Towering over the town, Fort Charles was supposed to protect the ships of the Royal Navy moored in the harbor below. The fortress also included the Commodore's office, a dank prison cellblock and, in the center courtyard of the fort, a gallows to remind the townspeople just where they were. The cannons that point out from the battlements were a menacing warning to pirates cruising offshore. However, the fort's garrison was helpless after the town was attacked by the crew of the Black Pearl. Fort Charles was England's biggest government fort in the Caribbean, until a battering from the cannons of the Black Pearl left the fort quite a lot smaller, boosting the pirates' power.