by the pirates Morgan and Bartholomew.” One finds it interesting that she resists the pirates as they rush through the town to their longboats. But, Elizabeth has her own story!)

     As the pirates bring Elizabeth aboard the Black Pearl, she spies a tall, dark man standing on the wheel deck, ramrod straight and still, watching the activity of the pirates as they load their looted plunder from the town. Not a muscle twitches, even though a monkey runs up his arm to perch on his shoulder. A stern, hard man with nary a bright color around him, he stares over all, missing nothing, noting everything. One glance is enough to ensure this man is the captain of this band of murderous pirates. The darkness of night caresses this man as a lover, holding and enhancing every myth of the rampaging pirate. Not a man to cross and definitely one to fear. Even his men stand several paces away from him, as if the very air surrounding him carries its own poison. The consummate black pirate captain of the ghostly Black Pearl!

     And yet! Moving silently as a cat, he grabs and painfully grips the Bo'sun's wrist as he reprimands, “And ye'll not lay a hand on those under the protection of parley.” A pirate captain stopping the mauling of a strange girl, a young and pretty girl at that? Not only that, he also offers, “My apologies, miss.” Barbossa stands one foot shorter than the bo'sun, yet said bo'sun backs off with a sullen “Aye, sir!” Barbossa, in one action, breaks the traditional pirate mold. His reprimand obviously holds true for the rest of the crew, as no one dares lay hands on Elizabeth, not even the two that brought her aboard. Traditionally, a pirate crew maintained a democratic allegiance to the captain with all matters and ventures voted on by everyone. Yet here, Barbossa reigns supreme. The crew hates and fears him. Barbossa knows this and turns his attention to Elizabeth, knowing the crew will do exactly what he says and nothing more. And he is wily! Having heard that Elizabeth invoked the right of parley, he is curious as to how much of the code she may actually know, so he grants her audience and gives her his complete attention.

     Elizabeth demands the cessation of hostilities against Port Royal. Keeping his vocal tone low and somewhat menacing but polite, he answers, “There were a lot of long words in there, miss. We're naught but humble pirates. What is it that you want?” Barbossa prefers straight talk to high society language, and his laughter appears to indicate his lack of understanding of such language. However, in answer to her request of “I want you to leave and never come back,” he suavely replies, “I'm disinclined to acquiesce to your request.” Ahh! Barbossa is an educated man and well aware of the language of high society. His translation of “means no” relates to the puzzled looks of confusion on the faces of his crew; he explains for them, not for Elizabeth. The word “humble” cannot apply to such a man, for Barbossa knows his way around society, though he maintains little contact with the denizens thereof. He plays with Elizabeth, still waiting to see just why she invoked the right to see him.

     When Elizabeth threatens to drop the Aztec medallion overboard, she grabs Barbossa's intense interest. Eyes narrowed, he thinks quickly while watching her very closely. He KNOWS that medallion, and he knows he must have it. But he cannot allow Elizabeth to think it important to him, informing her that the holds “are bursting with swag. That bit of shine matters to us…why?” The appearance of the medallion shakes Barbossa a bit from his reserve. He must remain in control, as his crew is well aware of what she holds and its importance to them. Elizabeth acknowledges her recognition of the Black Pearl and the medallion as the object of the pirates' search. Barbossa, knowing now that he must discover the mystery behind this young woman, implies disinterest by stating, “Did ya now?” As the chain slips through her fingers toward the water, he interjects, “NO!” His control slips, and he gives credit to Elizabeth for her quick thinking in the face of fearsome pirates. While he may want plain speech from the persons he interrogates, he loathes straight talk himself when he attempts to gain further information. In this trait, he mirrors Jack Sparrow, giving only that information as is necessary to the moment and nothing more. He inquires as to her name, which she gives as Elizabeth Turner. His eyes light up! Here is the answer to this young woman; she is the child of William Turner, a former pirate of the crew, and one he has searched long and hard to find. Obviously, he knows William had a child but not the gender of that child. Now, he has all he needs to complete his plans.

     He must keep Elizabeth onboard and knows exactly how to do so. He acknowledges her bravery but recognizes her inexperience. After all, she is a young girl, sheltered and raised with no prior interaction with common folk and most certainly not with pirates! He returns to the rite of parley negotiations, proposing “You hand it over, and we'll put your town to our rudder and ne'er return!” He expects her to accept this agreement, and Elizabeth does not disappoint him. Once the medallion changes hands, he turns his back on her and returns to his duties as captain. Elizabeth, expecting to be returned to shore, taunts him again with the pirates' code of conduct. But Barbossa makes a stunning display of his “lawyerly” capabilities. Elizabeth, in her inexperience, left three loopholes that prevent her from escaping: “First, your return to shore was not part of our negotiations nor our agreement, so I “must” do nothing. Secondly, you must be a pirate for the pirate's code to apply, and you're not. And thirdly, the code is more what you'd call guidelines than actual rules.” These answers are quick, precise, and to the point, leaving Elizabeth no room for argument. She is made “Welcome aboard the Black Pearl, Miss Turner!”

     This display makes one wonder exactly what Barbossa's occupation was prior to becoming a pirate. He is comfortable with societal language, he knows how to negotiate and obtain a contract, he manipulates the code of conduct to his own advantage while keeping as close to the original intent as possible, and he follows the contract to the letter (the Black Pearl under Barbossa “ne'er” returns to Port Royal). As yet, the viewer sees no physical expertise at all, yet, presumably, Barbossa knows a sword and how to use it as well as a pistol. The crew's allegiance to Barbossa implies that he is a dangerous man, not to be aroused unnecessarily. But where did such a man go wrong? He has a brilliant mind, sadly a mind twisted and savage with brutality yet laced with gentility. Why? What happened to make him the pirate he has become?

     Gentility? In a pirate? Oh, yes! Though he keeps Elizabeth locked in a cabin for a day with no food, Barbossa knows he needs her alive, so he instructs his crew to cook a magnificent dinner, a meal fit for high society. Candles are lit, the table set with fine silverware and goblets, and the food well cooked and attractively displayed. It's a good bet none of the pirates among the crew know the proper setting for a dinner table. They could only have come by the knowledge via Barbossa. He also gives Elizabeth a dress to wear so she will feel more comfortable. He compliments her appearance but maintains his distance after seating her at the table, with all the courtly mannerisms she would be accustomed to according to her status. Of course, at this point, he believes her to be “a maid in the governor's household.” Still, he courts her in the high society etiquette. As he watches her dine, he almost tries to taste each bite with her, remembering the feel of good food and wine in his own mouth. He encourages her to abandon manners and eat heartily, offering her wine and apples in addition to meat and bread. Barbossa lives vicariously through his curse by enjoying Elizabeth's ravenous intake of all offered. He longs to eat and drink as a normal man again, the look of intense longing on his face mirroring his long years of abstinence, though he seems a bit surprised that a society lady would cram food and drink in her mouth as readily as a starving person.

     When Elizabeth halts eating in fear of poison, Barbossa laughs and says, “There would be no sense to be killing ye, Miss Turner.” Now, he decides to enlighten her as to her purpose onboard the Black Pearl. Most pirates simply take what they want from their victims without an explanation, but Barbossa follows his own code. His explanation of the curse bears repeating here, as, through it, he reveals a great deal about himself and his motivations.

     “This is Aztec gold! One of eight hundred and eighty-two identical pieces they delivered in a stone chest to Cortez himself. Blood money paid to stem the slaughter he wreaked upon 'em with his armies. But the greed of Cortez was insatiable. So the heathen gods placed upon the gold a terrible curse! Any mortal that removes but a single piece from that stone chest shall be punished for eternity.”
     “I hardly believe in ghost stories anymore, Captain Barbossa.”
     “Aye! That's exactly what I thought when we were first told the tale. Buried on an isle of the dead what cannot be found…except for those who know where it is. Find it we did. There be the chest. Inside be the gold…and we took 'em all! We spent 'em and traded 'em and frittered 'em away on drink and food and pleasurable company. The more we gave 'em away, the more we came to realize…the drink would not satisfy, food turned to ash in our mouths, and all the pleasurable company in the world could not slake our lust. We are cursed men, Miss Turner. Compelled by greed we were, but now we are consumed by it! There is one way we can end our curse. All the scattered pieces of the Aztec gold must be restored and the blood repaid. Thanks to ye, we have the final piece!”
     “And the blood to be repaid?”
     “That's why there's no sense to be killing ye….YET! Apple?”
     “Look! The moonlight shows us for what we really are. We're not among the living and so we cannot die. But neither are we dead. For too long I've been parched with thirst and unable to quench it. Too long I've been starving to death and haven't died. I feel nothin'. Not the wind on my face nor the spray of the sea, nor the warmth of a woman's flesh. You best start believing in ghost stories, Miss Turner. You're in one!”

     Barbossa's soul lies open in this scene, and many details about his last ten years reveal his motivations. He recounts the story of the curse as if he has spoken it many times before. When he mentions the greed of Cortez, he implies Cortez as a man who allowed his greed to overcome humanity and mercy. It was this greed that engendered the curse, and it was this same greed that was Barbossa's own downfall. Believing himself above children's horror stories, he discounted the tale of the curse, and, having marooned Captain Sparrow on a tiny island near Isla de Muerta, he and his crew found and plundered the treasure. They frolicked and played with their newfound wealth, as pirates are wont to do, until it began to dawn on them that their greed rapidly overcame their satiation. Even the simplest of pleasures of eating and drinking became agonies of denial. Barbossa admits his own compulsive greed and the greed he encouraged in the crew of the Black Pearl to be the source of his misery. Now, the single most important thing left in his life is the lifting of that curse, so he can resume a mortal life with all its sensuous pleasures. Like Jack, he has a single goal, and he focuses on that goal to the exclusion of all else. Unlike Jack, he feels no remorse in killing to gain that goal. One can only assume that the original owner of Elizabeth's dress was one of the “pleasurable company” bought by a piece of the gold, hence her demise. He treats Elizabeth gently but intends to kill her to obtain his final goal of life…or so he leads her to believe. His tortured soul lies bare in his face as he lists the simple pleasures he can no longer feel.

     Yet Barbossa feels plenty! Not just the rage and impotence caused by the curse but also the remorse for allowing greed to consume his life. He implies distaste, perhaps even hatred, for Cortez for not showing mercy to the Aztecs and being satisfied with what they gave him. He feels, if not love, at least caring for his monkey, taking time out of his talk with Elizabeth to calm and soothe the little animal. He desperately longs for normal life with the simple physical feelings of a sailor on the sea. And, in showing Elizabeth the physical proof of the curse in the form of skeletal pirates including himself, he allows her to fully understand exactly what her death will mean to him and the crew. If he appears to be callous and unfeeling, it seems to be a mask he dons to keep control of the crew. They witness his outburst of remorse during his listing of grievances to Elizabeth, and they heard his voice crack during the telling. So, he maniacally laughs as Elizabeth rushes to the safety of the main cabin, then harshly orders the crew, “What are you looking at? Back to work!” implying that what they saw was merely his plan to keep Elizabeth terrorized into docility.

     The next morning Barbossa prepares Elizabeth for her “death.” Taking his time, he gently pulls her hair out of the way and places the medallion around her neck. Her hands bound and led by a rope, Elizabeth nevertheless receives courtly assistance from the pirates who want to ensure she remains unharmed until the moment her blood is spilled. Again, he reveals his knowledge of high society in his handling of the lady, knowing exactly where to place his hands and where not. But his focus lies in the cave, and he mentally prepares himself for what he thinks will be the first day of the rest of his mortal life. He is tense, yet confident, calmly stepping out of the longboat and making his way swiftly to the stone chest. There, he stands, watching as the crew adds the Port Royal plunder to the already overflowing treasure of the cave.

     Once Elizabeth stands at his side, Barbossa launches into an oratory to his crew. Why should he bother? Why not slit her wrist, throat, hand, whatever, and grab the goal he has long searched for? He may be mean, he may be dangerous, he even may be a ruthless cutthroat, but Barbossa knows how to fire up a crowd, raising their emotions to a fever pitch to match his own. They will all be “quit of the curse” and be free once again to truly enjoy life's pursuits. One almost cannot help picturing a barrister delivering his closing argument to a jury. He probably used this method to engender the greed in the crew and incite them to mutiny against Jack. He's a master showman as well, brutally holding Elizabeth's head over the chest as he grabs the knife and brandishes it before the crew in anticipation of bloodletting.

     Yet, after all his talk of death, Barbossa slices a small portion of Elizabeth's hand, places the medallion in her hand, and closes the hand around the medallion. In answer to Elizabeth's question, “That's it?,” he smiles as he says, “Waste not!” Now he may be thinking of raping her once the curse is lifted, but, from his previous actions, one may assume that actually killing someone has become boring. He only needs a bit of blood, not a wash of it. Once she releases the medallion, he releases her and steps back, expecting to feel his soul return along with his ability to enjoy any pleasure. His face is calm, yet anxious at the same time. Something is wrong! Something is NOT happening!

     For a moment he stands stunned, unable to ascertain what went wrong. His frustration with the situation explodes as he shoots Pintel, proving beyond doubt the curse remains solidly in place. Swiftly, he turns to the one person who can answer the riddle, Elizabeth, demanding, “Maid! Your father? What was his name? Was your father William Turner?!” Upon receiving her negative reply, he rages, “Where's his child? The child that sailed from England eight years ago, the child in whose veins flows the blood of William Turner? Where?!” Overwhelming rage and disappointment flows over Barbossa, eradicating all pretense of gentility. As she is no longer of any use to him, Barbossa backslaps Elizabeth, sending her head over heels down the bank from the chest. Now he must face the rage of his crew, knowing that his own lack of judgment and over eagerness caused this setback in attaining his goal. He should have questioned Elizabeth more thoroughly before bringing the ship back to Isla de Muerta. But his elation at finding who he thought was the heir of William Turner almost causes a mutiny in the cave. His crew begins listing all his bad decisions, getting angrier by the minute. When weapons are drawn, Barbossa reverts to the dangerous pirate, challenging, “Any coward here dare challenge me, let him speak!” The crew draws back, clearly unwilling to test Barbossa's skill against their own. They've obviously seen Barbossa in action and do not doubt that he will fight to the death. Oddly, this should not be a concern for cursed pirates who cannot die, but it makes sense if the crew knows that Barbossa would hunt them down and kill them once the curse is lifted. Therefore, they've seen him do this before and have no wish to be on his hit list. He regains control when he realizes that Elizabeth is gone and the medallion with her. Now, he and the crew mobilize to find the medallion and begin their search anew for Bootstrap's child.

     And they find Captain Jack Sparrow wandering through the cave! Barbossa hates Jack, though no real reason exists. He took Jack's ship, marooned him on an island, and left him to die. The only possible reason for Barbossa's hatred lies in the fact that Jack Sparrow proposed the plundering of the cursed treasure, like hating the bearer of bad news. For ten years, Barbossa forgot about Sparrow, yet here he is, smiling in a smug way that accentuates Barbossa's frustration at being outmaneuvered by a mere girl. Barbossa feels no remorse whatsoever at ordering Sparrow's death, but he cannot ignore Jack's comment, “The girl's blood didn't work, did it?” He has already miscalculated with Elizabeth; he dare not do the same with Sparrow! Quickly, he makes the deduction, “You know whose blood we need!”

     These two begin bargaining for what they each desire the most. Barbossa doesn't really enter the spirit of the negotiations, knowing he has possession of the Black Pearl and shortly will overtake the Interceptor. He knows nothing of Will Turner, but the Interceptor is the only ship by which Jack could have landed on the island and on which Elizabeth made her escape with the medallion. Jack's aggravating attitude, plus his flaunting of Barbossa's apples, only increases Barbossa's rage and puts him in full pirate mode. He allows Jack to think he has control of the situation, but Barbossa never intended to barter fairly or stand by any agreement made with Jack. He proves this when he tells Jack, “No, you see Jack. That's exactly the attitude that lost you the Pearl. People are easy to search when they're dead! Lock him in the brig!” Barbossa discounts the possibility that Jack may have evolved beyond the youthful, naïve captain of years gone by. Jack negotiates rather than fights, preferring the art of cunning to cutting. Barbossa leads the letter of the pirate life, taking what he wants instead of bargaining for it. Considering what is at stake here, Barbossa takes action over argument, and he throws Jack into the brig simply to get him out of the way.

     The battle between the Black Pearl and the Interceptor follows a foregone conclusion. The pirates cannot be killed; therefore they can only be successful in accomplishing the destruction of the Interceptor. Barbossa reigns supreme here as the ruthless pirate captain. The crew follows his orders like a well-oiled machine, and well they might; they've been doing so for ten years! Even though he was momentarily surprised by the Interceptor's clubhauling, he barks orders in a loud, clear voice, keeping his crew focused and moving quickly toward their objective. Not only does he regain his medallion, he recaptures a briefly free Jack and Elizabeth, neither of whom he has any use for whatsoever. He gleefully announces, “Our hope is restored,” knowing that hope is all it is, for they must still find Bootstrap's child.

     Luck and inexperience step in to provide Barbossa with the final piece, as it were. Will Turner, having escaped the Interceptor's destruction, climbs onboard the Black Pearl and demands Elizabeth's freedom. Barbossa sees only a young boy holding a pistol. He tells him, “You only have one shot, and we can't die!” When Will threatens himself, Barbossa asks, again point blank, “Who are you?” Despite Jack's pleas and dissembling, Barbossa learns that this “boy” is William Turner's son, the one person they need to finally lift the curse. But he also knows Will to be as inexperienced in bargaining as Elizabeth, so he negotiates for Elizabeth and the crew's safety in exchange for Will's blood. As agreed, he frees Elizabeth by making her walk the plank. In all fairness, when Will challenges him, Barbossa also points out the loopholes Will left out of the negotiations, saying “I agreed she'd go free, but it was you who failed to specify when or where!” After Elizabeth hits the water, the pirates bring Jack to the plank. Barbossa takes ironic pleasure in informing Jack, “Did you not notice? That be the same little island that we made you governor of on our last little trip. Perhaps you'll be able to conjure up another miraculous escape, but I doubt it! Off you go!” Yet, here Barbossa, when reminded by Jack that “Last time you left me a pistol with one shot,” reverts to the pirates' code of honor and agrees, “By the powers, you're right. Where be Jack's pistol? Bring it forward!” As Barbossa gathers Jack's effects, Jack tries one last time to bargain, asking for “a pair of pistols.” Barbossa takes vicious pleasure in answering, “It'll be one pistol as before, and you can be the gentleman and shoot the lady, and starve to death yourself!” In his mind, this is the end of Sparrow, and Barbossa will gladly dance on his grave, as long as Jack takes his smug attitude off the Black Pearl so he can go back to Isla de Muerta and finish his own quest for freedom…from the curse.

     Back on Isla de Muerta, Barbossa maintains a grim determination that NOW he will lift the curse and be mortal once again. He is confident but not slaphappy this time. Casually tossing an apple into the air, he marches to the chest, grabs the knife, and once again rouses the emotions of the crew for the kill, for it will be a kill this time to ensure the curse is truly lifted. As the guards bend Will over the chest, Barbossa starts the final line, “By blood begun, by blood un…” and halts, as, to his complete surprise, he sees Jack Sparrow making his way to the chest. “Not possible!” he exclaims, to which Jack answers “Not probable.”

     Surprise making him momentarily speechless, he listens as Jack and Will exchange what, to Barbossa, is useless information. He orders Jack to “Shut up! You're next!” Jack's presence means nothing; Will's blood means everything. Once the curse is lifted, Barbossa fully intends to kill Jack and remove that arrogant young pup forever from his view. When Jack tells him, “You don't want to be doin' that, mate,” he replies in a sarcastic tone, “No, I really think I do!” and addresses the killing act again. It takes only Jack's resigned “Your funeral,” to halt Barbossa. Jack was right before; he may be right again. So, much as it may pain him to have to listen to Jack yet again, Barbossa knows he cannot ignore any information offered, regardless of the source. He rolls his eyes and asks, “WHY don't I want to be doin' it?” A wise decision, for Barbossa learns the Dauntless is “floating just offshore” waiting to ambush the pirates when they come out…as mortal pirates. Ten years of invulnerability during battle makes the prospect of actually fighting for his life a daunting prospect (no pun intended here).

     He allows Sparrow to approach and listens closely to what Jack has to say. Jack explains his plan, “You have your men row out to the Dauntless. They do what they do best. Robert's your uncle, Fanny's your aunt, and there you are with two ships, the makings of your very own fleet.” This idea raises the greed of the curse to its fullest. His own fleet! One can see Barbossa mulling over the possibilities, as Jack continues, “Of course, you'll take the grandest as your flagship, and who's to argue. But what of the Pearl? Name me captain! I'll sail under your colors, I'll give you ten percent of me plunder, and you get to introduce yourself as Commodore Barbossa! Savvy?” This bargain sounds too good to be true! Barbossa knows Jack wants the Black Pearl back, and this bargain contains that condition, so why is Jack being so helpful? Barbossa asks, “I suppose, in exchange, you're wanting me not to kill the whelp!” Jack quickly replies, “No, no, not at all! By all means, kill the whelp! Just not yet. Wait to lift the curse until the opportune moment, for instance, after you've killed Norrington's men, every last one!” Ahhh, this gets better and better. Kill the crew, take the Dauntless, kill Will, lift the curse, and start again with two ships and Jack under his thumb as a subordinate! But Barbossa wants Jack thoroughly bowed, so he demands, “I want 50% of your plunder!”
     “15!”
     “40!”
     “25…and I'll buy you the hat…a really big one…Commodore!”

     Visions of two determined bidders here, but Barbossa knows, after ten years of overwhelming greed, when to stop and accept what is offered. Twenty-five percent is a hefty take from Jack and will ensure he works constantly to meet that quota. And a big hat…a symbol of a new beginning with a new fleet unhampered by the curse. Barbossa agrees and sends his men to the Dauntless to begin the assault. But he remains leery of Jack and keeps him in the cave, allowing Jack to roam around yet keeping a close eye on him. Barbossa relaxes a bit, thinking that he has the best of the bargain. He even compliments Jack on his cunning, stating, “I must admit, Jack, I thought I had you figured. But, turns out, you're a hard man to predict.”

     That very comment should have told Barbossa to expect a double-cross from Jack, yet he sits stunned as Jack grabs a sword, tosses it to Will, and draws his own sword on Barbossa. Barbossa draws his sword and throws all his rage into the battle with Jack. At last, he can kill this upstart outright for reneging on a bargain! All his hatred lends power to his prowess. Yet he stops, maybe hoping to prove to Jack that fighting is useless, saying “You can't kill me, Jack!” When Jack rams his sword into Barbossa, Barbossa sighs at what he sees as Jack's stupidity, and, catching Jack off guard, Barbossa reverses the sword and stabs Jack through the heart! His face reflects his thought that this is truly the end of Jack Sparrow at last, and he waits expectantly to see Jack crumble to his knees. One cannot help but laugh at Barbossa's reaction as Jack steps into the moonlight, revealing his own cursed skeleton. Greedily bargaining for the upper hand with Jack, Barbossa missed Jack's theft of a coin from the chest. Knowing he has been outmaneuvered again, Barbossa vents his rage in pure physical effort, fighting like a maniac. Even in the midst of his own battle, Barbossa knows that Elizabeth has joined Will, so, when Jack throws his bloodied coin to Will, Barbossa draws his pistol and aims for Elizabeth, betting Jack will not allow her to be shot. When Barbossa turns his head toward Elizabeth to ensure his aim is true, he hears the loud report of a pistol shot echo through the cave, at the same time feeling a jolt as the ball enters his own body. He looks at Jack, seeing deadly eyes over a smoking pistol. He laughs as he says, “Ten years you carry that pistol, and now you waste your shot!” His laughter dies as he hears Will state, “He didn't waste it!” In a panic, Barbossa whirls around, sees the bloodied knife in Will's right hand and the final two coins dropping from Will's left hand. The opportune moment! But not for Barbossa! And he knows it! Dropping his weapons, he opens his coat and vest and sees his blood come pouring out from his chest. He knows he is mortal and draws an apple from his pocket, desperate to at least taste his beloved fruit before he dies, but alas! He has no strength to bring the apple to his mouth. He confirms the lifted curse by his last words of “I feel…..cold!” The horrible irony of feeling cold as his warm blood leaves him turns Barbossa into a tragic man. He literally gave his all to regain his humanity, yet he is finally free not only of the curse of greed but the curse of a life gone wrong. Even Jack shows his brand of compassion in his face as Barbossa falls backwards, the apple rolling away from his hand as the final symbol of life departing.

     So passes Captain Barbossa of the Black Pearl. His motivations spur the plot of the film, and one can see various aspects of his character throughout the movie. But what of the man himself? His early life and occupations leading to his venture as a cursed pirate as well as his association with Jack Sparrow are a matter of deduction as well as viewing. (Of course, any reader may feel free to disagree with the following deductions, as they are but one viewer's impression of this complex character.)

     In previous works, each character was examined as to manner, education, appearance, and personality/character, but Barbossa refuses to slide neatly into any given category. The writers of this story proclaim Jack Sparrow and Barbossa to be two sides of the same wily character, and they do share certain traits. But, again, one should never assume the easiest explanation must be the only one. Certainly, authors know what they create when they write, but when directors and actors take the story and endow it with their own visions and interpretations, the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. Barbossa fits this statement to a T. First, who is Barbossa? A simple question that has no simple answers. Barbossa stands as the only main character who sports one name; everyone else has two names. Barbossa sounds barbarous, which is a good name if one wishes to create an air of brutality and terror. He is this, certainly, but he displays aspects one would not associate with pirates: educated vocabulary, knowledge of high society life, keen and logical thought processes, and a sad aspect of remorse and regret.

     Barbossa probably grew up in England, the son of a prosperous man who was able to provide his son with an education, such education including the art of defense with a sword. Though not of high society himself, his father may have been a barrister in the courts of England and trained his son to follow in his footsteps. This is consistent with Barbossa's later usage of civilized language as well as his adroit bargaining powers. Barbossa learned how to maintain the letter of the law while looking for loopholes to protect clients and defend the accused. Such a position would have a fairly well paid salary attached, but it seems father never took into account a small flaw in his son. Barbossa loves the high life, and the long wait to advance into a more highly paid position in the English courts would rankle in his heart. How to obtain wealth quickly may have been the spur to move Barbossa into piracy. There seems no doubt that he worked in this field for a time, honing his skills in bargaining and oration, such skills being amply displayed in Barbossa's handling of his crew, Will Turner, Elizabeth Swann, and Jack Sparrow.

     At some point, Barbossa made the decision to take to the seas rather than the courtroom. Whether he actually intended to become a pirate is a moot point, as clearly he did prior to his joining Jack Sparrow to sail to Isla de Muerta. An early version of the script for POTC contains a line of dialogue from Barbossa in reference to his early years at sea: “If you had sailed with Morgan for ten years like I have, you'd know not to question me!” Ahhh! Did Barbossa join the pirate Morgan, or was he one of a hapless crew that was defeated by Morgan and joined up to save his life? Either way, he learned a great deal from Morgan, including the pirate's code of conduct developed by Morgan and Bartholomew. As an ex-barrister, Barbossa may actually have had the honor of penning the code and making copies for any who wanted it. Hence, his thorough understanding of the letter of the code and the various loopholes contained therein, prompting his own interpretation of the code as guidelines rather than rules. Ten years of sailing with Morgan gave Barbossa knowledge of seamanship and the skills of reading maps and compasses. One must assume he also availed himself of all the luxury of high living from the spoils of piracy. One must also assume, at some point, Barbossa left Morgan's crew and found his way to Tortuga in the Caribbean. Left or escaped remains a mystery, but Barbossa respects Morgan as a pirate, and his allusion to not questioning his commands may hark back to some of the deeds and punishments Morgan dealt to disobedient crewmembers, of which Barbossa may have the recipient at one time. Doubtless, this aspect of his past is enough to keep his Black Pearl crew cowed and obedient to his commands.

     Now on Tortuga with no ship or crew, Barbossa chafes at his inactivity and may have been running out of money. Here is where he meets Jack Sparrow, a young, naïve, captain of the newly commissioned Black Pearl. Jack lands on Tortuga, possibly with William Turner as either bo'sun or friend, and begins recruiting a crew for his ship, enticing possible crewmembers with tales of immense treasure to be had for the taking on Isla de Muerta and promising an equal share to every man. With his skills of seamanship and his ability to present a logical argument, Barbossa, more than likely, talked his way into the position of first mate aboard the Black Pearl. The fabled treasure fired the greed in his soul, and he totally disregarded the tales of the curse as a child's fairy tale. He gains Jack's complete trust and enjoins him to reveal the location of the island, said information being a part of the equal shares Jack promised the crew. Having acquired the information he wanted, he slyly fired the greed of the crew to have the treasure for themselves, and he probably cited the benefits of an experienced captain as opposed to a young one. That accomplished, the mutiny took place, and they deposited Jack Sparrow on a deserted island. (Only one item raises questions at this point. Pintel implies that William Turner wasn't pleased with the mutiny and took steps to ensure the pirates would remain cursed for their greed. Why did Turner go along with the mutiny? Or was he one of the crew who knew nothing until the event and was given a choice of joining the mutiny or going ashore with Jack? Opinions?)

     The crew, under Barbossa, sails into the island, finds the gold, and takes all of it. Barbossa lives the high life on this plunder until he realizes the horrible aspect of the curse. Jack was right, and Barbossa should have listened. For this reason alone, a young boy knew more than he did himself, Barbossa hates Jack with a passion. Yet he doesn't go looking for Jack, assuming Jack starved to death before Barbossa could punish him. He punishes William Turner, instead, especially when he learns that Turner sent away a piece of the treasure to his child, a child Turner refuses to name or give a location for. As Pintel relates, “It's only after this they learned they needed his (Turner's) blood to lift the curse.” This statement implies that Turner is dead and irretrievable. Hence, logical deduction implies that Turner took, or was forced to take, some of the treasure himself, becoming cursed along with the rest of the crew. He, however, believed the tale of the curse, as related to him by Jack, and he sent his coin to his son. If he remains cursed, he would have the opportunity to rescue Jack and, eventually, return to his wife and son, such plan being consonant with his friendship with Jack and his love for his wife and son. Unfortunately, Barbossa turns on Turner and “straps a cannon to Bootstrap's bootstraps,” and drops him into the “crushing, black oblivion of Davy Jones' locker.” Obviously, from Pintel's statement, Barbossa did not, at this time, know how to reverse the curse and merely vented his rage on a crewmember that dared to challenge his authority. (A note of closure perhaps here: As a cursed pirate, Turner would have sunk to the bottom of the ocean, the pressures of which would have exploded his bones, leaving only fragments to drift throughout the ocean. Even supposing he survived the sinking, the moment Will dropped his coin into the chest, Bootstrap Turner would have instantly imploded from the aforementioned pressure. Although there are fans who would love to see Bootstrap return, from the above chain of reasoning, it seems unlikely!)

     The tales of the Black Pearl begin to spread as Barbossa and his crew set about retrieving the coins and returning them to the chest on Isla de Muerta. During this time of increasing greed and decreasing feelings, Barbossa begins to examine his life. He sees that the greed he encouraged became the source of the curse upon him. If there is one lesson Barbossa learned well, it's when to stop being greedy and accept what he can get. Even the act of killing becomes a boring activity, since there is no challenge to killing someone who cannot possibly win the fight. As the years pass, Barbossa becomes more and more focused on lifting the curse by locating and returning the coins along with the requisite blood, said blood coming from the pirates themselves. Feeling the curse over all else, Barbossa follows the call of the gold as each piece fires the source of the greed. Until the fateful day the final piece of Aztec gold calls from Port Royal, Barbossa simply exists from day to day, yearning for the simple pleasures of life that his greed threw away.

     Barbossa embodies the lesson of greed and its consequences. He acknowledges its influence in his life and regrets ever giving into the pull of it. Hence, he is a sad character rather than a terrible one. His one focus is lifting the curse. It seems few pirates have the stamina for immortality. It's sadly ironic that the curse leaves and takes Barbossa with it. One can almost shed a silent tear for this maimed and twisted man who dies without ever tasting his beloved apples, the last symbol of warm, mortal, human life. He led a life of greed, rampaged the seas plundering all the wealth any man could possibly want, and died in rags and remorse.

By blood begun, by blood undone!


Works Cited

All dialogue courtesy of:

Elliott, Ted and Terry Rossio. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.
     Producer: Jerry Bruckheimer. Director: Gore Verbinsky. Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group.
     Walt Disney Pictures. July 9, 2003.