Sparrow had been captain of the "Black Pearl" before his first mate, Hector Barbossa led a mutiny and took over. Sparrow was left alone on a small island with nothing but a gun, one bullet, and a bottle of rum. The crew thought he would either die of thirst or shoot himself. When they returned expecting to find him dead, Sparrow was gone. No one knew how he did it and many amazing stories grew around their former captain. In reality, the island was used by smugglers to hide their illegal rum. When the smugglers returned, Sparrow left the island on their ship.