The Pirates of the Caribbean films are estimated to be set in the mid -18th century. More specifically, they are believed to be set in the late 1740s- early 1750s. There are contradictory elements in all of the movies, probably because of the poor knowledge of British and colonial history on the part of the creators. For example, some of the period clothing worn by characters was in-vogue in the 1600s.Some of the leaders such King Ferdinand VI were not born until the early 1700s. The type of Union Jack Flag flown in some of the scenes in the film was not created until after 1800. The biggest problem that many people have with the date being assumed as the mid to late 1700s is that it contradicts many of the events taken place in the life of Queen Anne. The specific date for the film is very confusing because of this.
It is best to assume it is in the mid-1700s because most of the actual historical people mentioned in the film were most active during the mid-1700s. Period fashion is commonly mistaken in films. This is why it is best to not rely on the dress of the characters as historical markers. Even if the creators understand what type of clothing the cast ought to wear, the costume designers and wardrobe staff might not understand fully. They also have room to be creative (and sometimes inaccurate.) The best way to date a movie like this one is to listen very closely to current events the characters mention and then research when they took place. Most films will not provide an exact date using this method because most films have a couple of things that are historically inaccurate. It will, however, provide the best and most reliable date for the film.
It's a fictional movie, they weren't going for historical accuracy, so as several people have said, its stuff from several time periods associated with different pirate stereotypes combined. The Royal Navy uniforms in the film are of a 1750 - 1760 style, Governor Swan is dressing like he's from the 1600s, and the various place names make no sense. I'd say they just took various things people associate with pirates and put them into one big alternate time frame.
15th century? Are you kidding me? People still thought the world was flat in the 15th century. And Columbus sailed to America in 1492, in which there were no official settlements in the Western Hemisphere. I think someone needs to touch up on some basic world history. All 4 films are set somewhere between 1740 and 1760, before America declared independence from the British.
Generic historical period no'3. The context is a rough mismatch of several historical periods, as noted above. Providence Island didn't become Tortuga till quite late in the 17th century, while William Dampier and Exquemelin record evidence of pirate contact with asia after 1700; given that the singapore pirates would give them the time of day in these films it is likely to put the time frame closer to the very end of the 18th century and or the beginning of the 19th, as upon initial contact westerners were viewed as primitives by both the Chinese and Japanese empires, though I admit pirates as always with new cultures were more tolerated than most (just).
Frankly for a fictive text I'd just run with the simple post-renaissance - pre- (extensive) british empire time-frame adopted by most, its nearly as recognised now as the 'generic arthurian' setting and so you can likely get away with it.
Oh and while there were set and accepted rule in pirate society these (which were often more liberal than those on land) codes like Bartholomew and Morgans are more an expression of commonalities than a collection of actual rules - in short they are the ones we found - there are several other surviving ships codes which all differ in details and in major points. It does seem universal however that in-fighting was rare and ships could pair off happily and with little negotiation thanks to these commonalities and divide with little animosity. It helped that many had sailed together before being a smallish community. Regarding non-pirates practice differed wildly, though many had a general policy of punishing captured captains considered unjust and even in cases rewarding those praised by their former crews. That said one captain released a man simply because he out-swear-ed him. Later in the golden age pirates did execute whole ships in revenge for the deaths of their own kind, but such actions often focused on ships from the executing port rather than constituting wholesale violence, though not always.
In the second movie there is a letter that has the British kings name on it and its "George" So, this puts it between 1714 and 1837. And since the fourth film is going to be set at founding of New Orleans that was in 1718.The first three films must have been set during 1714 and 1718.
The 4th film has King George II ruling so according to that it would have to be between June 11, 1727 and October 25, 1760. However, it also has Edward Teach (Blackbeard) who died in 1718. This may also be explained though in the movie by a rumor Jack says he heard of Blackbeard being decapited but still living on. The movie Blackbeard was also known to dabble in necromancy but now I'm just babbling so my educated guess would be between 1727 and 1760 probably toward the latter end of that range due to George being an old fart in the movie
They are set in the early 1700's after the Act of Union of England & Scotland which formed Great Britain but prior to the Declaration of Independance....but as others have noted they are not intended to be serious Historical Drama and so they haven't bent over backwards to be specific OR accurate (did you not notice all the Ghosts and strange Half Men-Half Beasts) :)))
As an aside however to the Anonymous who said in the 1500's people still thought the world was flat....that's a common myth..... For faily obvious reasons sailors would have been the first to figure out the world was ROUND.....
It would have to be after 1710 because in the opening scene of the fourth film, a clear shot of the dome of St Paul's Cathedral is shown and the building of this was only completed in 1710 following the Great Fire of London.
Well, the King George that other folks have already mentioned was George II (the king portrayed in 'On Stranger Tides'). That would set the series' dates between 1727 - 1760, and probably closer to the 1760 end due to George II being quite old in the film. Unfortunately, Port Royal's inclusion in the film series confuses the timeline a little bit.
Port Royal was hit by a powerful earthquake in 1692, destroying two thirds of the town. By the time George II gained control of England (1727), the vast majority of trade had shifted to Kingston and colonial rule to St, Jago. So! By the end of George II's reign (1760), Port Royal was - for all intents and purposes - abandoned as a port town...nothing like the booming burg we saw in the series. Confusing, no? PotC wasn't meant to be historically accurate to the letter, anyway.
Keep in mind that in 'dead man's chest' the letters of marque had the name of king george on it, although the exact one escapes me. The producers have said that the films take place around 1740, so we can assume this is george II. Hope this helps!
The 4th movie "On Stranger Tides" is bringing in the character of the infamous pirate Blackbeard. Edward "Teach" (not believed to be his real surname) who was Blackbeard was born in approximately 1680 and died in 1718.
The exact date on which the story of Pirates of the Caribbean is the first film "The Curse of the Black Pearl", as shown in a scene that Sparrow has to pay for mooring in the port of Port Royal and it gives the man who keeps track of incoming and outgoing ships three shillings in which you can see three dates. 1745, 1747 and 1750, all coins of George II.
Anyway there is an easter egg in its pendant dangling from his bandana, a coin of Burma (Myanmar) in 1963 referring to the year of birth of Johnny Depp.
I would say around 1718 because the fourth film is going to be set when the New Orleans is founded. As for the name 'Singapore' the place itself may not have been founded until 1819 but it was referred to as Singapore long before its official founding, originally called 'Temasek' and then 'Singapore' however saying this in the film it was occupied by the British and they didn't occupy it until 1824 when Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles purchased the island in that year so I'm afraid it's very hit and miss.
I would think that it is set in the late 1700s. From the many comments on here, we can tell that it was not in the early 1700s, and they're also saying that it is in the 1800s, but I'd like to think it's in the mid-1700s because there isn't much to discribe how their clothing matches up with the timeline or how facts rise up against the fiction. It is just confusing. And Disney won't give an exact date on the first movie, will they?
The pirates are known in Ancient times, Roman times, and Medieval times. The history is about 3000 years old. The word pirate was used in 140 B.C for the first time. So you can say that the pirates of the Caribbean history is about 3000 years old. For more information, visit the link below.
If you are referring to the actual movie "Pirates Of The Caribbean", which I think you are, then I believe it is meant to be set in the late 1600's, although the costumes used are a mix of 17th and 18th century dress, with some extra designing flare thrown in.
To learn more about the costumes of Pirates of the Caribbean, you can go here.
It would have to be later than 1720 since they refer to the rule of Bartholomew, which was not set until 1720. Therefore, it could not be set in the 1600's/
