Pirates of the Caribbean
by "Roo"
Firstly, the fort: well this one gave me a shock when I first saw it in POTC, I thought it was one I had missed, which gives you an idea of how accurate the reconstruction is! Basically, as I’m sure you’ll know from the DVD, they built a fort in America. But, they used many elements of real Caribbean forts to create the POTC fort. They even got the masonry technique and type of building stone right!
The type of fort seen in POTC is a standard form of the late 18th century, with an enclosing curtain wall with cannon mounted on top, a parade ground in the centre and rooms within the curtain wall, that would have housed men, powder, cannon shot and other necessaries such as kitchens, warehouses and stores. There would have probably been various ancilliary buildings and outlying defences (used to protect the inner fort). The closest parallels I can find are Fort George at Brimstone Hill fortress, St. Kitts or Fort Frederick at Richmond Hill, Grenada.
The location of the fort, overlooking the town, is a standard, with the principal town in any Caribbean island having at least one fort to protect merchant shipping lying in the bay. Port Royal would have definitely needed such protection as it had a reputation in the 17th and 18th century as a lawless town, which became the home of pirating and blackmarket dealing.
As an aside, it must not be forgotten that the shipping being protected was usually involved in the sugar and slave trades, and as such, these forts were an integral part of supporting the cruel trade in men and women from Africa.
These types of forts would have held a garrison of soldiers, usually from one regiment, who would be changed out every few years and replaced by other regiments sent from England. By the time of the changeover many of the men would have died from illnesses such as cholera, typhoid or malaria and many would have deserted. To be posted to the Caribbean was seen as a death sentence and nearly 90% of those who went never returned. Although we think of the Caribbean as paradise nowadays, the diseases and dangerous lifestyle took its toll on all who lived there. For example, having to wear several layers of wool clothing in 40 degrees C, meant soldiers regularly passed out and died on parade (what happened to Elizabeth was right!).
There would have been black men in the garrison also, as by this time, they were allowed to serve in the British army. Enslaved black men and women built such forts and the huge structures that can be seen today are a result of their toil.
Armaments: the cannon seen in POTC are generally replicas of later 18th century 12 and 24 pounders of a type in common production during the reign of George III. The muskets also follow this pattern. The ‘long nines’ talked about when Captain Jack Sparrow and Will have stolen the ship and Norrington is after them are large cannon, which would be more than capable of sinking a ship at close range.
Uniforms and dress: generally, the uniforms match late 18th century examples of standard British soldiers and marines (army soldiers on ships), the silver badges worn by the soldiers have the mark of George III, so are again later 18th century. Governor Swann’s dress is unusual as it is more typical of the later 17th/earlier 18th century, as is Elizabeth’s costume, but this is not surprising as Caribbean fashion was usually behind that of the homeland due to the time it took for ideas and goods to get to the Caribbean. The pirates, including Captan Jack Sparrow, all show elements of costume type that would be common from any point from the later 17th century onwards. This is not surprising as they would not have had access to the new fashions of Britain and would have made do with whatever was available.
So there it is, hope this is of interest! My one criticism of POTC is the general absence of black people as they would have been numerous in the towns, forts and on the ships of the period. Having gone to such efforts to create historical accuracy it seems a shame that they did not get that bit right!
Anyway, lecture over! There will be a test later to make sure you were all paying attention!
