He was once a crewman on "Black Pearl" under Captain Jack Sparrow. When Sparrow's first mate, Hector Barbossa, led a mutiny against Sparrow, Bootstrap was the only one who did not participate. When the crew was later cursed by stealing Aztec gold, Bootstrap atoned for his failure to defend Sparrow by sending his coin to his young son William, so that he and the crew would not be able to find it and thus remain cursed forever. This act enraged Barbossa, and he punished Bootstrap by tying his bootstraps to a cannon and throwing him overboard. Due to the curse, Bootstrap could not die, and was forced to suffer constantly due to the lack of oxygen and crushing pressure on the seabed. Ten years later, sometime before the events of the first film, Bootstrap is found by Davy Jones, captain of "Flying Dutchman", and offered rescue from his fate in exchange for one hundred years working on his ship. Bootstrap agrees, and becomes subject to the curse of "Flying Dutchman". Because Jones has reneged on his promise to care for the souls of those who died at sea, he and his crew slowly transform into sea creatures. He first appears onscreen in "Dead Man's Chest", where he is sent to remind Sparrow of his debt to Jones.