Coordinates: 50°23′06″N 3°31′14″W / 50.3849°N 3.5205°W / 50.3849; -3.5205

Brixham
Brixham Harbour
Brixham  Brixham shown within Devon
Population	17,457 (2001)
OS grid reference	SX9255
Civil parish	Brixham
Unitary authority	Torbay
Ceremonial county	Devon
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	BRIXHAM
Postcode district	TQ5
Dialling code	01803
Police	Devon and Cornwall
Fire	Devon and Somerset
Ambulance	South Western
EU Parliament	South West England
UK Parliament	Totnes
List of places: UK • England • Devon

Brixham ( /ˈbrɪksəm/) is a small fishing town and civil parish in the county of Devon, in the south-west of England. Brixham is at the southern end of Torbay, across the bay from Torquay, and is a fishing port. Fishing and tourism are its major industries. At the time of the 2001 census it had a population of 17,457.^[1]

It is thought that the name 'Brixham' came from Brioc's village. 'Brioc' was an old English or Brythonic personal name and '-ham' is an ancient term for village.

The town is hilly, and built around the harbour which remains in use as a dock for fishing trawlers. It has a focal tourist attraction in the replica of Sir Francis Drake's ship the Golden Hind that is permanently moored there.

In summer the Cowtown carnival is held, a reminder of when Brixham was two separate communities with only a marshy lane to connect them. Cowtown was the area on top of the hill where the farmers lived, while a mile away in the harbour was Fishtown, where the seamen lived. Cowtown, the St Mary's Square area, is on the road leaving Brixham to the south west, in the direction of Kingswear, upon which stands a church built on the site of a Saxon original. The local Royal British Legion club is also here. The main summer attraction in Cowtown is the Hap'nin in St. Mary's Park, an annual music event, with local bands, that takes place in mid July.

History[link]

Although there is evidence of Ice age inhabitants here^{[citation needed]}, and probable trading in the Bronze age, the first evidence of a town comes from the Saxon times. It is possible that Saxon settlement originated by sea from Hampshire in the sixth century, or overland around the year 800.^[2]

Brixham was called Briseham in the Domesday Book.^[3] Its population then was 39.^[4]

Brixham was part of the former Haytor Hundred. The population was 3,671 in 1801^{[citation needed]} and 8,092 in 1901. In 1334, the town's value was assessed at one pound, twelve shillings and eightpence; by 1524, the valuation had risen to £24 and sixteen shillings. It is recorded as a borough from 1536, and a market is recorded from 1822.^[5]

William Prince of Orange (afterwards King William III of Great Britain & Ireland) landed in Brixham with his mainly Dutch army, on 5 November 1688, during the Glorious Revolution, and issued his famous declaration "The Liberties of England and The Protestant Religion I Will Maintain". Many local people still have Dutch surnames, being direct descendants of soldiers in that army. A road leading from the harbour up a steep hill to where the Dutch made their camp, is still called Overgang, meaning 'passage' in Dutch.^[6]

The coffin house reflects Brixham humour: it is coffin-shaped and when a father was asked for the hand in marriage of his daughter, he said he would 'see her in a coffin, before she wed'. The future son-in-law bought the coffin-shaped property, called it the Coffin House, and went back to the father and said 'Your wishes will be met, you will see your daughter in a coffin, the Coffin House'. Amazed by this, the father gave his blessing.^[7]

The street names reflect the town's history. Pump Street is where the village pump stood. Monksbridge was a bridge built by the monks of Totnes Priory. Lichfield Drive was the route that the dead (from the Anglo-Saxon ‘lich’ meaning a corpse) were taken for burial at St Mary’s churchyard. Salutation Mews, near the church, dates from when England was Catholic, and the salutation was to the Virgin Mary. Similarly, Laywell Road recalls Our Lady’s Well. The first building seen when coming into Brixham from Paignton is the old white-boarded Toll House where all travellers had to pay a fee to keep the roads repaired.

The tower of All Saints' Church, founded in 1815, stands guard over the town. The composer of Abide With Me, Rev. Francis Lyte was a vicar at the church. He lived at Berry Head House, now a hotel, and when he was a very sick man, near to dying, he looked out from his garden as dusk fell over Torbay, and the words of that hymn came into his mind.

The main church is St. Mary's, about a mile from the sea. It is the third to have been on the site (which was an ancient Celtic burial ground). The original wooden Saxon church was replaced by a stone Norman church that was in its turn built over in about 1360. Many of the important townspeople are buried in the churchyard.

Many of Brixham's photogenic cottages above the harbour were originally inhabited by fishermen and their families. Near the harbour is the famous Coffin House mentioned earlier. Many of the dwellings towards Higher Brixham were built largely between the 1930s to 1970s. Several holiday camps were built in this area, for example Pontin's Wall Park and Dolphin. The Dolphin was one of the companys biggest camps. The camp closed in 1991 after fire destroyed the main entertainments building.

Brixham was served by the short Torbay and Brixham Railway from Churston. The line, opened in February 1868 to carry passengers and goods (mainly fish), was closed in May 1963 as a result of the Beeching Axe cuts. Although the former line to Brixham is deserted and overgrown, the branch line through nearby Churston is now maintained and operated as a heritage railway by a team of volunteers as the Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway.

Maritime[link]

Looking west across Brixham Harbour

Brixham is also notable for being the town where the fishing trawler was improved in the 19th century; their distinctive sails inspired the song "Red Sails in the Sunset", which was written aboard a Brixham sailing trawler called the Torbay Lass.

In the Middle Ages, Brixham was the largest fishing port in the south west of England. Known as the 'Mother of Deep-Sea Fisheries', its boats helped to establish the fishing industries of Hull, Grimsby and Lowestoft. In the 1890s, there were about 300 trawling vessels in Brixham, most individually owned. The trawlers can still be seen coming in and out of the harbour, followed by flocks of seagulls. The fish market is open to the public on two special days in the summer, when the finer points of catching and cooking fish are explained. The modern boats are diesel-driven, but several of the old sailing trawlers have been preserved.

Hundreds of ships have been wrecked on the rocks around the town. Brixham men have always known the dangers but even they were taken by surprise by a terrible storm that blew up on the night of 10 January 1866. The fishing boats only had sails then and could not get back into harbour because gale force winds and the high waves were against them. To make things worse, the beacon on the breakwater was swept away, and in the black darkness they could not determine their position. According to local legend, their wives brought everything they could carry, including furniture and bedding, to make a big bonfire on the quayside to guide their men home. Fifty vessels were wrecked and more than one hundred lives were lost in the storm; when dawn broke the wreckage stretched for nearly three miles up the coast.

Brixham breakwater and lighthouse

Hearing of this tragedy, the citizens of Exeter gave money to set up what became the Royal National Lifeboat Institution's Brixham Lifeboat in 1866. Now known as Torbay Lifeboat Station, it operates a Severn Class all-weather lifeboat and a D Class inshore lifeboat.^[8] The crews have a history of bravery, with 52 awards for gallantry. The boathouse can be visited and memorials to the brave deeds seen; on special occasions visitors can go on board the boat. Two maroons (bangs) are the signal for the lifeboat to be launched.

Smuggling was more profitable than fishing, but if the men were caught, they were hanged. There are many legends about the local gangs and how they evaded the Revenue men. One humorous poem describes how a notorious local character, Bob Elliott ("Resurrection Bob"), could not run away because he had gout and hid in a coffin. Another villain was caught in possession but evaded capture by pretending to be the Devil, rising out of the morning mists. On another occasion when there was a cholera epidemic, some Brixham smugglers drove their cargo up from the beach in a hearse, accompanied by a bevy of supposed mourners following the cortege drawn by horses with muffled hooves.

The town's outer harbour is protected by a long breakwater, useful for sea angling. In winter this is a site for Purple Sandpiper birds. During the Second World War, a ramp and piers were built from which American servicemen left for the D-day landings.

To the south of Brixham, and sheltering the southern side of its harbour, lies the coastal headland of Berry Head with a lighthouse, Iron Age Fort and National Nature Reserve.

Military[link]

The replica of Golden Hind in Brixham harbour

Warships have been seen in Torbay from the days of the Vikings up until 1944 when part of the D-Day fleet sailed from here. In 1588 Brixham watched Sir Francis Drake attacking the Spanish Armada after he had (so the legend goes) finished his game of bowls on Plymouth Hoe. Today in Brixham harbour there is a full-sized replica of the ship, the Golden Hind, in which Drake circumnavigated the globe; visitors can go on board.

For centuries, ships going down the English Channel have come into Torbay to seek refuge from the storms and to replenish food supplies. Sometimes these were merchants, taking cargoes to far away places and bringing back exotic goods and rare spices; sometimes they were carrying pilgrims, or gentlemen on the Grand Tour.

Since the days of Henry VIII Brixham has played a part in the defence of the nation. The headland known as Berry Head is now a National Nature Reserve, but it is also a military site where guns were once positioned to defend the naval ships that were re-victualling at Brixham. Twelve guns were put there during the War of American Independence, but were removed when peace came in 1783. Just ten years later, during a war with France, guns were again deployed around the town. The major position was at Berry Head, but this time fortifications were built to defend the gun positions. These can still be seen, and are now some of the best preserved Napoleonic forts in the country.

During the long series of wars against the French that began in 1689 and lasted until 1815, the Royal Navy came into Brixham to get supplies of fresh vegetables, beef and water. There might have been twenty or so of the big men-o'-war lying at anchor in Torbay, recovering from exploits of the sort described in the books about Hornblower, Bolitho or Jack Aubrey. On the harbourside towards the marina there is a grey stone building which today is the Coastguard headquarters; then, it was the King's Quay where His Majesty's vessels were provisioned. Local farmers brought vegetables to ward off scurvy, and cattle were slaughtered and their meat packed into barrels. The water came from a big reservoir situated near the crossroads in the middle of town; from there a pipeline carried it under the streets and under the harbour to the King's Quay.

Many of the well-known Admirals of the day visited Brixham. Not only Nelson, but also Lord St. Vincent, Cornwallis, Hood, Rodney and Hawke. There was also Earl Howe, who earned the nickname of Lord Torbay because he spent so much time ashore in Brixham. A notorious visitor was Napoleon Bonaparte, who, as a prisoner on HMS Bellerophon, spent several days off Brixham waiting to be taken to exile on St. Helena.

Battery Gardens have a military history leading back to the Napoleonic wars and the time of the Spanish Armada. The emplacements and features seen here today are those of the Second World War and are of national importance. The site, listed by English Heritage, is recognised as one of the best preserved of its kind in the UK. Of the 116 ‘Emergency Coastal Defence Batteries’ set up in the UK in 1940, only seven remain intact.

Industrial[link]

Apart from fishing, most of the other local industries were connected with stone. Limestone was once quarried and used to build the breakwater, for houses and roads, and was sent to Dagenham to make steel for Ford automobiles. It was also burnt in limekilns to reduce it to a powder which was spread on the land in other parts of Devon as an agricultural fertiliser. The old quarries and the limekilns can still be seen.

Another mineral found in Brixham is ochre. This gave the old fishing boats their "Red Sails in the Sunset", but the purpose was to protect the canvas from sea water. It was boiled in great caldrons, together with tar, tallow and oak bark. The latter ingredient gave its name to the barking yards which were places where the hot mixture was painted on to the sails, which were then hung up to dry. The ochre was also used to make a paint. This was invented in Brixham in about 1845 and was the first substance in the world that would stop cast iron from rusting. Other types of paint were made here as well, and the works were in existence until 1961.

There were iron mines at Brixham, and for a while they produced high quality ore but the last one closed in 1925. Most of the sites have been built over and there are now no remains of this once important industry.

Politics[link]

On 1 April 2007, Brixham Town Council was established after a forty-year gap since Brixham Urban Council disappeared. In its first meeting the council changed its name to Brixham Town Council per the Local Government Act 1972 and adopted the term Chairman instead of Mayor to avoid confusion with the Torbay elected Mayor. The Council's duties are those of a standard English civil parish.

The former British Prime Minister, James Callaghan was educated partly at Furzeham Primary School.

Sport[link]

Brixham is home to the Brixham Archers.^[9] This is the biggest archery club in the bay and shoots at the Brixham Cricket Club. The Archery club was formed in 1969 and has been successful at county and national level competitions.

In 1874, Brixham Rugby union Football Club was founded and became one of the founder members of Devon RFU of which six clubs are now left. They played Rugby on Furzeham Green until 1896 when they moved their present ground to New Gate Park (now Astley Park). The club will play their league fixtures in the Southwest 1 west division of English rugby.^[10]

Footballer Dan Gosling, of Newcastle United F.C., was born and raised in Brixham, and is the fourth-youngest player to have ever played for Plymouth Argyle aged 16 years and 310 days.

Transport[link]

Brixham Station entrance in 1964

The railway station in Brixham on the Torbay and Brixham Railway served the town until the Brixham Line was closed in 1963. Today, the remains of the line operate between Paignton, Goodrington, Churston and Kingswear as a steam railway. There are bus services operated by Stagecoach Devon to Newton Abbot, Paignton and Torquay.

The Association of Train Operating Companies included Brixham as one of fourteen towns that, based on 2009 data, would benefit from a new railway service. This would be an extension of the First Great Western service on the Riviera Line from Exmouth as far as Churston, which would then act as a railhead for Brixham. It would also serve other housing developments in the area since the opening of the steam railway, and may require the doubling of that line between Paignton and Goodrington Sands.^[11]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Brixham

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Brixham.

• Brixham at the Open Directory Project
• Brixham Town Council
• RNLI South Devon
• Official Tourist Board for Torquay, Paignton and Brixham

Captain Jack Sparrow is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the Pirates of the Caribbean film series created by screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, portrayed by Johnny Depp. He is first introduced in the film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003). He later appears in the sequels Dead Man's Chest (2006), At World's End (2007), and On Stranger Tides (2011). Jack Sparrow was originally conceived as a supporting character. He was brought to life by the actor Johnny Depp, who based his characterization on The Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards and cartoon character Pepé Le Pew. He tends to become rather frustrated whenever someone pronounces his name without the term "Captain".

The series Pirates of the Caribbean was inspired by a Disney theme park ride, and in 2006, when the ride was revamped, the character of Jack Sparrow was introduced to it. Jack Sparrow is also the subject of a children's book series, Pirates of the Caribbean: Jack Sparrow, which chronicles his teenage years and the character has also appeared in numerous video games.

In the context of the films, Sparrow is one of the Brethren Court, the Pirate Lords of the Seven Seas. He can be treacherous and survives mostly by using wit and negotiation rather than weapons or force, preferring to flee most dangerous situations and fight only when necessary. Sparrow is introduced seeking to regain his ship, the Black Pearl, from his mutinous first mate, Hector Barbossa, and attempts to escape his blood debt to the legendary Davy Jones while battling the East India Trading Company.

Films[link]

[edit] The Curse of the Black Pearl

Captain Jack Sparrow first appears in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, where he arrives in Port Royal looking to commandeer a ship. Despite rescuing Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley), the daughter of Governor Weatherby Swann (Jonathan Pryce) from drowning, he is jailed for piracy. That night, a cursed ship called the Black Pearl attacks Port Royal, capturing Elizabeth in the process. Its captain, Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), is trying desperately to break an ancient Aztec curse that he and the crew are under. Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), a blacksmith who loves Elizabeth, frees Sparrow to aid him in rescuing her. They steal the HMS Interceptor and acquire a crew in Tortuga before heading to Isla de Muerta, where Elizabeth is being held captive. Along the way, Will learns that Sparrow was originally captain of the Pearl, but Barbossa posed as his first mate in order to steal the ship from him – eventually leaving him marooned on a desert island eight years ago. While attempting to infiltrate Isla de Muerta, they are quickly captured, and Barbossa maroons both Sparrow and Elizabeth on the same deserted island where he left Jack years ago.

The pair are rescued by the British Royal Navy, after Elizabeth uses some rum found on the island to send off a smoke bomb signal. In order to escape hanging, Sparrow cuts a deal to deliver them the Black Pearl. During the film's final battle at Isla de Muerta, Sparrow steals a cursed coin, making himself immortal so he can fight Barbossa. He shoots his rival with the same bullet he has carried for ten years just as Will breaks the curse, killing Barbossa. Sparrow is captured and later sentenced to death.

At his scheduled execution in Port Royal, Will comes to his rescue, but they are quickly caught. Right at that moment Elizabeth shows her love for Will, and he is pardoned, while Sparrow escapes by falling off the sea wall. He is rescued by the Black Pearl crew, and made captain once more. Apparently impressed by the clever pirate, Commodore James Norrington (Jack Davenport) allows him one day's head start before giving chase.^[2]

[edit] Dead Man's Chest

In the sequel, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Sparrow searches for the Dead Man's Chest, which will help him to "control" the seas and save himself: thirteen years earlier, Sparrow bartered his soul to Captain Davy Jones (Bill Nighy) in return for Jones raising the sunken Black Pearl and making Sparrow captain. In the film, Sparrow must either serve for one hundred years aboard the Flying Dutchman, or be taken by the Kraken to Davy Jones's Locker.

The Dead Man's Chest contains Jones's heart, which Sparrow can use as leverage against Jones and end his debt. Adding to Sparrow's woes, Lord Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander) of the East India Trading Company wants to settle his own debt with Sparrow and forces Will Turner to search for him. Will finds Sparrow and his crew hiding from the Kraken on Pelegosto, where they have been captured by cannibals. They escape, but Davy Jones captures them and demands that Jack pay his debt. Jack argues that he was captain for only two years before he was mutinied by Barbossa, but Jones rejects his argument, stating that he's been calling himself "Captain" Jack Sparrow for the allotted years.

Sparrow betrays Will to Davy Jones as part of a new deal to deliver 100 souls in exchange for his own. Sparrow recruits sailors in Tortuga, where he unexpectedly encounters Elizabeth and the disgraced James Norrington, who has turned to alcohol. Convincing Elizabeth that she can free Will by finding the Chest, Sparrow and she head for Isla Cruces after she pinpoints its location with Jack's magic compass. Will also arrives, having escaped Jones's ship after stealing the key to the Chest. Will wants to stab the heart and free his father who is in Jones's service, while Norrington—who has discovered that Lord Cutler Beckett desires the heart in order to control Davy Jones and the seas—hopes to regain his career and honor by delivering the heart to Beckett. Sparrow fears that if Jones is dead, the Kraken will continue hunting him, and wants the heart as leverage.

Jones' crew arrives, and during the ensuing battle, Norrington steals the heart. Jones summons the Kraken to attack the Black Pearl. After seeing his crew get attacked by the Kraken, Jack tries to escape in the last undamaged longboat, but just as he nears an island, he is struck with remorse at abandoning his crew, and goes back to help rescue them. Once there, he helps blow up the kraken before sadly giving orders to abandon the ship; when Gibbs asks if he is sure that he wants to leave his ship behind to the Kraken, he replies, "She's only a ship, mate."

Realizing that the Kraken only wants Sparrow, Elizabeth tricks him by giving him a passionate kiss while chaining him to the mast to save the crew, with Jack looking on smirking, he calls her a pirate. The Kraken then arrives, spitting out Jack's hat, which he had lost earlier. Jack, having freed himself, resigns himself to his fate and charges the beast's mouth muttering, " 'Ello beastie." Sparrow and the ship are dragged down to Davy Jones's Locker. The crew seeks solace at the home of Tia Dalma, who surprises them by offering a captain who can help rescue Sparrow: Barbossa, brought back to life at her doing.^[3]

[edit] At World's End

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End opens with Davy Jones's heart now in Beckett's possession, and the nine pirate lords of the Brethren Court are summoned to convene at Shipwreck Cove to combat the combined threat of Beckett and Jones. Though taken to Davy Jones's Locker at the end of the previous film, Sparrow, who is a Pirate Lord of the Caribbean, must attend the meeting, as he failed to bequeath his "piece of eight", a pirate lord's identification marker, to an heir. The collective "pieces of eight" can free the sea goddess Calypso. A resurrected Barbossa leads Sparrow's crew to Davy Jones's Locker using the Singaporean pirate lord Sao Feng (Chow Yun-fat)'s navigational charts. There Sparrow has been hallucinating an entire crew of himself, each member representing a facet of his personality. After Barbossa and the crew find him, Sparrow deciphers a clue on the charts that indicates (in a clever nod to the Fata Morgana mirages attributed to the real life legend of the Flying Dutchman) they must capsize the Black Pearl to escape the Locker; at sunset, the ship upturns back into the living world. Sparrow and Barbossa journey to the Brethren Court where they encounter Elizabeth, who was traded to Sao Feng, and was made a Pirate Lord by him just before he died. At the Brethren Court, she is elected "Pirate King" after Sparrow breaks a stalemate (in all previous meetings except the first, Pirate Lords had always voted for themselves). During parley, he is traded for Will, who was captured by Jones and Beckett after Sparrow sent him overboard on the Black Pearl. The Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman face off in battle during a maelstrom created by Calypso, during which Sparrow steals Davy Jones's heart to become immortal. During the act Jones breaks Jack's cutlass. When Jones mortally wounds Will, Sparrow instead saves Will by helping him stab the heart with his own broken sword, killing Jones and making Will the Flying Dutchman's new captain. Together, the Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman destroy Beckett's ship. At the end of the film Barbossa again commandeers the Black Pearl and Feng's charts, and maroons Sparrow and Mr. Gibbs in Tortuga. Fortunately, Jack has already removed the chart's center, and he sets sail in a dinghy, using his compass and the chart to guide him to the Fountain of Youth.^[4]

[edit] On Stranger Tides

After reaching a dead end in his search for the Fountain of Youth, Jack Sparrow makes his way to London, where he hears of someone going by his name to gather a crew. Along the way, Sparrow poses as a judge to save the convicted Gibbs before being captured by the Royal Guards and summoned to an audience with King George the Second and Captain Hector Barbossa of the Royal Navy. By then, Jack Sparrow crosses paths with his impostor, revealed to be an old flame named Angelica (Penélope Cruz) who shanghaies him to the Queen Anne's Revenge, the ship of the horrific Blackbeard (Ian McShane) who forces Jack to help him reach the Fountain of Youth. Learning the full story behind it, Jack attempts to set up Blackbeard's demise and save the naive Angelica from her father. After some trouble with mermaids and the Spanish Navy, he succeeds by tricking Blackbeard into giving up his life to save Angelica. Jack and Angelica admit their love for one another, but Jack maroons Angelica on a stranded island, knowing that she will probably want to avenge her father's death. He then has Gibbs retrieve the shrunken Black Pearl in the hopes of finding a way to restore it to regular size. When asked about giving up his chance for immortality, Jack answers that immortality is not everything, though he admits making a name for himself as the one who found the Fountain is good enough immortality at the moment. After the credits in the film, the voodoo doll of Jack is seen drifting at sea towards the island Sparrow stranded Angelica on.^[5]

Tie-ins[link]

Outside films, Jack Sparrow first appeared as a companion character in the 2006 video game Kingdom Hearts II, where he was voiced by James Arnold Taylor in the English version and Hiroaki Hirata (who also dubbed Sparrow in the film's Japanese dubs) in the Japanese version. Sparrow has since appeared in other video games, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow where he was voiced by Johnny Depp, the adaptation of Dead Man's Chest and various game versions of At World's End, where he was voiced by Jared Butler with motion capture movements provided by Johnny Paton. The character was also voiced by Jared Butler in Pirates of the Caribbean Online, which takes place before the films.

Sparrow's backstory in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Complete Visual Guide indicates he was born on a pirate ship during a typhoon in the Indian Ocean, and that he was trained to fence by an Italian.^[6] Rob Kidd wrote an ongoing book series entitled Pirates of the Caribbean: Jack Sparrow, following a teenage Sparrow and his crew on the Barnacle as they battle sirens, mermaids and adult pirates while looking for various treasures. The first book, The Coming Storm, was published on 1 June 2006. In 2011, Ann C. Crispin wrote a novel Pirates of the Caribbean: The Price of Freedom about Jack's adventures when he worked as a merchant captain for the East India Trading Company.

A parody of him called Jack Swallows, was featured in the film Epic Movie played by Darrell Hammond

On Saturday Night Live, Andy Samberg and the rest of The Lonely Island collaborated with Michael Bolton in a Digital Short called "Jack Sparrow" about Bolton's obsession with the "Pirates" movies. In it Bolton dresses up as Jack Sparrow and the character is mentioned several times in the verses.

On the TV Show So Random! the show players of the name Jack Sparrow making Sparrow a bird in a recurring skit. He is played by Shayne Topp. The impression has become one of Topp's signature skits on the show.

Concept and creation[link]

Character creation[link]

When writing the screenplay for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio envisioned Jack Sparrow as a supporting character, citing Bugs Bunny and Groucho Marx as influences.^[7] The producers saw him as a young Burt Lancaster.^[8] Director Gore Verbinski admitted, "The first film was a movie, and then Jack was put into it almost. He doesn't have the obligations of the plot in the same ways that the other characters have. He meanders his way through, and he kind of affects everybody else."^[9] Sparrow represents an ethical pirate, with Captain Barbossa as his corrupt foil.^[7] His true motives usually remain masked, and whether he is honorable or evil depends on the audience's perspective.^[10] This acts as part of Will Turner's arc, in which Sparrow tells him a pirate can be a good man, like his father.^[7]

Following the success of The Curse of the Black Pearl, the challenge to creating a sequel was, according to Verbinski, "You don't want just the Jack Sparrow movie. It's like having a garlic milkshake. He's the spice and you need a lot of straight men ... Let's not give them too much Jack. It's like too much dessert or too much of a good thing."^[9] Although Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest was written to propel the trilogy's plot,^[11] Sparrow's state-of-mind as he is pursued by Davy Jones becomes increasingly edgy, and the writers concocted the cannibal sequence to show that he was in danger whether on land or at sea. Sparrow is also perplexed over his attraction to Elizabeth Swann, and attempts to justify it throughout the film.^[12]

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End was meant to return it tonally to a character piece. Sparrow, in particular, is tinged with madness after extended solitary confinement in Davy Jones's Locker,^[11] and now desires immortality.^[13] Sparrow struggles with what it takes to be a moral person,^[14] after his honest streak caused his doom in the second film. This is mainly shown by his increasingly erratic behaviour and Jack's hallucinations which appeared to be simply his deranged mind in the beginning where dozens of "Jack Sparrows" appeared to crew the ship in his solitary exile, but later the hallucinations grew more important and there were mainly two "Jacks" constantly arguing about which path to follow: the immortality or the mortality. The last hallucination took place while Jack was imprisoned on the Dutchman where his honest streak won (possibly due to not liking his sea creature-like "future" which comedically dropped his brain and searched for it around the Brig.^[15]By the end of At World's End Sparrow is sailing to the Fountain of Youth, an early concept for the second film.^[16] Rossio has said they may write the screenplay for a fourth film,^[17] and producer Jerry Bruckheimer has expressed interest in a spin-off.^[18] Gore Verbinski concurred that "all of the stories set in motion by the first film have been resolved. If there ever were another Pirates of the Caribbean film, I would start fresh and focus on the further adventures of Captain Jack Sparrow."^[19]

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides was first announced on 28 September 2008 during a Disney event at the Kodak Theater. On 11 September 2009 the title of the film was officially announced. Gore Verbinski did not return to direct the fourth installment, and is instead directed by Rob Marshall. The movie uses elements from Tim Powers novel On Stranger Tides, particularly Blackbeard and the Fountain of Youth but the film is not a straight adaptation of the novel.^[20]

Johnny Depp[link]

Depp with a 'goatee' similar to the one seen in the films

Johnny Depp was looking to do a family film in 2001, and was visiting the Walt Disney Studios when he heard there were plans to adapt the Pirates of the Caribbean ride into a film. Depp was excited by the possibility of reviving an old Hollywood genre,^[8] and was further delighted that the script met his quirky sensibilities: the crew of the Black Pearl were not searching for treasure, but were instead trying to return it to lift their curse. In addition, the traditional mutiny had already occurred.^[21] Depp was cast on 10 June 2002.^[22] Producer Jerry Bruckheimer felt Depp was "an edgy actor who will kind of counter the Disney Country Bears soft quality and tell an audience that an adult and teenager can go see this and have a good time with it."^[23]

At the first read-through, Depp surprised the cast and crew by portraying the character in an off-kilter manner.^[24] After researching 18th century pirates, Depp compared them to modern rock stars and decided to base his performance on Keith Richards.^[23] Verbinski and Bruckheimer had confidence in Depp, partly because Orlando Bloom would be playing the traditional Errol Flynn-type character.^[21] Depp also improvised the film's final line, "Now, bring me that horizon", which is the writer's favorite line.^[24] Disney executives were initially confused by Depp's performance, asking him whether the character was drunk or gay. Michael Eisner even proclaimed while watching rushes, "He's ruining the film!"^[24] Depp responded, "Look, these are the choices I made. You know my work. So either trust me or give me the boot."^[23] Many industry insiders also questioned Depp's casting, as he was an unconventional actor not known for working within the traditional studio system.^[25]

Depp's performance was highly acclaimed by film critics. Alan Morrison found it "Gloriously over-the-top ... In terms of physical precision and verbal delivery, it's a master-class in comedy acting."^[26] Roger Ebert also found his performance "original in its every atom. There has never been a pirate, or for that matter a human being, like this in any other movie ... his behavior shows a lifetime of rehearsal." Ebert also praised Depp for drawing away from the way the character was written.^[27] Although he disliked the film, critic Kenneth Turan enjoyed Depp's performance,^[28] but Mark Kermode wrote it was some of Depp's "worst work to date ... under [director Gore Verbinski]'s slack direction Depp defaults to an untrammelled showiness not seen since the sub-Buster Keaton antics of Benny & Joon."^[29] Depp won a Screen Actor's Guild award for his performance, and was also nominated for a Golden Globe^[30] and the Academy Award for Best Actor, the first in his career.^[31] Film School Rejects argued that because of the film, Depp became as much a movie star as he was a character actor.^[32]

Johnny Depp returned as Jack Sparrow in 2006's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, the first time the actor ever made a sequel.^[24] Drew McWeeny noted, "Remember how cool Han Solo was in Star Wars the first time you saw it? And then remember how much cooler he seemed when Empire came out? This is that big a jump."^[33] Yet, Eric Vespe felt that "In the first movie he was playing a fool that was hiding a great pirate on the inside and in this one he's a great pirate hiding a cowardly fool."^[34] By At World's End, Peter Travers felt it proved "there can indeed be too much of a good thing."^[35] Nonetheless, Depp received an MTV Movie Award^[36] and a Teen Choice Award for Dead Man's Chest, and was also nominated for a Golden Globe, which he lost to Sacha Baron Cohen for his portrayal of Borat Sagdiev in Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. Depp was also nominated at the 2007 Empire Awards for best actor but lost to Daniel Craig for Casino Royale.^[37] For his performance in At World's End, Depp won an MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance, as well as a People's Choice Award and a Kids' Choice Award. He has signed on to reprise the role for future sequels.^[38]

Make-up and costumes[link]

Johnny Depp wore a wig to portray Sparrow's dreadlocks, an aesthetic influenced by Depp's rock n' roll approach to pirates.^[39] In addition to a red bandanna Sparrow wears numerous objects in his hair, influenced by Keith Richards' habit of collecting souvenirs from his travels;^[40] Sparrow's decorations include his "piece of eight".^[4] Sparrow wears kohl around his eyes, which was inspired by Depp's study of nomads, whom he compared to pirates,^[41] and Depp also wore contacts that acted as sunglasses.^[42] Sparrow has several gold teeth, two of which belong to Depp,^[43] although they were applied during filming. Depp forgot to have them removed after shooting The Curse of the Black Pearl,^[44] and decided to keep them throughout shooting of the sequels.^[8] Like all aspects of Depp's performance, Disney initially expressed great concern over Depp's teeth.^[12] Sparrow wears his goatee in two braids. Initially wire was used in them, but the wires were abandoned because they made the braids stick up when Depp lay down.^[45] Sparrow also has numerous tattoos,^[4] and has been branded a pirate on his right arm by Cutler Beckett,^[3] underneath a tattoo of a sparrow.^[2] In At World's End, one of the "Jack" incarnations is working stripped to the waist, and a full body tattoo of the poem Desiderata is clearly seen.

Depp collaborated with costume designer Penny Rose on his character's appearance, handpicking a tricorne as Sparrow's signature leather hat: the other characters in the series could not wear leather hats, to make Sparrow's unique. For the scene when it floats on water in Dead Man's Chest, a rubber version was used.^[46] Depp liked to stick to one costume, wearing one lightweight silk tweed frock coat throughout the series,^[47] and he had to be coaxed out of wearing his boots for a version without a sole or heel in beach scenes.^[48] The official line is that none of the costumes from The Curse of the Black Pearl survived, which allowed the opportunity to create tougher linen shirts for stunts.^[49] However, one remains which has been displayed in an exhibition of screen costumes in Worcester, England.^[50] It was a nightmare for Rose to track down the same makers of Sparrow's sash in Turkey. Rose did not want to silkscreen it, as the homewoven piece had the correct worn feel.^[51] Sparrow wears an additional belt in the sequels, because Depp liked a new buckle which did not fit with the original piece.^[52]

Sparrow's weapons are genuine 18th century pieces: his sword dates to the 1740s, while his pistol is from the 1760s. Both were made in London.^[42][53] Depp used two pistols on set, one being rubber. Both props survived after production of the first film.^[54] Sparrow's magic compass also survived into the sequels, though director Gore Verbinski had a red arrow added to the dial as it became a more prominent prop. As it does not act like a normal compass, a magnet was used to make it spin.^[55] Sparrow wears four rings, two of which belong to Depp. Depp bought the green ring in 1989, and the gold ring is a replica of a 2400-year old ring Depp gave to the crew, though the original was later stolen. The other two are props to which Depp gave backstories: the gold-and-black ring is stolen from a Spanish widow Sparrow seduced, and the green dragon ring recalls his adventures in the Far East.^[56] Among Depp's additional ideas was the necklace made of human toes that Sparrow wears as the Pelegosto prepare to eat him,^[57] and the sceptre was based on one a friend of Depp's owned.^[58]

During the course of the trilogy, Sparrow undergoes physical transformations. In The Curse of the Black Pearl Sparrow curses himself to battle the undead Barbossa. Like all the actors playing the Black Pearl crew, Depp had to shoot scenes in costume as a reference for the animators, and his shots as a skeleton were shot again without him. Depp reprised the scene again on a motion capture stage.^[42] In At World's End, Sparrow hallucinates a version of himself as a member of Davy Jones's crew, adhered to a wall and encrusted with barnacles. Director Gore Verbinski oversaw that the design retained Sparrow's distinctive look,^[59] and rejected initial designs which portrayed him as over 100 years old.^[60]

Characterization[link]

According to screen writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, Sparrow is a trickster who uses wit and deceit to attain his goals, preferring to end disputes verbally instead of by force.^[61]He walks with a slightly drunken swagger and has slurred speech and flailing hand gestures, which are slightly based on Tuco, from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.^[7] 

Although Barbossa does not respect him much, as evidenced by naming his monkey Jack, Sparrow is shrewd, calculating and intelligent. He fools Commodore Norrington and his entire crew to set sail on the royal ship Interceptor, which compels the admiration of Lieutenant Groves (Greg Ellis) as he concedes: 'That's got to be the best pirate I have ever seen'. Norrington himself acquiesces to this praise: 'So it would seem', in sharp contrast to what he had previously proclaimed: 'You are without doubt the worst pirate I have ever heard of'. In the third film, while he leaves Beckett's ship stranded and makes off, Lieutenant Groves asks him: "Do you think he plans it all out, or just makes it up as he goes along?".^[4]It was he who deciphered the seemingly unintelligible map in the same film while the others were still grappling with the problem of returning to the real world. When the Brethren Court convenes but the pirate lords fail to reach a consensus as to whether to fight the Armada or not (he and Elizabeth are inclined to go to war, while the others are not), Jack suggests a way out of this impasse by calling for a ritual vote whose results determine who will be the king. Every pirate lord votes only for himself or herself, but he votes for Elizabeth, resulting her being elected the 'king', after which she announces 'Prepare every vessel that floats. At dawn we are at war', which was what he had intended, and which other pirates are now bound to obey.

In combat, Sparrow is an extremely skilled swordsman (capable of quite easily holding his own against Davy Jones and also Will Turner), but uses his superior intelligence to his advantage during fights. Jack usually prefers the strategies of non-violent negotiations and turning his enemies against each other, reasoning "Why fight when you can negotiate? All one needs is the proper leverage."^[3]He will invoke parley and tempt his enemies away from their murderous intentions, encouraging them to see the bigger picture, as he does when he persuades Hector Barbossa to delay returning to mortal form so he can battle the British Royal Navy.^[2] He often uses complex wordplay and vocabulary to confound his enemies,^[2][3]and it is suggested that his pacifism may be one reason Barbossa and the Black Pearlcrew mutinied; Barbossa says in the first film, "Jack, that's exactly the attitude that lost you the Pearl. People are easier to search when they're dead."^[2]His pacifism is further indicated by the tattoo of the Desiderata on his back. Although a pirate and willing to kill his enemies in a fight, Jack has also shown a reluctance to kill people who do not actually wish himharm, as seen when he preferred to simply avoid a fight with Will Turner in their first meeting- the fight being provoked by Will's insistence-; when facing soldiers or navy officers, Jack has generally resorted to simply knocking them out or distracting them while he makes his escape. When Will is fatally wounded by Davy Jones, he relinquishes his dream of stabbing Jones' heart and becoming immortal and lets a dying Will stab it instead, thus ensuring that he lives, albeit not in the usual way. When searching for the Fountain of Youth, Jack noted that his desire for the Fountain had lessened when he learned that the Fountain would only provide someone with extra life if another died at the same time.

The character is portrayed as having created, or at least contributed to, his own reputation. When Gibbs tells Will that Sparrow escaped from a desert island by strapping two sea turtles together, Sparrow embellishes the story by claiming the rope was made from hair from his own back, while in reality, Sparrow escaped the island by bartering with rum traders. The video game Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow bases itself around these tall tales, including the sacking of Nassau port without firing a single shot.^[2] In a script draft of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest Will's guide says that he heard Sparrow escaped execution in Port Royal by grabbing two parrots and flying away.^[12] Johnny Depp has said pirates were like rock stars in that their fame preceded them, which suggests a reason for the portrayal of Sparrow as having an enormous ego.^[61] Sparrow also insists on being addressed as "Captain" Jack Sparrow^[2] and often gives the farewell, "This is the day you will always remember as the day that you almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow!," which is sometimes humorously cut off.^[2][3] When accused by Norrington as being the worst pirate he has ever heard of, Sparrow replies, "But you have heard of me."^[2] In a deleted scene from Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Sparrow ponders being "the immortal Captain Jack Sparrow",^[62] and during the third film he seeks immortality, although his father, Captain Teague, warns it can be a terrible curse. Sparrow also ponders being "Captain Jack Sparrow, the last pirate," as the East India Trading Company purges piracy.^[4]

Despite his many heroics, Sparrow is a pirate and a morally ambiguous character.^[14] When agreeing to trade 100 souls, including Will, to Davy Jones in exchange for his freedom, Jones asks Sparrow whether he can, "condemn an innocent man—a friend—to a lifetime of servitude in your name while you roam free?" After a hesitation Sparrow merrily replies, "Yep! I'm good with it!"^[3] He carelessly runs up debts with Anamaria,^[2] Davy Jones, and the other pirate lords.^[4] Sao Feng (Chow Yun-fat), pirate lord of Singapore, is particularly hateful towards him.^[4] In a cowardly moment, Sparrow abandons his crew during the Kraken's attack, but underlying loyalty and morality compel him to return and save them.^[63] Sparrow claims to be a man of his word,^[2] and expresses surprise that people doubt his truthfulness;^[3] there is no murder on his criminal record.^[1][2]

Depp partly based the character on Pepé Le Pew, a womanizing skunk from Looney Tunes.^[8] Sparrow claims to have a "tremendous intuitive sense of the female creature",^[3] although his conquests are often left with a sour memory of him. Former flames, Scarlett and Giselle, usually slap him^[2] or anyone looking for him.^[3] His witty charm easily attracts women, and even has Elizabeth Swann questioning her feelings.^[3] Director Gore Verbinski noted phallic connotations in Sparrow's relationship with his vessel, as he grips the steering wheel.^[21] The Black Pearl is described as "the only ship which can outrun the Flying Dutchman".^[4] The Freudian overtones continue in the third film when Sparrow and Barbossa battle for captaincy of the Black Pearl, showing off the length of their telescopes, and in a deleted scene, they fight over the steering wheel.^[64] Sparrow claims his "first and only love is the sea,"^[3] and describes his ship as representing freedom.^[2] Davy Jones's Locker is represented as a desert, symbolizing his personal hell.^[12]

Sparrow also has bad personal hygiene, a trait of Pepé Le Pew. Verbinski described Sparrow's breath as "a donkey's ass".^[21] Sparrow knocks Will off his ship simply by huffing at him.^[4] Lastly, Sparrow has an insatiable thirst for rum, which can confuse his magic compass as to what he wants most.^[3][4] According to his criminal record on the At World's End website, he even sacked a shipment of rum to quench his thirst.^[1]

Impact[link]

When Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest grossed over $1 billion worldwide, Ian Nathan attributed this to Sparrow's popularity: "Pirates, the franchise, only had to turn up. There was a powerful holdover from the cheeky delights of its debut, something we hadn't felt since the Clone Wars called it a day."^[65] Empire declared Johnny Depp's performance to be the seventy-fourth "thing that rocked our world" in 2006 when celebrating 200 issues and later named him as the eighth greatest movie character of all time.^[66] A survey of more than 3,000 people showed Jack Sparrow was the most popular Halloween costume of 2006,^[67] and a 2007 poll held by the Internet Movie Database showed Sparrow to be the second most popular live action hero, after Indiana Jones.^[68] In a 2007 Pearl & Dean poll, Jack Sparrow is Depp's most popular performance.^[69]

Emanuel Levy feels the character is the only iconic film character of the 2000s decade,^[61] while Todd Gilchrist feels Sparrow is the only element of the films that will remain timeless.^[70] According to Sharon Eberson, the character's popularity can be attributed to being a "scoundrel whose occasional bouts of conscience allow viewers to go with the flaws because, as played to the larger-than-life hilt by Depp, he owns every scene he is in."^[71] Film history professor at UCLA Jonathan Kuntz also attributed his popularity to the increased questioning of masculinity in the 21st century, and Sparrow's personality contrasts with action-adventure heroes in cinema. Leonard Maltin concurs that Sparrow has a carefree attitude and does not take himself seriously.^[72] Mark Fox also noted Sparrow is an escapist fantasy figure for women, free from much of the responsibility of most heroes.^[73] Sparrow is listed by IGN as one of their ten favorite film outlaws, as he "lives for himself and the freedom to do whatever it is that he damn well pleases. Precious few film characters have epitomized what makes the outlaw such a romantic figure for audiences as Captain Jack Sparrow has."^[74] Entertainment Weekly put it on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, "Part Keith Richards rift, part sozzled lounge lizard, Johnny Depp's swizzleshtick pirate was definitely one of the most dazzling characters of the decade."^[75]

In 2011, comedic group The Lonely Island, with singer Michael Bolton, released a song called Jack Sparrow as an homage to the character, declaring him "The Pauper of the Surf" and "The Jester of Tortuga."

Johnny Depp reprised his Captain Jack persona for a special episode of Doraemon. However, on the show, he was called "Captain Johnny".^[76]

The British metalcore band Bring Me the Horizon took its name from Sparrow's last line in The Curse of the Black Pearl, "Now... Bring me that horizon".

References[link]

External links[link]

	United States portal
	Fictional characters portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Captain Jack Sparrow

• Jack Sparrow at the Internet Movie Database
• Jack Sparrow at the Pirates of the Caribbean wiki