Originally named the Wicked Wench (the Wicked Wench is the ship from the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction, which is shown shelling a fort), the Black Pearl was a ship that was registered to the East India Trading Co. and owned by Lord Cutler Beckett. It was commissioned to Jack Sparrow, who was asked to bring some cargo over from Africa. However, when Captain Sparrow learned that the "cargo" was West African slaves, he set them free. The furious Beckett had the Wench sunk, removed Sparrow from his position, and branded him a pirate. Sparrow eventually grew to like his new position, but wanted his ship back. He made a deal with Davy Jones, captain of the Flying Dutchman: if he would resurrect the Wicked Wench, Jack would owe Jones his soul after being captain for thirteen years. Jones kept his end, and the resurrected ship was rechristened the Black Pearl.
Jack then went to Tortuga to find a crew for his ship. Two years after, the Pearl was heading to the mysterious Isla de Muerta where the legendary Chest of Cortés was hidden. Captain and crew agreed to equal shares of the treasure, but First mate Barbossa persuaded Jack that equal shares included knowing the treasure's location. Jack complied, and soon after Barbossa led a mutiny and marooned Jack on an island.
The crew found the Aztec gold, which they quickly frittered away on food, drink and prostitutes, unaware of a curse placed on it by an ancient Aztec overlord: that anyone who stole the coins would become an undead being, unable to eat, drink or feel anything, and that only Moonlight would reveal their true form. The cursed pirates were soon hideous living skeletons with tattered flesh and clothing clinging to their bones. Even the Pearl was affected, becoming constantly shrouded in an eerie mist (although the ship itself was not cursed; it was merely the curse's effect upon its crew).