The Legend of Jose Gaspar, The Pirate

Tweet

Fort Myers

Sanibel-Captiva

Pine Island

Shelling

Top Ten

Gasparilla

José Gaspar

For more than a century, the legend of Jose  Gaspar, the “last of the buccaneers”, has conjured up visions of adventure, treasure and furious sea battles. Jose Gaspar, a respected, Spanish  naval officer who turned pirate, stills inspires that annual Gasparilla  festival in Tampa, Florida.

But who was Gaspar, and how many of the activities  attributed to him are true?

Examining the legend of Gasparilla (as he called himself) is aconvoluted  exercise. There is no single,reliable source of  information. Multiple, often conflicting,stories exist about the pirate, his victories, and even his death.

What follows is one of those stories…The EarlyYears

Jose Gaspar was born in Spain near Seville in1756. He was reported to be "small in body, perhaps, but imbued with the stamina of a Spanish fighting bull". Gasparwas  from an upper-class family and possessed a cultured,gallant  personality. However, despite isaristocratic upbringing,  Gaspar was a bit of a rogue. At age12, he kidnapped a young local girl  and held her for ransom.He was captured and the judge gave him the  choice of enteringthe Royal Spanish Naval Academy or going to jail. He  chose alife at sea over a stint in the Graybar Hotel.

Once in the Navy, he demonstrated great skills intactics and weaponry. He displayed bravery and cunning in battle. Herose through the ranks, becoming a lieutenant, a captain, and then an admiral ofthe Atlantic Fleet before becoming a naval attaché at theCourt of Charles III in 1782. He was 27 years old.

While atthe Court, he became romantically involved with several women (allat the same time). It was a perilous game, but one that matchedGaspar’s love of danger and adventure. The game could not go onforever, of course. He publicly jilted the daughter-in-law of the King,in favor of another woman of the Court.

Outraged and spiteful, the daughter-in-law conspired with the primeminister to  frame Gaspar for stealing the Spanish crownjewels.Upon hearing  news of his imminent arrest, ordered by CharlesIII, Gaspar  commandeered a ship, the Floridablanca, andescaped. Swearing an oath  to revenge his treatment by Spanish officials, he resolved to plunder any ship flying the flag of Spain. Theyear was 1783.

Gaspartook the Floridablanca and escaped to the Gulf coast of Florida.He established his base in Charlotte Harbor(near modern-day Fort Myers). He adopted a new name and the career ofGasparilla, the Pirate began. A Pirating We Will Go

For the next 38 years, Gasparillaattacked merchant ships from all countries, not just Spain’s. By someaccounts, he plunderred over 400ships. His own diary boasts of 36 victories by 1795 alone.

Widely regarded as fearless andferocious,  Gasparilla showed no mercy in battle. Heroutinely, killed all  passengers and crew, with the exceptionof beautiful women (whom he  made concubines). Occasionally,women from wealthy families were held for ransom on Captiva Island (some claim that this is how theisland  got its name).

His ship roamed the west coast of Florida and down to Cuban waters in search of prey. There where times where hedid not  sail alone. To pursue a particular big prize, wewould temporarily join  forces with other pirates operating inthe area, including the  famous Jean Laffite. The Death of Gasparilla

After decades of pirating, Jose Gaspar decided to retire. He was sixty-five, an extraordinarily old age for anactive  pirate. The Florida peninsula was now in Americanhands, and there has  been a determined and unrelenting effortby the Americans to destroy  the pirates that preyed in theirwaters. The combination of age and the  aggressive pursuit ofthe American Navy motivated Gasparilla into  contemplatingretirement.

center>

In December 1821, he announced to his crew that he was going to quit the pirate’s life. He said that he woulddivide up  all of the spoils with his crew and retire to livea life of luxury.

On the day that the spoils of many years of pirating were to be distributed, a rich British merchant shipwas seen  passing near Gasparilla’s hideout. Seeing a chancefor one last score,  Gasparilla took off in pursuit of the fattarget. Just as the ship came  within cannon range, theBritish ship dropped its colors and ran up the flag of the UnitedStates! Dozens of cannon were instantly uncovered   from itsdeck and aimed at Gasparilla’s ship. Jose Gaspar had fallen into atrap. The seemingly helpless British ship was actually the U.S. Navy’s warship –the USS Enterprise.

A fierce battle ensued, but the end was inevitable. The American cannonballs, repeatedly punctured Floridablanca’s hull, while still more shattered her masts. The Floridablanca was sinking as the USS Enterprise approached tofinish  the job.

Rather than be captured, Jose Gaspar climbed to the bow of his ship and yelled “Gasparilla dies by his ownhand, not the enemy’s”. Hewrapped  the anchor’s chain around his waist. Still holdinghis cutlass high in one hand he jumped into the dark waters andinstantly disappeared below  the waves. The lifeof Jose Gaspar - Gasparilla the  Pirate - and his reign ofterror on the seas was over. The remainder of his crew were eitherkilled or captured. Those captured were later  tried aspirates and executed in New Orleans. Gasparilla’s Treasure

When the British merchant ship (which laterturned  out to be the USS Enterprise) was spotted, Gasparillaand his crew were  about to divide their spoils. The treasureof many years had been  loaded into twenty large chests.Filled with gold and jewels, the  chests were sitting on thebeach when the merchant ship was spotted.

Gasparilla left 10 of his most trusted men with the treasure chests while he took the rest of the crew inpursuit of the merchant ship. The ten men witnessed the battle with theUSS  Enterprise from shore. Seeing the Floridablanca go down,then loaded  the chests into a longboat and slipped,unnoticed, up the Peace River  to a place called SpanishHomestead. Spanish Homestead was owned by Lady Boggess. The piratesbribed Lady Boggess with a small part of the  treasure,ensuring that she would not divulge their location if the Americans pursued them to the area.

The ten pirates spent the next day buryingthe  remainder of the chests in different spots along thestreams and swamps  of Peace River. They then burned theirlongboat and disappeared  forever, apparently never to return.

Near Spanish Homestead, $300,000 in gold coins was found yearslater – this may have been part of Lady Boggess’hush-money. Regardless, the remainder of the $30 million dollars ingold and jewels still remains undiscovered in the Peace River area. Gasparilla,Man or Myth?

Shrouded in mystery, the very existence of JoseGaspar is a controversial subject. For those wishing to review a carefully-documented examination of the history of JoseGaspar, please  examine The Legend of Gasparilla: Myth andHistory of Florida’s West  Coast by Andre-Marcel d’Ans.

Additional information about Jose Gaspar or of Tampa’s annual GasparillaPirate  Fest can be found at:

http://www.treasurelore.com/florida/gasparilla.htm

http://gasparilla.tbo.com/gasparilla/history1.htm

Return to the Top of the Page

<< Back - Gasparilla | Next - >>Sanibel-Captiva