Isla Cruces

Isla Cruces was an deserted island located in the Caribbean Sea. The story of Isla Cruces was a legend told of an abandoned settlement and church that came to the island, which brought salvation, but also disease and death, with the priest having buried every body until he went mad and hung himself. At some point afterwards, with the deserted island of Isla Cruces now considered a plagued island, it also became the resting place of the Dead Man's Chest, which contained the still-beating heart of Davy Jones. Years later, the skeleton of the legendary hanged priest also remained dangling from the timbers within the bell tower of the old abandoned church. The search for the Dead Man's Chest led to the small barren island Isla Cruces, where an epic battle for the key to the fabled Dead Man's Chest and Davy Jones' heart ensued with a three-way swordfight between Jack Sparrow, Will Turner, and James Norrington, along with various crew members of the Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman.

History[]

The Story of Isla Cruces[]

Little is known about the early history of Isla Cruces, other than that it was an island in the Caribbean Sea, apparently located east of Hispaniola and north of the Lesser Antilles.^[1] At some point around the Age of Piracy, the island was discovered during the European colonization of the New World and named Isla Cruces, the Isle of Crosses.^[5] A settlement, church, and water wheel would be set up on the island, though it is unknown if the church in question was the Church of England or Spain.

Stories were told of Isla Cruces, a legend told where it was once populated and that the Church also established itself on the island. However, while it was said the Church brought salvation, it also brought disease and death to the island, resulting in a plague that wiped out the entire population. The priest had to bury the inhabitants, one by one, until he went insane and hung himself.^[4][6] The decomposed corpse of the legendary hanged priest remained dangling from the timbers within the bell tower of the old abandoned church.^[4][7] Isla Cruces then became a deserted island, which travelers avoided because of the plague that struck the island.^[8]

The Dead Man's Chest[]

Following the events of the First Brethren Court, in which Davy Jones and Calypso betrayed one another, Jones cut out his own heart, and locked the still-beating heart inside the Dead Man's Chest. To keep it away from his own haunted eyes, as well as keeping it safe from potential mutineers aboard the Flying Dutchman,^[3] Davy Jones buried his Dead Man's Chest on the deserted island of Isla Cruces; he knew where it was, and knew it wouldn't be bothered.^[8] It was also believed that Jones chose Isla Cruces as it was a plague island, now deserted, a better place to keep it hidden away.^[3]

Search for the Dead Man's Chest[]

Years after being buried under the sand and soil on one of the island's beaches, the Dead Man's Chest became the subject of much interest as several factions attempted to gain possession of it. Captain Jack Sparrow, a legendary pirate captain of the Black Pearl trying to escape his debt with Davy Jones, was able to discern the location of the chest through Elizabeth Swann's usage of his compass. Jones, meanwhile, ordered his crew aboard the Flying Dutchman to sail for Isla Cruces, realizing the chest was no longer safe due to Sparrow having sent Will Turner to steal the key to the chest from him. James Norrington, Pintel and Ragetti accompanied Sparrow and Swann to the island, where Norrington dug the chest out from under the sand. However, a race for possession of the chest ensued with a battle, beginning with a three-way swordfight between Sparrow, Turner, and Norrington, as well as the arrival of Jones' crew of the Flying Dutchman fighting Swann, Pintel and Ragetti.^[2]

The chase continued into the island's dense jungles, finally ending at the abandoned church, where Jack, Will and Norrington fought for the key, taking the battle onto the old mill water wheel, which broke away and rolled down to the island's beach. Though Jack opened the chest and stole the heart, it ultimately ended up in Norrington's possession, leaving Davy Jones with an empty chest. The pirates departed the island, shortly before Jones summoned the Kraken to destroy the Black Pearl.^[2]

Later years[]

Years later, after the climatic battle of Calypso's maelstrom in which Davy Jones met his death, Sir Thomas Faye's book, titled The Secret Files of the East India Trading Company, was found in the skeletal hands of a long-dead sailor at Isla Cruces.^[10] It is unknown if Isla Cruces was ever visited again.

Behind the scenes[]

Isla Cruces was first mentioned in the reference book Pirates of the Caribbean: The Visual Guide,^[11] prior to its first appearance in the junior novelization for the film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, all released in 2006.^[4][2] Scenes on Isla Cruces from Dead Man's Chest were shot at White Cay in the Exumas, a district in the Bahamas, which was also the location of the parley on the sandbar scene in At World's End.^[12]

In Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio's screenplay for Dead Man's Chest, Isla Cruces is described as "A tiny green island amidst a sapphire blue sea. Dominating the bluff an abandoned Spanish church." After spotting the abandoned church, Elizabeth Swann and James Norrington talk about the story of Isla Cruces with the Church bringing salvation and death to the island, with the priest burying every body before being driven mad and hung himself. During the Kraken's second attack on the Black Pearl, Isla Cruces was described as "not too far away" while Jack Sparrow attempted to row away on a longboat.^[13] The scene with Elizabeth and Norrington as well as the hanged priest never made it to the final cut of the film, but they were retained in the film's junior novelization,^[4] as well as the deleted scenes "Salvation" and "For Whom the Bell Tolls" featured in Blu-ray releases beginning in 2011.^[6][7] Although the film doesn't confirm that Isla Cruces was located in the Caribbean Sea, it is shown through a map featured in the PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 versions of the At World's End video game.^[1] While unconfirmed, the abandoned church of Isla Cruces may be a Spanish church.

According to writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, Davy Jones chose to bury the Dead Man's Chest on Isla Cruces as he believed it was a plague island, now deserted. Although it was initially unconfirmed as to whether it happened before or after the story behind the hanging priest, the 2011 book The Captain Jack Sparrow Handbook stated Jones buried his chest on the deserted island of Isla Cruces, which travelers avoided because of a plague that had struck years before.^[8]

While unconfirmed, Isla Cruces means "Cross Island" in Spanish.

Appearances[]

• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (junior novelization) (First appearance)
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (comic)
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (video game)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (video game)
• LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game (Non-canonical appearance)

Sources[]

• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Visual Guide (First identified as Isla Cruces)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Complete Visual Guide
• The Secret Files of the East India Trading Company
• The Captain Jack Sparrow Handbook

Notes and references[]