Edward Teague

"What? You've seen it all, done it all. You survived. That’s the trick, isn’t it? To survive?" "It’s not just about living forever, Jackie. The trick is living with yourself forever."

- Jack Sparrow and Teague

Edward Teague was an infamous pirate captain in the Caribbean and father of Jack Sparrow. A legendary pirate in his own right, Teague occasionally re-appears in the life of his son Jack, who followed in his buccaneering footsteps.

At some point in his career, Edward Teague became part of the Brethren Court, obtaining the title of Pirate Lord of Madagascar. He would later become the Keeper of the Code. In his later years, Teague would take part in the Brethren's stand in the War Against Piracy, where they would choose the next Pirate King. Teague would also follow Jack's search for the fabled Fountain of Youth, where he would warn his son of the perilous voyage.

Early life
Captain Edward Teague was an infamous pirate who commanded the awe and fearful respect of all Pirate Lords in the Fourth Brethren Court, and was once a very feared pirate in the world; said to have done many things. He was said to be born in British India. He was Pirate Lord of Madagascar and keeper of the Pirata Codex. Throughout his son's, Jack Sparrow, childhood, he was always there when his boy needed him most, such as knocking out the pirate Rusty Knickers when he threatened to cut off Jack's hand or saving Jack from being sold into slavery by Captain Lucille Graven.

The search for Jack
"Nice job, Jackie!" "Oh, shut up."

- Edward Teague and Jack Sparrow

After Jack escaped from Shipwreck Cove, Teague went to search for him on his old ship, the Misty Lady. He found him a few months later in a boat called the Barnacle in the middle of the Caribbean Sea, with a rag-tag crew of youngsters like himself. Jack and his friends were brought onboard the Lady, but the ship was suddenly attacked by the British Royal Navy fleet led by Admiral Lawrence Norrington.

The pirates were all captured and brought onboard Lawrence Norrington's ship. Thanks to Teague's old friend Joshamee Gibbs, pirates managed to escape from the brig, and a huge battle ensued on deck. In the midst of a battle, Norrington's son James was knocked into the sea and rescued by Teague. After a massive cannon fight between the Lady and Norrington's vessel, Teague's crew managed to batter Norrington's ship, rendering it defenseless. With Norrington's crew defeated, Teague and Jack made their way back to the Misty Lady, and Teague sailed his son to an extremely beautiful island near Poseidon's Peak so he could procure himself a new boat.

The pirate meeting
"I've concluded that we must take action regarding these rogue pirates. If these blackguards continue to plunder and menace merchant shipping, it won't be long before England, France, Spain and probably Portugal will dispatch their navies to hunt down all pirate ships they find."

- Edward Teague to assembled pirates at Pirate Hall



Teague returned to Shipwreck Cove, where he was soon rejoined by his son Jack. In the early 1730s, the mysterious rogue pirates begun to violate the Code of the Pirate Brethren by slaughtering the crews of the merchant ships they captured. Teague's responsibility as the Keeper of the Code was to investigate the case. Six months later, a meeting of the Pirate Lords was held in Pirate Hall. Among the gathered pirates were Don Rafael, Dona Esmeralda, Boris Palachnik, Mistress Ching, Eduardo Villanueva, and Jack Sparrow. The pirate captains at the meeting expressed their dismay over the rogue attacks on peaceful merchant ships, for the fear of war on piracy being declared by the colonial powers of Europe. Another pirate captain at the meeting, Hector Barbossa, witnessed that his pirate ship, the Cobra was destroyed by the rogues, which gave the Brethren another reason to destroy the rogues.

The Court of inquiry
"We will summon Davy Jones. But to do so, we must reconvene aboard Troubadour. He cannot set foot on dry land, save for once every ten years."

- Edward Teague to pirates assembled at Pirate Hall At that time, Jack begun to date Esmeralda, the granddaughter of Don Rafael, the Pirate Lord of the Caribbean Sea, but Teague warned Jack to stay away from her. But Jack's friendship with Esmeralda continued, and they discovered the ship that destroyed the Cobra docked in Shipwreck Cove. It was the Koldunya, the sloop of Boris "Borya" Palachnik, the Pirate Lord of the Caspian Sea.

After Teague and Don Rafael heard the news, Teague called for an official court of inquiry. In the Pirate Hall, all the witnesses told their stories, but there was not enough evidences against Borya, and Teague decided to summon Davy Jones, the Lord of the sea. Jones knew everything that happened in his watery kingdoms, and the Brethren Court spoke a magic call that brought Jones onboard the Troubadour, Teague's ship. When asked about Borya's guilt, Jones recognized him as the leader of the rogue pirates, saying that he and his men sent many souls to the sea bottom without mercy.

Escape of the rogues
"Boris Palachnik. This Court of Inquiry finds that you and your crew have broken the Code of the Brethren. The Code is the law. The penalty for all of you is death."

- Edward Teague to Boris Palachnik Borya and his whole crew were quickly imprisoned in the dungeons of Shipwreck City and sentenced to death by Teague. For unknown reasons, Borya gave his jailers the names of all rogue captains under his command. Thanks to those informations, the French pirate captain Christophe-Julien de Rapièr and his crew were captured while they were trying to flee from the island. They were also sentenced to death. Christophe's friend Jack Sparrow believed him to be innocent.

Teague began to make plans on taking a fleet to find and destroy the rest of the rogues on their meeting place. But a night before Borya's hanging, Jack Sparrow broke into the dungeons and freed Christophe and his crew. But Christophe's guilt was proved a moment later, when he freed Borya and his crew too. The rogues stormed the armory, and the huge battle begun at the docks. One of the rogues aimed his musket at Teague, but Jack knocked the barrel of the musket aside, causing the rogue pirate to miss his target. In the chaos of the battle, the rogues amanged to escape to their ships, taking Jack with them.

Years without his son
"I don't believe that Teague would order you hunted down so he could execute you. I've told you this before. As you English say, sangre is thicker than agua."

- Esmeralda to Jack Sparrow Jack's escape with the rogues made him an outlaw in the eyes of the Brethren for the next five years. Though Jack managed to escape from Christophe's ship, he didn't return to Shipwreck Cove, for fear that Teague would want to hang him. Five years later, Jack was a captain of the EITC merchant vessel Wicked Wench. During his adventures, he killed Borya, and was reunited with Esmeralda who told him that he can redeem himself in Teague's eyes by dispatching the rogues he freed. A few months later, Jack killed Christophe, and after he returned to piracy, he sailed his ship to Shipwreck Island.

Libertalia
"Jackie, now this is quite a surprise. Come to visit your old man at last, have you?"

- Edward Teague to Jack Sparrow

After Jack's redemption, Teague abandoned his position of Pirate Lord, giving his seat to his son, who became a Pirate Lord of the Caribbean Sea. Soon, Teague relocated with his whole family (except Jack) to Libertalia. One day, Jack's ship, the Black Pearl, arrived to Libertalia, and Teague took Jack and his friends to his mansion. During the dinner, they were attacked by pirates led by Gentleman Jocard, who thought that they were hosting King Samuel, Jocard's former owner who sold him into slavery. Jocard's and Jack's crews combined their forces, and they stormed Samuel's fort, obtaining the vial of Shadow Gold. They returned to Libertalia, and departed for Europe. Before Jack departed, Teague then gave him some advises on the choices he'll make in his life.

Later life
"You would sleep through your own hanging, Jack." "I just assumed they'd wake me." "There's only one hour until daylight, Jack. One hour to escape the hangman's noose." "Escape? My favorite two syllable word. You have a plan?" "Always. Just follow my lead, eh?"

- Edward Teague and Jack Sparrow

Some time later, Teague returned to Shipwreck Cove, reclaiming his position and duties of the Keeper of the Code. In the late 1740s, he was reunited with his son when Jack entered the Turkish prison to procure a drawing of the Key to the Dead Man's Chest. Teague inspired Jack to escape the prison before his captors could hang him. Knowing that his son was safe, for the time being, Teague returned to Shipwreck Cove.

War Against Piracy
"As per the Code, an act of war, and this be exactly that, can only be declared by the Pirate King." "You made that up." "Did I now? I call on Captain Teague, Keeper of the Code."

- Hector Barbossa and Jack Sparrow during the Fourth Brethren Court



During the meeting of the Fourth Brethren Court, presided over by Hector Barbossa and Jack, Teague was called upon to cite from the Pirata Codex. Teague entered the meeting when he shot Sri Sumbhajee's aide Askay for demeaning the Code's importance. As the Pirata Codex was brought in, Teague whistled for the Prison Dog, who held the keys to unlock the Codex. After he citing a section from the Codex, the Pirate Lords decided to vote for the new Pirate King. While the Lords were voting, Teague sat down and played "Only Found Out Yesterday" on his guitar. The Pirate Lords began to argue after Elizabeth Swann became the new King, but stopped after Jack questioned them about not keeping to the Code, in which Teague broke one of his guitar strings and glaring at them.

After the meeting, Teague offered Jack advice concerning the latter's search for immortality. He also reunited Jack with his mother&mdash;whose shrunken head Teague carried around with him. Giving the head to his son, Jack would later hang the head on his own belt.

The Brethren then exited the hall anxiously, but were confronted by soldiers of the East India Trading Company, led by Black Coats who had infiltrated the city. Teague was trapped on the South Docks, and he was able to defeat his enemies with the assistance of his son.

The next day, Teague witnessed the battle around Calypso's maelstrom from his ship, the Troubadour. He and his crew celebrated after the defeat of Lord Cutler Beckett, head of the East India Trading Company, and Davy Jones and his crewmen. Instead of cheering and dancing, which many others did, Teague merely took his hat and tossed it into the air and smiled over the Brethren's victory.

Meeting in London
"I heard where you're headed. The Fountain." "Have you been there?" "Does this face looks like it's been to the Fountain of Youth?" "...Depends on the light."

- Teague and Jack Sparrow



A few years later, Teague would cross paths with his son again; this time in London. When Jack escaped from King George's Palace, he was confronted by one of the King's soldiers who nearly shot him. Teague shot the soldier in the back, thus once again saving Jack. They continued their brief reunion inside the Captain's Daughter tavern. While talking in the tavern, they discussed about Jack's new trinket having his own tooth on it. Teague then went to the matter at hand: Jack's search for the Fountain of Youth. He gave Jack information about the Profane Ritual, as well as one of the items needed for it. As Jack became interested in finding the items, Teague advised his son against the search until he knew every detail. Teague pointed Jack to the group of men who were recruiting for a voyage. Teague gave Jack a word of advice, warning him that the Fountain would "test" him. They both then drank their drinks. When Jack looked back, Teague vanished without a sound. His further fate is unknown.

Appearance, possessions and traits
"Teague can be...rough...on those who annoy him." "I’ve heard..."

- Jack Sparrow and Esmeralda

Edward Teague wore clothes that complemented his role as a pirate captain. As part of his ensemble, he wore a long crimson frock coat embroidered with a faded white floral design and a decorated dark brown waistcoat to match. A sash was tied around Teague's waist constantly. The undershirt that Teague wore was decorated with much more frill than those of most pirates. His dark hair was stylized in long dreadlocks adorned with beads and small crosses, and was held back by a dark green bandanna. Teague also wore a large bicorne adorned with pheasant feathers to symbolize his role as captain. On his hands were three rings, one of which he owns is in the form of a metal skull.

Like any other captain, Teague possessed a sword as well as a flintlock pistol, which was put to use when faced with dissenters of the Code. He respects the Pirate Code enough to kill people who show or even mention a disrespect of it. Teague was known to be a "stay at home" type pirate as well as an aristocrat. Given the reverence and fear the other Pirate Lords give him, he was most likely a fearsome and successful pirate. "Hello, Jackie." "Hello, Dad."

- Teague and Jack Sparrow

Even Jack Sparrow feared Teague, but mostly respected him, though this might be because he's his father. There were many occasions where Teague saved his son from disasters. Like when he and Jack were captured by Lawrence Norrington and taken prisoner aboard his ship.

Teague took up the guitar at some point in his life and became quite good at playing it on occasions.

Behind the scenes

 * Captain Teague was portrayed by Keith Richards in At World's End and On Stranger Tides.
 * There was some controversy towards Teague's first name, as he was only referred to as "Captain Teague" in the POTC films. In the At World's End video game, while playing as him fighting enemies, Teague can be heard saying: "That's what you get for challenging Captain Edward Teague". The name was designated in the novel The Price of Freedom, though it has yet to be mentioned in the POTC films.
 * Teague was described by Keith Richards in the commentary about his character as being a "stay at home" pirate where Jack was a "working man" pirate, and also being like an aristocrat.
 * This character was referred to as both Teague and Grant during production, though writer Terry Rossio confirmed that "Captain Teague" was the character's name in the script.
 * Johnny Depp confirmed that Teague was Jack Sparrow's father in Total Film, though the original script did not address it. This claim of the familial connection was official once Jack referred to Teague as "Dad" in On Stranger Tides.
 * Johnny Depp based the character of Jack Sparrow partly on the appearance and manner of Keith Richards, who was approached to play Jack's father in Dead Man's Chest (then named "Grant Sparrow"), but was unavailable at the time. The character was voiced by Jack Angel in the At World's End video game.
 * At least one of the three rings Captain Teague wears (the skull ring) is of Richards' personal effects, which he owns as a member of the Rolling Stones.
 * In the At World's End video game Teague advised Jack to find Tia Dalma in Port Royal and with her help assemble the Brethren Court. In the game he is clean-shaved, while he has a beard in the films.
 * During the Father's Day event on Pirates of the Caribbean Online, the player can save Captain Teague who is imprisoned on a British Royal Navy ship.
 * It is possible that Teague's supposed name, "Edward Teague", is based off "Edward Teach" aka Blackbeard. Teague's clothing and facial hair are similar to written accounts of Blackbeard's appearance.
 * It also seems that the figure of this character is based off of the original captain of the pirate ship, the Wicked Wench, on the POTC ride.

Appearances

 * Pirates of the Caribbean: Jack Sparrow: Silver
 * Pirates of the Caribbean: Jack Sparrow: Dance of the Hours
 * Pirates of the Caribbean: Jack Sparrow: Sins of the Father
 * Pirates of the Caribbean: The Price of Freedom
 * Pirates of the Caribbean: Legends of the Brethren Court: Wild Waters
 * Pirates of the Caribbean Online
 * Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
 * Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (video game)
 * Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides