List of Pirates of The Caribbean Characters - Minor Characters - Captain Teague

Captain Teague

Captain Edward Teague, played by Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones, is Jack's father who was also formerly the pirate lord of Madagascar, before he became keeper of the code. He first appeared in At World's End.

Teague was once the most feared pirate in the world and as such receives respect and fear from all of the pirates in the Brethren Court. At one point Teague was the Pirate Lord of Madagascar but later resigned to become the Keeper of the Pirate Code, the Pirata Codex, which he keeps with him at Shipwreck Cove. He firmly believes that the pirate code is law and will kill anyone who claims otherwise, which happens in the film when, at the Brethren Court, the first mate of the Pirate Lord of India says to "Hang the code" (colloquially saying to "Ignore" the code). Teague immediately guns him down. Despite his gruff demeanor, he does have a sense of humor as well as musical skill though he said recently he forgets some tunes when on his ship, and he does seem to be fond of his son, calling him "Jackie". During a conversation with Jack, who asks about his mother, Teague shows him a shrunken head. Jack then comments, "She looks great!".

Jack references the fact that Teague has "seen it all, done it all", hinting that Teague has experienced a great deal during his pirating career. Likewise, his crew seems to be made up of older pirates. It is possible that Teague was at one of the three previous meetings of the Brethren Court (he seems to have an awareness of how the meetings go), or has fought in a battle or war of the like that the current Brethren face. He also seems to have a knowledge of immortality as he warns his son "It's not just about living forever, Jackie, the trick is living with yourself forever." He may be lonely as he spends his time at Shipwreck Cove and it appears his wife died at some point in the past, possibly killed by Amazonians or Melanesians who shrunk her head, which he carries with him everywhere. It is clear that his relationship with his son is strained, highlighted by Jack's negative facial expression when Barbossa calls for Teague.

Captain Teague seems to be the new master of the jailhouse dog that was last seen on Pelegosto about to be devoured by the natives (it was later explained in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Price of Freedom that Teague was the original owner of the dog). Teague explains the dog's apparent escape to Pintel and Ragetti by merely shrugging his shoulders and commenting, "Sea turtles, mate" mirroring to how his son Jack lies about his escape of Rumrunners Isle where he was marooned and made "Governor" of by Barbossa. It is thought that the idea of using sea turtles for travel may be something of an in-joke among the family, as both Teague and Sparrow mention it, as a way of explaining something that cannot be explained or is better left unexplained.

After Jack escaped from St James's Palace, he was chased through the streets of London by the Royal Guard. Just as one of the soldiers aimed his musket at Jack, he was shot in the back by Teague. Later, inside the Captain's Daughter pub, Teague gave Jack a significant amount of information about the Fountain of Youth. When Jack asked him, "Have you ever been there?", Teague sarcastically replied, "Does this face look like it's been to the Fountain of Youth?". Teague then vanished when Jack looked away.