Captain Jack Sparrow's Full Biography

Jack Sparrow was born to Edward Teague and an unknown female on a pirate ship caught in the middle of a typhoon off the coast of India. Jack grew up in a tumultuous household full of outlaws at Shipwreck Cove. He spent most of his youth unsure whether Edward Teague was really his parent, frequently referring to him as "The-Man-Who-Might-Be-Father". Despite Jack's resentment of Teague, he respected the fact that Teague was always there for him when he needed him most, such as when he nearly got his hand cut off by his uncle or when he was almost sold into slavery by Captain Lucille Graven. Jack was determined to follow in Teague's footsteps and become a captain of a ship, rather than just some ordinary pirate like the majority of his relatives (explaining his insistence on being referred to as "Captain" well into adulthood).

As a teenager, Jack served as a cabin boy on several pirate ships, including the Troubadour of Captain Teague and the Koldunya of Borya Palachnik. However, he became fed up with his hectic life in a pirate family and the torturing of his Grandmama. One night, he snuck by candlelight into the study to consult the Pirata Codex, and, coming upon a section on freedom and the need for pirates to make their own decisions, decided he was completely justified in running away. After escaping out the window, Jack stowed away aboard a merchant ship to reach Tortuga.

Jack had few worldly possessions, and even these were stolen when he was on the island. In attempting to reclaim his property, Jack accidentally stole a sack containing the scabbard of the Sword of Cortes from Captain Torrents, a vicious pirate captain with the ability to control storms. Learning of its magical nature from a barmaid named Arabella Smith, Jack set off to track down the Sword of Cortes itself.

"Look, I'm not a crook. This crummy sack here―and what's in it―is all I have. I would have brought more, but storage space for stowaways is very limited."―Jack Sparrow to Arabella Smith

After Arabella leads Jack to an abandoned ship, the Barnacle, he was given command, and, following a sword fight that Jack lost, found his second crew member in a man named Fitzwilliam P. Dalton III. Having braved a storm conjured by Torrents, Jack, Arabella and Fitzwilliam soon encountered two more sailors, Tumen and Jean Magliore—the latter providing one further crew member in the form of his cat, Constance Magliore, who was once Jean's sister before being transformed by Tia Dalma.

With a ship and a crew, not to mention part of the treasure of Stone-Eyed Sam, a now-dead former pirate king with a fabled stone eye who was said to be holding the Sword, Captain Jack Sparrow set off to find the elusive Sword of Cortés. The crew was confronted by Captain Torrents, though Jack was able to counter his control of lightning by splashing him with rainwater collected in his appropriated hat. He claimed that he had taught a young Benjamin Franklin this trick, and hoped "Benny" would remember it.

Jack's crew later happened upon a group of mermaids whose song made most of the crew act upon their deepest desires. However, Jack proved immune to their song, since his only true desire was freedom. Unfortunately for Jack, poorly-thought-out negotiations with the Sirens' minions, the merfolk, forced him into a deal that would cost him the thing Jack valued most — his freedom — should he ever find the Sword of Cortés. For the time being, he continued his search for the Sword, ultimately finding it in the possession of Left-Foot Louis on Isla Fortuna. Jack helped defeat Louis, and stopped Arabella from killing the pirate out of revenge for the supposed murder of her mother.

With the Sword and its scabbard in his possession, Jack was able to recite an incantation that unlocked its power—but also caused the spirit of Hernán Cortés to materialize. Jack, wishing to use the Sword's full power, was unaware that Cortés, in teaching Jack how to correctly wield the Sword, was ensuring he, Cortés, would ultimately regain control of the weapon for his own dastardly use. Jack was sent to collect the eye of Stone-Eyed Sam, recently given to the merfolk, meaning Jack was forced to return to Isla Sirena. There, he fought two iguana monsters for his freedom, and obtained the eye from Tia Dalma. Tia Dalma also reminded Jack that a dangerous foe was still pursuing him, a thought that Jack did not savor.