Bo'sun was an African pirate. A tall, black man covered with ritual scarification, Bo'sun was a member of the cursed crew aboard the Black Pearl, serving as the Boatswain and First Mate under the command of Captain Hector Barbossa. Bo'sun later fought against the British Royal Navy at the battle of Isla de Muerta, in which thanks to Will Turner, the Aztec curse was broken and he recovered his human form along the other members of the crew.

Following Barbossa's first death at Isla de Muerta, Bo'sun and some other members of his former crew became cursed once more. After acquiring a ship, Bo'sun became the crew's new captain and led an expedition to Mexico to find further amounts of Aztec Gold. However, Captain Jack Sparrow appeared on scene and frustrated Bo'sun's plans, and left him and his men abandoned at sea.

Biography[]

Pirate[]

Not much is known about Bo'sun's past, though it is likely that he was born in or near Africa, as the members of the Black Pearl's crew included escaped slaves from West Africa and Hispaniola.^[2] Bo'sun served aboard the Black Pearl while it was under Captain Jack Sparrow's leadership, and would thus have participated in the mutiny led by Sparrow's first mate, Hector Barbossa, that saw Jack marooned on a deserted island. Sometime afterwards, the remaining crewmembers of the Black Pearl fell under the curse of the treasure of Hernán Cortés, and became an undead creature.^[1]

Under the curse[]

Bo'sun remained as Barbossa's first mate for many years to come, though he seemed to harbor some doubts about his Captain's abilities. When he and the rest of the crew got the signal that the last piece of the Aztec Gold was in Port Royal, he and his men attacked the town. When Elizabeth Swann was brought onboard the Pearl, he slapped her when she attempted to invoke the right of parley. Barbossa then grabbed Bo'sun’s arm and told him to not lay a hand on those with parley. After Elizabeth stated her terms to Barbossa, Bo'sun ordered the men to stop firing on Port Royal and set course for Isla de Muerta.

Bo'sun and the other crewmen were later at work on the boat. Elizabeth (who had been informed of the curse by Barbossa) ran out on deck, only to encounter the undead crew as it was night and the moon was out. The crew amused themselves by frightening her further. Elizabeth attempted to run back into Barbossa's cabin, and came faced to Barbossa himself. When he stepped into the moonlight, revealing his skeletal form to her, she ran around him into his cabin. Barbossa locked the door behind her and laughed. The crew, including Bo'sun, laughed as well, until Barbossa ordered them back to work, causing them to scramble back to their posts.

When the Black Pearl arrived at the Isla de Muerta; Barbossa, Bo'sun, and the crew took Elizabeth to the cave were the cursed chest was. Bo'sun and the crew chanted excitedly as Barbossa cut her hand, got some of her blood on the blood on the medallion, and dropped it into the chest with the other 871 identical pieces. The crew stopped chanting and waited. After feeling no difference, Barbossa took out a pistol and shot Pintel. When Pintel did not die, the crew angrily became aware that the curse was still upon them. Bo'sun then angrily accused Pintel and Ragetti of bringing them the wrong person. Pintel quickly assured him that Elizabeth had the medallion when they found her and was definitely the right age. Twigg then yelled that Barbossa had brought them there for nothing, bringing yells of agreement from the crew. Koehler angrily told Barbossa that every decision he made had led them from bad to worse. Yet Mallot berated Barbossa for sending Bootstrap to the depths. And finally, Bo'sun said that it was Barbossa who had brought them there in the first place. He drew his sword, and the rest of the crew did the same. Barbossa drew his own sword and challenged them to fight him one by one, causing them to go silent. Even Bo'sun would not challenge Barbossa to a sword fight. Then Jack the Monkey screeched loudly to get their attention. When he had their attention, he pointed to the spot where Elizabeth was before. Will Turner (who had come to rescue her with Captain Jack Sparrow, a pirate crew from Tortuga, and a stolen British warship called "The Interceptor") and snuck over to where she lay while the pirates argued, shook her awake, and and snuck off with her. Jack the Monkey had tried to alert the pirates before it was too late, but couldn't due to the fact that they were arguing amongst themselves. Barbossa ordered the crew to find her. Bo'sun and the men ran to the longboats, only to find that the oars were missing. Bo'sun ordered the men to find them, before reuniting with his former captain Jack Sparrow.

Bo'sun later informed Barbossa that they were coming up on the HMS Interceptor. He was then ordered to lock Jack Sparrow in the brig when Barbossa disliked Sparrow negotiating. When Jack tried telling him there was a leak, Bo'sun ignored him and went upstairs to participate in the battle. He also briefly seized Jack when he attempted to stop Barbossa from cutting Will's throat, before Jack slapped the pirates hand off his shoulder. During the battle aboard the HMS Dauntless, Bo'sun was among the pirates walking underwater for the sneak attack on the ship. During this battle, British Navy officer Gillette tossed a pulley at him and missed, instead hitting Ragetti knocking out his wooden eye. When the curse was broken, he surrendered, but survived long enough to evade the clutches of the British Royal Navy.^[1]

Revenge of the Pirates[]

The crew became cursed once more following Barbossa's death, with Bo'sun leading a mission with Pintel and Ragetti to steal an Aztec Idol in Mexico. Bo'sun forced Will Turner to retrieve it, and used its power to augment his own power, stating he had become invincible. However, the idol was stolen by Jack Sparrow when Jack swung in and knocked over Bo'sun. Angered, Bo'sun and his men chased after Jack, Will, and Elizabeth but failed to catch them.^[4]

Bo'sun would later return at least once more to ambush Jack aboard a merchant vessel, where the two captains engaged one-on-one, with Bo'sun overpowering him but before he could kill Jack, Anamaria shot a chain ball that sent him overboard, forcing him and his men to take a long walk to shore.^[6] His further fate is unknown.

Personality and traits[]

The Bo'sun was a large, tall, dark man with a heavily accented voice and tattooed dots surrounding his eyes and mouth.^[7] Likely of African origin, Bo'sun's body was covered in ritual facial and body scarring. He was proud of his muscles and his position as Captain Hector Barbossa's First Mate at the Black Pearl and later for his position as captain from his own pirate ship. Also, he never showed any problem with hitting a woman, like Elizabeth Swann.

Behind the scenes[]

• Bo'sun was portrayed by Isaac C. Singleton Jr. in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Beau Billingslea voiced the character in the video game Kingdom Hearts II.^[8] Fred Tatasciore voiced Bo'sun in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow.^[9]
• The name "Bosun" would first be uttered in the Disney Adventures comic Legend of the Aztec Idol!.^[4] It would later be uttered by Barbossa in The Legend of Jack Sparrow.^[9]
• In Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio's first screenplay draft of The Curse of the Black Pearl, Jacoby said Bo'sun's line of "You brought us the wrong person!"^[10]
• The Curse of the Black Pearl deleted scene "Peep Show" features Elizabeth Swann using a rod to puncture Ragetti's wooden eye, causing it to fall out and roll on the deck, until Bo'sun stepped on it with his foot and after speaking with Ragetti, kicking it to make it roll even further.^[11]
• In The Legend of Jack Sparrow video game, Bo'sun fights with a fire whip.^[12] However, because the game centers around Jack Sparrow's version of events in The Curse of the Black Pearl, it is unknown if Bo'sun ever used this weapon.
• In the non-canonical Disney Adventures comic The Buccaneer's Heart!, Bo'sun's crew commandeers the HMS Dauntless, but they were later defeated by the ghosts of Blackbeard, Mary Reade, Henry Morgan, and Bartholomew Roberts.
• In LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game, Monk's role in Isla de Muerta is fulfilled by Bo'sun. Strangely, he also appears aboard the HMS Dauntless, where he confronts Murtogg and Mullroy. In the game, Mullroy fires a cannon at Bo'sun and Clubba while they're cursed, and the two are not affected. However, once the curse has been lifted, Mullroy fires again, killing the two offscreen.
• Bo'sun's name appears in the Black Pearl crew roster book at Walt Disney World's Tortuga Tavern restaurant.^[13]

Appearances[]

The Pirates of the Caribbean Wiki has a collection of images and media related to Bo'sun (pirate).

• Six Sea Shanties: Strangers Bearing Gifts
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (First appearance)
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003 junior novelization)
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2006 junior novelization)
  • Fluch der Karibik
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow
• Legend of the Aztec Idol!
• Chain Reaction!

Non-canon appearances[]

• The Buccaneer's Heart!
• Kingdom Hearts II
• LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Gods and Ghosts M

Sources[]

• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Visual Guide
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Complete Visual Guide

Notes and references[]