Tortuga

"*More importantly, it is indeed a sad life that has never breathed deep the sweet, proliferous bouquet that is Tortuga, savvy?*"
―Jack Sparrow[src]
The island of **Tortuga** serves as the ramshackle haven for pirates in the Caribbean. To be a pirate means to love Tortuga, with its crowded taverns, feisty women, and flowing rum. It is a well-known haunt of Captain Jack Sparrow's. Named by the Spanish for the turtle it resembles, the island lies to the north of Hispaniola.

Far less civilized than Port Royal, the town is dirty and smelly, and the streets echo with the sound of fighting and gunfire. Everywhere, men and women carouse about, shouting and laughing. The power of the British crown ends in Tortuga, and it is the last free port left after the East India Trading Company arrives.

## History

### The Curse of the Black Pearl

Looking for a crew, Jack Sparrow and Will Turner sail to the rough-and-tumble pirate town of Tortuga. Though Jack holds the place dear to his heart, Will is not convinced of Tortuga's charms, as he eyes the debauchery around him and its stench fills his nostrils. Here, Jack encounters Scarlett and Giselle, two wenches with whom he has history, and they greet him with a slap him in the face. Behind the Faithful Bride, Jack and Will find Joshamee Gibbs sleeping with pigs in the mud. The three men make their way into the tavern, where Gibbs agrees to find Jack a crew. The next morning, Gibbs has gathered a motley crew of weather-beaten swabs, lined up on the docks.

### Dead Man's Chest

Will Turner starts his search for Jack Sparrow, making his way to Tortuga. He hears from Scarlett and Giselle that the two had not seen Sparrow for a month, and the women ask if he could give him a message from them—another slap. After the East India Trading Company has come to the Caribbean, Tortuga is the only free port left where traders can escape the company's heavy tariffs.

Later, in a terrifying bargain with Davy Jones, Jack Sparrow has just three days to find ninety-nine souls. Fortunately, Jack knows just the place to look for souls—Tortuga. With help from Gibbs, Jack figures he can easily find enough desperate men to fulfill his side of the bargain. The misfits who line up in the cantina have no idea of the fate Jack has in mind for them. Every one of them is beaten and broken down, and many have never set foot upon a ship in their lives. In the meager line of recruits, they encounter James Norrington, drunken and disgraced after he lost his ship chasing Jack and the *Black Pearl*. The former commodore attempts to shoot Jack, and begins a brawl with the drunken hoard of pirates. Elizabeth Swann arrives and stops the fight by knocking out Norrington, and the pirates toss him out to the pigs wallowing behind the cantina. Mercer watches from the shadows as Elizabeth hauls Norrington out of the mud, and they make their way to the docks.

### At World's End

At the end, Jack and Gibbs are left stranded in Tortuga, finding that Barbossa has once again commandeered the *Black Pearl*. Gibbs remains ashore in the company of Scarlett and Giselle, while Jacks sets sail in a dinghy, heading off to seek the fabled Fountain of Youth.

## Behind the Scenes

* Tortuga in *Pirates of the Caribbean* takes inspiration from the original Disneyland attraction. References to the ride include:
	+ Drunken pirates firing off their pistols.
	+ The character of Scarlett is based on the "Redhead" wench.
	+ A man being dunked in the well.
	+ Pirates chasing women through the street.
	+ Gibbs is found by Jack and Will, sleeping with the pigs.