- "I win again, Jacques! It is my day, not yours!"
"He who wins the day must buy the drinks. It's traditional."
"Another Jack Sparrow tradition. Why is it they always involve rum?" - ―Christophe-Julien de Rapièr and Jack Sparrow playing hazard
Christophe-Julien de Rapièr was a French pirate captain during the Age of Piracy. Sadistic and sociopathic, de Rapièr was a con artist, charming but treacherous, as well as an excellent and expert swordsman. Captain Christophe de Rapièr appeared to be everything young Jack Sparrow admired, the two being great friends until de Rapièr was accused of rogue piracy and Sparrow broke the Pirate's Code.
As one of the youngest pirate captains of his time, Christophe-Julien de Rapièr was in command of Le Requin, a ship with which he captured the Lindesfarne, a British merchant ship with young Cutler Beckett of the East India Trading Company on board. Sometime after taking the brigantine La Vipère as his new pirate vessel, de Rapièr joined forces with Boris "Borya" Palachnik, the Russian rogue pirate who also served the Brethren Court as the Pirate Lord of the Caspian Sea. Despite de Rapièr being accused of rogue piracy, Sparrow broke the Code when he facilitated the escape of his friend from Shipwreck Island, which led to Sparrow leaving the pirate's life and pursuing a legitimate career as a merchant seaman for the East India Trading Company. Lady Esmeralda also swore revenge on de Rapièr after he killed her grandfather Don Rafael, the Pirate Lord of the Caribbean Sea. Following an uneasy alliance to steal the Heart of Zerzura, Christophe de Rapièr was killed in a duel with Jack Sparrow aboard the merchant vessel, the Wicked Wench, after which Jack planned to give his sword to Esmeralda as a trophy.
Biography[]
Early life and career[]
Little is known of Christophe-Julien de Rapièr's early life, other than that he was one of the youngest pirate captains of his time, achieving the rank of a captain of a ship at the beginning of his thirties. One day, off the coast of Spain, Christophe's pirate ship, Le Requin, captured a British merchant ship, the Lindesfarne. Onboard the captured ship was Cutler Beckett, a young employee of the East India Trading Company, who laughed in the pirate captain's face, and commented on how out-of-fashion his clothing was in both London and Paris. At this, Christophe allowed his crew to beat Beckett and humiliate him. When Beckett's father Jonathan refused to pay the ransom for his son, Beckett told Christophe to write to Lord Penwallow of the EITC, who paid the ransom for Beckett.[6]
Rogue pirate[]
The flag that Christophe-Julien de Rapièr flew as he engaged in rogue piracy.
- "You really mean it? I can join your crew?"
"But of course!" - ―Jack Sparrow and Christophe-Julien de Rapièr
At some point in his life, Christophe learned of the Treasure of Cortés, but he didn't know where the treasure was hidden. For unknown reasons, Christophe abandoned Le Requin, taking the brigantine La Vipère as his new ship. Later, Christophe and his crew later joined the rogue pirates led by Boris "Borya" Palachnik, who also served the Brethren Court as the Russian Pirate Lord of the Caspian Sea. The ruthless rogue pirates slaughtered the crews of merchant ships they captured, and they even attacked other pirate ships, leaving no survivors.[1]
Later, at Shipwreck Cove at Shipwreck Island, Christophe met young pirate Jack Sparrow, with whom he would play hazard and give instructions in swordfighting. They became good friends, and Christophe even offered Jack to join his crew. He also met Esmeralda, the granddaughter of Don Rafael, Pirate Lord of the Caribbean Sea, and he unsuccessfully tried to seduce her. When Captain Hector Barbossa and his crew arrived at Shipwreck City, they were the first witnesses of rogues' attacks on pirate ships. Barbossa's crewman Tommy recognized Borya as the captain of the rogue ship that sank Barbossa's ship, so Christophe killed Tommy by drowning him in the dead of night to silence him.[1]
Escape from Shipwreck Cove[]
- "Borya gave up the second rogue that Davy Jones spoke of? The one he said was here in Shipwreck Cove? Who...who was it?"
"Turns out it was that popinjay, styles himself de Rapièr." - ―Jack Sparrow and Hector Barbossa
Thanks to Jack Sparrow, the Pirate Lords at Shipwreck Cove learned that Borya leads the rogues. He and his men were captured and sentenced by Captain Edward Teague to hang. Not wanting to be tortured, Borya revealed the names of seven other rogue captains under his commands, naming Christophe as one of them.[1]
Though Christophe and his men tried to flee from Shipwreck Island, they were captured and imprisoned in the dungeons beneath Shipwreck City. Christophe's turquoise coat, which he wore on the night when he killed Tommy, was found onboard the La Vipère, which was enough evidence for Teague to sentence him and his whole crew to death.[1]
However, Jack Sparrow believed that Christophe was innocent, and he agreed to break Christophe out of jail in the name of friendship, but as soon as he let Christophe free, Christophe freed Borya and then fled the city, taking Jack captive.[7]
Continuing with rogue piracy[]
- "Jacques, I have been thinking. Now that most of Borya's fleet is gone, perhaps I shall become the new commander of our little venture. Have my own fleet, eh? And in that case, I'll need captains for my vessels. Would you like to be one of them, Jacques?"
- ―Christophe-Julien de Rapièr to Jack Sparrow
Whilst aboard his ship, La Vipere, Christophe put Jack to work and forced him to take part in his rogue pirate activities. On one particular occasion, while aboard a captured merchant vessel, Jack was given the third bracelet of Zerzura by its dying pharaoh, Taharka. Christophe witnessed this, and finally had his chance to punish Jack.[1]
He told the crew Jack Sparrow had been keeping stolen treasure, and sentenced him into a longboat without food or water, to float until he was rescued, or died. In the boat, Jack called back to Christophe, informing him he had kissed Esmeralda. When Christophe raised his musket to shoot Jack, Robby Greene jumped overboard and made Christophe miss his shot. Together, Robby and Jack rowed for days, and eventually made it to land, and joined the East India Trading Company.[1]
Two years later, Christophe killed Don Rafael, shooting him in the back. Esmeralda, who became the new Pirate Lord of the Caribbean Sea, swore that she would have her revenge on Christophe.[6]
Search for Zerzura[]
- "Christophe, I know you've been searching for Zerzura, to no purpose. And now you know that it takes not one, but three talismans to open the door to the labyrinth."
- ―Jack Sparrow to Christophe-Julien de Rapièr
Five years later, Jack Sparrow found himself needing the third Zerzuran bracelet, and used Tia Dalma's compass to track Christophe down from aboard his ship, the EITC merchant vessel Wicked Wench. Under strict orders from Jack, Christophe followed him to Zerzura and into the Zerzuran labyrinth after the treasure it held. When there, Christophe attempted to steal the Heart of Zerzura, a green crystal that gave the Shining City its power.[1]
Upon discovering Jack had swapped the real heart for a cursed rock, Christophe had a fit of rage and shot his first mate. After this incident, his crew held a mutiny, and put Christophe in a dinghy with no food or water, which was much similar to what Christophe had done to Jack many years earlier.[4]
Death[]
- "Christophe, listen carefully. You climb back down that ladder, and I might consider tossing down a canteen and some biscuit. But only if you immediately do as I say. If you refuse..."
"What, Jacques?"
"I'll kill you." - ―Jack Sparrow and Christophe-Julien de Rapièr
Christophe found the Wicked Wench off the shore of Zerzura and came aboard, asking Jack to allow him to come aboard the EITC merchant ship and drop him off at the nearest port. Jack refused, and this led to a duel between Christophe and Jack on board the Wench, which ultimately ended with Christophe's death. Christophe's body was thrown overboard, and Jack took his sword to give it to Esmeralda as a trophy.[4]
Personality and traits[]
- "You impugn my honor?"
"I'd say shooting Don Rafael in the back pretty much established everything I need to know about your 'honor.' Or the lack of it." - ―Christophe-Julien de Rapièr and Jack Sparrow
Christophe-Julien de Rapièr was a French pirate captain who appeared to be everything young Jack Sparrow admired—wealthy, good sailing skills, excellent swordsman, well-dressed, good teeth, handsome and debonair. He could be charming but treacherous, lying about nearly everything, and exhibit extreme narcissism, as a con artist who turned out to be sociopathic and sadistic, among other traits. With his strained relationship with Edward Teague, Sparrow was hungry for approval and affirmation, while Christophe was looking for someone he could impress and ensnare, then victimize and abuse.[8] Christophe-Julien de Rapièr was a great friend of Jack Sparrow during the latter's boyhood pirating days until former was accused of rogue piracy. Despite the accusations against de Rapièr, Sparrow broke the Pirate's Code when he facilitated the escape of his friend from Shipwreck Island, which led to Sparrow leaving the pirate's life and pursuing a legitimate career as a merchant seaman for the East India Trading Company.[1]
Christophe was generous to attractive serving wenches in the taverns of Shipwreck City, and he gave a gold doubloon to Marie Seymour on one occasion. He was charming to lovely ladies like Esmeralda, but he was sometimes very brutal with women, as witnessed when he attempted to rape Marie.[1]
Like all rogue pirates, Christophe and his crew were one of the most ruthless pirates on the high seas. They slaughtered entire crews, even those that surrendered without fight. In a fit of rage, Christophe even shot his own first mate.[1]
Christophe was a brave man who participated in many battles. The only man he ever feared was Boris "Borya" Palachnik, who was once a member of the Brethren Court as Pirate Lord of the Caspian Sea.[9]
Equipment and skills[]
- "We fenced many times, mon ami. Remember who always won?"
"You did. But it will be different this time." - ―Christophe-Julien de Rapièr and Jack Sparrow
Christophe was an excellent and expert swordsman, gaining his skills during the long years of fighting at sea. His favored weapon was the Spanish Toledo sword engraved with silver and gold. Like all pirates, Christophe liked to drink rum, but he was an excellent swordsman even when he was half drunk. He was also a good shooter both with pistol and musket. He also carried a knife hidden in the sleeve of his coat.[1]
Behind the scenes[]
- "With his strained relationship with Teague, Jack was hungry for approval and affirmation. Christophe appeared to the young Jack to be everything he admired -- wealthy, good sailing skills, excellent swordsman, well-dressed, good teeth, handsome and debonair. And Christophe, like most sociopaths, was looking for someone he could impress and ensnare, then victimize and abuse."
- ―A. C. Crispin
Christophe-Julien de Rapièr appeared in the 2011 novel Pirates of the Caribbean: The Price of Freedom by A. C. Crispin.[1] According to Crispin, Christophe originally first started out with "Jean-Baptiste" as the character's name, but was told to change his name when "another Disney Dept." pointed out there was a "Jean" in the Young Jack Sparrow books. Crispin changed his name to "Phillippe" until The Price of Freedom was "2/3 of the way done" when her editor discovered that Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio's script for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides under development featured a character named "Philip", which led to another change in the character's name.[8]
In developing Christophe, Crispin had several conversations with a friend who was a Dr. in Psychology and a well-respected therapist, and they talked about sociopaths and how they can be charming but treacherous. Crispin added she also had some exposure to sociopaths by working with the Writer Beware website and blog because most con artists turn out to be sociopaths. Like Christophe, sociopaths lie about nearly everything, exhibit extreme narcissim, and can also be sadists, among other traits.[8][10]
Regarding writing Jack Sparrow's younger character, especially when he was only 20, Crispin deliberately made him more trusting and more vulnerable, partly based on Joshamee Gibbs's comment in the 2003 film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, "He plays things closer to the vest now." Crispin knew what 20 year old young men were like, as a couple of times she warned her son against kids that had shady aspects to their characters and later ended up in jail. With his strained relationship with Edward Teague, Jack was hungry for approval and affirmation, and Christophe appeared to the young Jack to be everything he admired—wealthy, good sailing skills, excellent swordsman, well-dressed, good teeth, handsome and debonair. And Christophe, like most sociopaths, was looking for someone he could impress and ensnare, then victimize and abuse.[8]
The other facet of Christophe was that he was French. In making him French, Crispin was giving a tip of the hat to Rafael Sabatini's pirate novel, Captain Blood, and the character of Levasseur.[8]
Appearances[]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 The Price of Freedom
- ↑ In The Price of Freedom, Chapter One Jack Sparrow is described as "a good dozen years younger" than Christophe. The current timeline, as established in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and its tie-in materials, sets Jack's birth around 1690, which dates Christophe's birth around 1678.
- ↑ Although there is no official date of de Rapièr's death, the timeline established in the film series and its tie-in materials sets the events of The Price of Freedom circa 1715.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 The Price of Freedom, Chapter 17: "A Matter of Honor"
- ↑ The Price of Freedom, Chapter 1: Fair Winds and Black Ships
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 The Price of Freedom, Chapter 11: Pirates and Rogues
- ↑ The Price of Freedom Chapter 10: "Revelations"
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 TPOF Question 7 ~ Christophe - JOHNNY DEPP ZONE - Archived
- ↑ The Price of Freedom, Chapter 13: "Red Flag...Ho!"
- ↑ Profile of the Sociopath - mcafee.cc - Archived