Jackdaw

He who increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow.

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The Jackdaw was a brig captained by the pirate, and later Assassin, Edward Kenway, which he obtained with the help of Adéwalé, during his time in the West Indies.

Before Kenway's captaincy, the ship was a part of a Spanish Treasure Fleet, and named El Dorado. Upon securing it, Kenway renamed the vessel Jackdaw, after the bird of the same name.^[1]

Procurement

After an imprisoned Edward Kenway was placed on a ship in the fleet bound for Spain, he met his future quartermaster, Adéwalé, who helped free Edward from their leg irons, and assisted him in incapacitating the guards until the pirate retrieved his equipment.

Following this, the pair secured a crew by freeing other prisoners from their Spanish captors, before they set their sights on a brig in the fleet, El Dorado, and made their way to relinquish it. Subsequently, Kenway used the pirates he freed to help sail the ship from the fleet under the cover of a severe storm, successfully escaping the natural disaster while the remaining ships were sunk. Kenway then renamed the ship the Jackdaw, after a small, swift bird from his home of Wales.

Schematics

The Jackdaw was 60 meters long, 48.5 meters high, had a width of 11.9 meters, and had 26 sails. Accompanying this, the Jackdaw was armed with 46 broadside cannons, four chaser cannons and two swivel guns. Accompanying this, she could hold a sizeable number of fire barrels, heated shot and mortar rounds, and was equipped with a iron plated naval ram.

At her strongest, the Jackdaw possessed a sizeable amount of iron-plating reinforcement across her hull, which provided ample protection in combat against a number of Men O' War.

She was also equipped with a diving bell for exploration of various underwater wrecks, as well as a whaling rowboat and harpoons, which allowed Edward to hunt for local sea life. Like most ships of the time and area, her masts featured pedal-activated lifts and hooks to allow both ascent and descent.^[1]

Notable conflicts

While the Jackdaw did not participate in any major historical battles of the era, she still had more than her fair share of legendary combat. Notable skirmishes, such as the battle which took Blackbeard's life near Ocracoke, and the later conflict off the coast of Príncipe – in which Bartholomew Roberts was killed – were fought on the Jackdaw's decks. The ship also single-handedly outgunned and destroyed all of the naval forts around the Caribbean at one time or another.

The Jackdaw also took many ships, from gunboats to Men O' War, including the five legendary ships that roamed the West Indies Sea: El Impoluto, the twin ships HMS Fearless and Royal Sovereign, La Dama Negra, and HMS Prince.

Crew

Edward Kenway
Adéwalé (until 1721-22)
Anne Bonny (from 1721-22 onward)
Numerous unnamed pirates

Trivia

Like many other references to the Assassin Order involving avians, a jackdaw is a small, black bird belonging to the crow family. Coincidentally, the color of the bird's feathers themselves could also be a reference to piracy often being symbolized by black.
Darby McDevitt mentioned the Jackdaw's name was also a reference to the fable of the Eagle and the Jackdaw; the fable is recited during the memory, "Delirium".
The former name of the ship, El Dorado, is Spanish for "the gilded one; the golden".
In the captain's cabin, there is a statue of an eagle near the Jackdaw's rear window.
Mary Read, in discussion with Edward Kenway about the Observatory once remarked that "it's an old legend. Like El Dorardo, or the Fountain of Youth." A foreshadowing of the mythical status Jackdaw, previously known as El Dorado, would soon gain under Kenway's captaincy.

Gallery

Concept art of the Jackdaw
Concept art of the Jackdaw in combat with another vessel
Edward hunting a whale, while on board the Jackdaw
The Jackdaw off the coast of an island
The Jackdaw in combat with another vessel
The Jackdaw in combat during a storm
Developmental artwork depicting the Jackdaw

Developmental artwork depicting the Jackdaw
Edward in his captain's quarters of the Jackdaw
The Jackdaw sailing the Caribbean
Adéwalé and Edward aboard the Jackdaw