A Regency Pirate
by Regan Walker
With the end of the War of 1812 and
the Napoleonic wars in 1815, an unprecedented wave of piracy swept the American
seaboard and the Caribbean when some of the hundreds of captains who were
privateers in the wars, now with free time on their hands, began preying upon
the growing numbers of merchant vessels. Although some of these pirates, like
Jean Laffite, were American, many came from farther south and Latin America.
Surprisingly, Cofresí was
educated at a private school under Professor Don Ignacio
Venero. He learned catechism and geography (his favorite subject), as well as
literature and arithmetic. In his book “Cofresí, Historia y Genealogia de un
Pirata,” Enriquez Ramirez Brau writes that at an early age, Cofresí sailed the
waters of Mona Passage against the advice of his older brothers who discouraged
his maritime adventures.
There are many legends
about why Cofresí turned to piracy. Some believe it was his desire for
independence from the Spanish regime (he is remembered as sometimes giving his
prize ships to Simon Bolivar to help the cause of independence in Venezuela and
Latin America). Some say Cofresí’s sister was raped by a group of sailors and others
say he was slapped in the face by an English captain. Perhaps it was for all
those reasons. In my novel, he has motivation enough.
Cofresí began attacking ships in
1818, when he was twenty-seven, going after any merchant ships sailing under
flags other than Royal Spain. His first ship was named El
Mosquito. Wielding his hatchet, Cofresí would
be the first to jump aboard the ships he seized. His audacity, commanding voice
and his own acts encouraged his men, who followed him blindly. Later,
he sailed a fast schooner named the Ana
after his wife, Juana Creitoff. (In my story his
ship is called the Retribución.)
In
response to his acts of piracy, Spain looked the other way, even encouraging
his piracy against other nations—at least until 1824, when Captain
John Slout of the U.S. Navy, aboard his schooner the USS Grampus, engaged Cofresí in a fierce battle. Cofresí was
captured and bowing to pressure from its allies, Spain executed him. Cofresí’s wife
died a year later, leaving their 5-year-old daughter Maria an orphan.
Cofresí
was famous for his generosity, sharing his booty with the poor so that he
became a kind of Puerto Rican Robin Hood, idolized and admired by the
people. The Puerto Ricans protected him and he had a network of spies
who worked for him as well. In Ponce, it was a rural schoolteacher; in Mayaguez,
a canteen waitress; and in Arecibo, the parish priest informed him of the civil
guard and military activities.
For all his piracy, Cofresí was
kind to women, children and the elderly. It was said that after the boarding of
one ship, he severely punished his crew for not showing proper respect for the old
and the women and children on board. He was known for saving young ones
taken from a prize ship to give them into the care of Catholic priests with
money for their room and board.
Contrasted
with this, other writers say he was merciless and arrogant and never took prisoners.
According to these reports, he scuttled the ships he seized and killed the
crews or let them drown. Some even say he nailed hostages to the deck of
El Mosquito, and he once captured
a Danish ship and killed all aboard. (A scene in my story is based on
this, though I have him attacking an English ship.)
Some biographers have said he was
a revolutionary, a patriot and a pioneer of Puerto Rico’s independence
movement. Perhaps it is so for he flew the flag of the Free Republic of Puerto
Rico, not that of Spain’s.
Today there is a monument to Cofresí in
Boquerón Bay in Cabo Rojo, and the town of Cofresí west of Puerto Plata in the
Dominican Republic is named after him. Many poems, songs
and books have been written about him for he is now consigned to legend.
Author Francisco Ortea wrote of Cofresí, “For
his boldness and courage, he was worthy of a better occupation and fate.” Alas,
I do agree.
Regan’s Amazon page: http://www.amazon.com/Regan-
Regan’s blog: http://reganromancereview.
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/regan.
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2 comments:
Hello Donna and the Historical Hussies! Thanks for having me and my pirate on your wonderful blog! It's great to be here!
You're writing is very inspiring! Truth or false,detective work should be done to bring out the reality of history or the fantasis of tales.
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