The Black Pearl (formerly known as the Wicked Wench) is a fictional ship in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. In the screenplay, the ship is easily recognized by her distinctive black hull and sails. Captained by Captain Jack Sparrow, Black Pearl is said to be "nigh uncatchable". In the first three films she either overtakes or flees all other ships, including both the Interceptor, which is regarded as the fastest ship in the Caribbean, and the Flying Dutchman, which is faster against the wind. Her speed is derived from a number of factors such as, the large number of sails she carries and being partly supernatural. As stated in Dead Man's Chest and At World's End, Black Pearl is "the only ship that can outrun the Dutchman" and this is evidenced in the maelstrom battle between the two ships. Background The Black Pearl was built by the French and was originally a merchant ship called Wicked Wench (the name of the ship from the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction at Disneyland Park, which is shown shelling a fort), but its crew later turned to piracy under the command of a pirate captain named Morgan, who was killed during a battle with Spanish Royal Navy Captain Armando Salazar. The helmsman, Jack Sparrow, was granted captaincy of the Wicked Wench after out-maneuvering Salazar and saving the crew during battle. Years later, the Wicked Wench became registered to the East India Trading Company and owned by Cutler Beckett, the EITC Director for West Africa. At the time, Jack Sparrow was in the employ of the East India Trading Company and regained captaincy of the Wicked Wench (this fits in with reality as history notes that pirates did not build ships specifically to commit piracy. Instead, they either bought or stole small, fast vessels, then retrofitted them with heavy armaments). (As detailed in the 2011 Disney Publishing novel, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Price of Freedom, written by A.C. Crispin) Jack Sparrow captained the Wicked Wench for Cutler Beckett for about a year, hauling various cargoes, but he refused to haul slaves. Hoping to recruit Sparrow as one of his many "operatives", Beckett indulged what he regarded as an odd peccadillo of Sparrow's until he and the captain came to part ways. Beckett had dispatched Sparrow on a mission to find the lost island of Kerma, and the treasure at the heart