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It is said in the films that "Bootstrap" Bill Turner was tossed in the water tied to a cannon, after the crew of the Black Pearl took the Aztec gold. It seems he was already undead, therefore the pirates had to find his son to get his blood and break the curse.

But in the second film, we learn that Bill Turner is part of Davy Jones' crew, which implies that he died in the sea and bargained with Jones to get something in exchange of serving him in the Dutchman.

So how much time was Bill Turner actually underwater?

And what was the bargain?

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    Couldn't be more than 11 years - the Pearl was given 13 years, Jack says he was a captain for only 2 before the crew rebelled.
    – Gallifreyan
    Commented Jun 6, 2017 at 20:07
  • I believe the standard deal Davy Jones offered people in the second movie was a hundred years, give or take anything wagered.
    – IG_42
    Commented Jun 6, 2017 at 21:00

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When he was put into the sea was 11 years ago (at the start of the first film, thus 13 at the second). Davy Jones' deal with Jack Sparrow gave him 13 years while his crew mutinied 2 years later. And Bill was thrown into the sea (undead already thanks to the Aztec curse) as he didn't like what the crew did.

The thing is we don't exactly know if the curse was broken already when he met Jones. So either the curse was broken and he died meeting Jones or he met Jones while still bound to the anchor at the bottom of the sea. Thus how long he was actually underwater can range from 0 to 13 years (as there is sadly no further information there).

Furthermore he mentioned in the film the deal itself, so he has had to have the standard deal of a hundred years part of the crew (which meant eternity in reality as the crew more and more forgot who they were and got absorbed into the ship itself anyway thus).

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    Actually, the script seems clear enough that Bootstrap never died at the bottom of the sea. "Bootstrap: I chose it. I’m sorry for the part I played in the mutiny against you, Jack. [a little crab escapes from his sleeve, he grabs it and eats it] I stood up for ya. Everything went wrong after that. They strapped me to a cannon, I ended up on the bottom of the ocean, the weight of the water crushing down on me. Unable to move, unable to die, Jack, and I thought that even the tiniest hope of escaping this fate, I would take it. I would trade anything for it."
    – Ellesedil
    Commented Feb 10, 2018 at 0:28
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    Essentially, Davy Jones "rescues" Bootstrap from his torment by essentially pressing him into servitude. Of course, we still don't know how long he was down there for before Davy Jones offers him the choice to join his crew for 100 years.
    – Ellesedil
    Commented Feb 10, 2018 at 0:29

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