'Untold History' My Ass!! (Part II)

This took place earlier than the 'Johore Battery' issue. Our esteemed historian alleged that the movie Pirates Of The Caribbean : The Curse Of The Black Pearl was based on actual events that took place in South East Asia, specifically Malaya and Singapore. He alleged that 200 years ago (makes that in the late 18th century or early 19th century) there happened to be a ship named 'Black Pearl of Peihoo' belonging to the Emperor of China which was taken over by a Malay pirate named Raja Ismail. The Chinese intended to retake the ship with the help of a 'buccaneer' named Jack Wayne. This was written in a book entitled "The Black Pearl of Peihoo : A Tale OF The Malay Seas". Now he said that this alleged event together with other 'actual' events that took place a long time ago were combined and adapted into the screenplay of the said movie with the location changed to the Caribbean and that the Malayan pirates' involvement were written off. Again the other forumners gave comments such as 'marvellous!' 'interesting!' 'Your threads show how shallow is my knowledge...congrats!'

Now I don't deny that there were Malays who became pirates - some are actually commerce raiders and others were 'true' pirates...no need to be ashamed of that fact. Now, this idiot alleged that events that had transpired in the book are 'facts' which was the manipulated into a screenplay. However, I found that the book "The Black Pearl of Peihoo : A Tale of The Malay Seas" is just that... a TALE! It was an adventure NOVEL written by one Stanley Portal Hyatt and was published in 1914. I pointed this out to him and he defended himself by saying that yes, it was fiction but the fact that there were Malay pirates...which inspired the book. Rather unskilful parrying by him really.

He DID say that the movie was based on a true story...and that true story is that novel. Since when novels became factual documents? Whilst many novelists base their writings on real events, it is not the same as facts. For example the plot of the novel The Hunt For Red October was inspired by the mutiny aboard the Krivak-class frigate Storozhevoy in 1975. However there was no 26-missile, 32,000 tons displacement with alternate propulsion system SSBN named Krasny Oktyabr in the real world! It was all product of Tom Clancy's mind. The idiot also tried to make connections between the name of the main protagonists (Jack Wayne and Jack Sparrow) probably not knowing Jack shit (pun intended) about 'Jack' being an archetypal English hero name. He also tried to rope in (from another thread) someone named 'Captain John Davvy' and tried to link the name to Davy Jones...also in most probability not knowing what 'Davy Jones' and 'Davy Jones' Locker' ACTUALLY means. Also he said that the pirates were so effective that the Chinese have to get help from buccaneers (buccaneers? buccaneers were Caribbean pirates!) such as the said Jack Wayne. The fact is that during the 19th century piracy in South East Asia, specifically the Straits of Malacca ,was countered by the East India Company and the colonial government of Singapore / Straits Settlement...there is no need to get help from a private person...unless in a novel of course!

By the way, the movie was inspired by a RIDE with the same name in Disneyland rather than some obscure novel. Americans are more familiar with the Carribean pirates@buccaneers as they once operated close to home waters and that more movies and books were written about them rather than their contemporaries in the Mediterranean, the North Atlantic, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific. Hence the setting of the movie in the Carribean.