Jean Lafitte was a Franco-American privateer captain and pirate of the Caribbean sea who operated off of Baratia Bay, Louisiana in the early 19th century.
History[]
Background[]
Real-World History[]
He is considered something of a historic anti-hero in Louisiana and around the Gulf of Mexico, having engaged in smuggling and piracy for a number of years yet - during the Battle of New Orleans in 1815 - helped defend the city from the British with his fleet (in exchange for a pardon).
Disney Parks[]
Jean Lafitte was an early 19th century pirate and smuggler who operated largely out of New Orleans and Jackson Island on the Mississippi. On Jackson Island he would also assist the American government in their defence against the British and have a tavern named for him.
Development History[]
An unused mega-theme designed to tie Tom Sawyer's Island, Pirates of the Caribbean and The Haunted Mansion featured Jean Lafitte as the central figure. The two mentions of Lafitte in the movie and the audiobook were « first steps » to his inclusion, as was the entrance walled crypt which is still to be seen in front of the Mansion, labelled 1764. According to its own inventor, the idea was eventually scrapped, but many other clues that it was once in store can be still found in Disneyland.[1]
Connections[]
Lafitte is frequently cited in various expanded lore of the Haunted Mansion, usually with only a tacit affiliation with the house and some of its residents.
New Orleans Square[]
In New Orleans Square several references to the real-life captain still exist. Predating the entire mega-theme concept is an anchor located in the square which appears beside a plaque reading, "Said to be from a pirate ship commanded by Jean Lafitte in the battle of New Orleans – January 8, 1815 – It is also said that Lafitte’s privateering ships left a wake of blood from the mainland to Barataria Bay – But don’t believe everything you read".
There used to be a silver goods and custom engravings shop in the area called, Laffite's Silver Shop (although his name is misspelled).
Pirates of the Caribbean[]
Disneyland[]
Most famously, on the Haunted Mansion's sister attraction, The Pirates of the Caribbean the loading zone for the ride is a ramshackle boat landing with a sign referring to it as, "Laffite's Landing" although they do misspell the captain's name.
Disneyland Paris[]
Disneyland Paris's Pirates of the Caribbean attraction features a portrait of Jean Laffite being held by a villager in the town of Puerto Dorado on the island of Isla Tesoro while it was raided by the pirates of The Wicked Wench. The villager is help captive at an auction where they are to be forced to sell off the portrait to pirates. This does however create a timeline plot-hole as Jean Laffite only operated in the early 19th century while Pirates of the Caribbean is set during the 1710s-1720s.
Shanghai Disneyland[]
A chalkboard in the Barbossa's Bounty restaurant reads, "Do not, under, any circumstances lend Jean the pirate any amount of currency for the purch-ase of rum as he is a scoundrel and not likely to pay!".
Unused[]
Jean was once planned to appear in Pirates of the Caribbean from back when it was a walk-through, wax-museum attraction. Bruce Bushman made artwork showing him alongside pirates such asBartholomew Roberts, Anne Bonny, Mary Read and Blackbeard (who would be adapted into the Captain of the Wicked Wench in the ride)[2]. During this same stage of development, Bartholomew Roberts was planned to appear in the Haunted Mansion under the pseudonym of, "Captain Gore".
Tom Sawyer's Island[]
On Tom Sawyer's Island there are two connections to the captain; one in the form of an area called Lafitte's Tavern and the other in the now extinct Fort Wilderness where a display can be seen homaging the final battle of the war of 1812 (which was the battle Lafitte partook in). Newspaper clippings on the island can be found which detail that before Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn took up residence there, it was used as a lair by the pirate Jean Lafitte.
In Other Media[]
Film[]
Haunted Mansion (2003 movie)[]
According to the short story The Legend of Gracey Manor, set in the continuity of the 2003 movie, it is said that Ambrose Gracey, the merchant captain who built the mansion and Edward Gracey's grandfather, had a "secret association with pirate Jean Lafitte, and sometimes returned to the docks of New Orleans with more goods than he started with."
Printed Materials[]
SLG Comics[]
In the "Mystery of the Manse" story, William Gracey crossed paths with Jean Lafitte during his time as Captain Blood, and contacts one of Lafitte's former associates, a crooked lawyer named Brian Belew, looking for a place to live after escaping the pirate's life. This contact points him in the direction of what would one day be known as Gracey Manor.
Nuptial Doom[]
The sea-captain from the storyline is openly cited as being, "-a compatriot to Jean Lafitte himself" by the narrator.
Video-Games[]
Kinect Disneyland Adventures[]
Jean Lafitte is mentioned in this game by the character of Black Barty. Apparently, Barty was a compatriot of Lafitte and travelled to New Orleans in 1817 before becoming cursed. Barty seems to be a rough analogue for Captain Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise in this game.
Trivia[]
- Jean Lafitte is said to be a ghost in real-life New Orleans folklore.
- In Disneyland and Walt Disney World, the auction portrait of Jean Lafitte is replaced by one of a woman in her youth being held by the same women in her old years in a manner reminiscent of the April December portrait.
Gallery[]
