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Roberto Cofresí
Monument of Roberto Cofresí located in Cabo Rojo
Born(1791-06-17)June 17, 1791
Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico
DiedMarch 29, 1825(1825-03-29) (aged 33)
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Piratical career
NicknameEl Pirata Cofresí
TypePirate
AllegianceNone
RankCaptain
Base of operationsCaribbean, Atlantic
CommandsEl Mosquito
Battles/warsCapture of the El Mosquito

Roberto Cofresí (June 17, 1791 – March 29, 1825), better known as "El Pirata Cofresí", was the most renowned pirate in Puerto Rico. He became interested in sailing at a young age. By the time he reached adulthood there were some political and economic difficulties in Puerto Rico, which at the time was a colony of Spain. Influenced by this situation he decided to become a pirate in 1818. Cofresí commanded several assaults against cargo vessels focusing on those that were responsible for exporting gold. During this time he focused his attention on ships from the United States and the local Spanish government ignored several of these actions.

On March 5, 1825, Cofresí engaged in battle a float of ships led by John Slout. He eventually abandoned his ship and tried to escape by land before being captured. After being imprisoned he was sent to San Juan, Puerto Rico, where a brief military trial found him guilty and on March 29, 1825, he and other members of his crew were executed by a firing squad. Following his death, Cofresí's life was used as inspiration for several stories and myths, in particular its Robin Hood "steal from the rich, give to the poor" aspect, which has become legendary in Puerto Rico and throughout the rest of Latin America. It has inspired countless songs, poems, books and films. The entire town of Cofresí, near Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic, was named after him.[1]

Early years

Cofresí (birth name: Roberto Cofresí y Ramírez de Arellano [note 1]) was born in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico.[2] His father was Franz von Kupferschein (1751–1814) and of Austrian descent, born in Trieste, a free city of the Holy Roman Empire. According to Professor Ursula Acosta, a historian and member of the Puerto Rican Genealogy Society, the Kupferschein family emigrated from Austria to Trieste, where Franz von Kupferschein was known as Francesco Confersin.[2] Immigrants were required by the Italian authorities to adopt Italian-sounding names.[2] When Francesco Confersin (Franz von Kupferschein) immigrated to Puerto Rico, he went to live in the coastal town of Cabo Rojo and changed his name to Francisco Cofresí, which made it much easier for the Spanish authorities to pronounce.[3] Francisco Cofresí met and married María Germana Ramírez de Arellano, whose father was the cousin of Nicolás Ramírez de Arellano, the founder of Cabo Rojo. The couple had four children: a daughter by the name of Juana, and three sons—Juan Francisco, Ignacio, and their youngest, Roberto. Roberto Cofresí was four years old when his mother died.[4]

Cofresí and his siblings went to school in his hometown of Cabo Rojo. Living in a coastal municipality, the brothers often came into contact with visiting sailors. They were inspired to become seamen by the tales that they heard from the sailors who visited their town. Cofresí eventually purchased a small boat, which he christened El Mosquito ("The Mosquito").[2][5] His original intention was to become an honest merchant, making a living from the sea. Afterwards, Cofresí met and married Juana Creitoff, a native of Curaçao, in the San Miguel Arcángel Parish of Cabo Rojo.[2] They had two sons, both of whom died soon after birth.[2] In 1822, Cofresí and Juana had a daughter, whom they named María Bernada.[2][5] Records suggest that upon reaching adulthood the couple's daughter married a Venezuelan immigrant named Etanislao Asencio Velázquez, perpetuating Cofresí's blood lineage in the municipality of Cabo Rojo to this day.

Reigniting piracy in the 19th century

In 1818, Cofresí decided to become a pirate and organized a crew composed of eight to ten men from his hometown. The men established a hideout in Mona Island, a small island located between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.[6] It was a common practice then for the Spanish Crown to look the other way when pirates such as the crew of El Mosquito attacked ships that did not carry the Spanish flag, making this venture lucrative.[7] Confresí's success was an oddity, considering that it came nearly a century after the conclusion of the Golden Age of Piracy. By this time, the joint effort of different governments had eradicated the rampant buccaneering by Anglo-French seamen, mostly based in the adjacent islands of Jamaica and Tortuga, which had turned the Caribbean into a haven for pirates that made a living by attacking the shipments of the Spanish colonies in the region. Cofresí generally ignored the ships that came from other nations including those from France, the Netherlands and England and his attacks were mainly focused on ships from the United States.[8]

Small schooner similar to El Mosquito

His dislike of American sailors originated when he was once caught eating sugar from an American cargo ship without paying and was injured by the ship's captain.[7] After this event Cofresí declared war on all of those that operated under the flag of the United States. He often displayed cruel behavior against hostages that were on these vessels, including reports that he ordered that his captives were to be nailed alive to El Mosquito's deck.[7] Spain and the United States were having diplomatic and political differences, therefore the Spanish colonial government did not pursue Cofresí or his crew as long as he assaulted American ships. The government felt that Cofresí's actions were patriotic.[9] This situation changed because of various factors. Spain had lost most of her possessions in the New World and her last two possessions, Puerto Rico and Cuba were faced with economical problems and political unrest. Cofresí was influenced by the separatist faction which was supporting Puerto Rico's independence from Spain.[9]

Cofresí felt that the Spaniards were oppressing the Puerto Ricans in their "own home" and he began assaulting Spanish ships along with the American and English vessels that were being used to export the island's resources, gold in particular.[9] He did this in order to debilitate the Spanish economy, justifying it by saying that he "wouldn't allow foreign hands to take a piece of the country that saw his birth".[9] On January 23, 1824, Lieutenant General Miguel Luciano de la Torre y Pando (1822–1837), the Spanish appointed governor of Puerto Rico, issued several anti-piracy measures based on the economic losses that the Spanish government was sustaining and the political pressure from the United States.[10][11] Despite the official posture on piracy and his bold actions, capturing Cofresí would prove complicated since he was already gathering a mythical reputation in Puerto Rico, becoming highly influential.[12] Cabo Rojo's major, Brenes, documented how among the local population the pirates gathered several friends who would protect them.[12] His figure was held with such regard that some members of the higher classes were arrested due to their links with Cofresí.[12]

Imprisonment in the Dominican Republic

Area where Cofresí and his men operated

On one occasion Cofresí and his crew were captured after his ship arrived at Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. They were sentenced to six years in prison and sent to Torre del Homenaje.[13] Cofresí and his men escaped from prison, however they were captured once again and imprisoned. The group decided to escape once more, they broke the locks of their cell doors and climbed down the walls of the prison's courtyard during a stormy night using a rope that was made of their clothes.[13] The group reached the providence of San Pedro de Macorís and boarded a ship. They sailed to the island of Vieques where they established a new hideout and reorganized a new crew of fourteen men. Cofresí then selected six of them and traveled to the main island (Puerto Rico) where they hijacked a schooner named Ana forcing the crew to jump into the ocean, an incident which they survived.[13] Cofresí renamed the captured ship El Mosquito.[14] They then proceeded to steal a cannon from another ship that was under construction. The crew members of El Mosquito armed themselves, with the weapons found in the vessels that they boarded.[15]

Expansion of Cofresí's fleet

Cofresí's earrings on display at the American Museum of Natural History

Accompanied by his crew, Cofresí set out to the sea once again aboard this schooner, continuing to attack merchant ships in the Caribbean. Among the ships that they plundered was a cargo vessel named Neptune. The freighter, with a haul that consisted of fabrics and provisions, was attacked while it was docked. After navigating the boat out of Jobos Port, a harbor located in a bay near the vicinity of Fajardo, Puerto Rico, Cofresí adopted the vessel as his pirate flagship.[16] In February 1825, the pirates attacked a second cargo ship owned by a company based on Saint Thomas and gained control of a load of imported merchandise.[16] After the assault, Cofresí and his crew left the ship abandoned in the ocean. Some time later, they boarded another vessel owned by the same company and repeated the same action as before.[16]

The people on the coasts of Puerto Rico are said to have protected him from the authorities and, according to the Puerto Rican historian Aurelio Tió, Cofresí shared his spoils with the needy, especially members of his family and close friends, being regarded by many as the Puerto Rican version of Robin Hood.[5] Cofresí's crew continued to assault several ships and on one occasion they attacked eight consecutive ships, including one from the United States.[16] Cofresí's last successful assault took place on March 5, 1825, when he commanded the hijacking of a boat property of Vicente Antoneti in Salinas, Puerto Rico.[17]

Capture and trial

Main article: Capture of the El Mosquito

The Spanish government received many complaints from the nations whose ships were being attacked by "El Pirata Cofresí", as he became to be known. The government felt compelled to have Cofresí pursued and captured.[8] The Spanish government requested the service of three military vessels. These were San José, Las Animas which belonged to Spain and the Grampus which belonged to the United States. In 1825, Captain John D. Sloat, commander of the Schooner U.S. "Grampus", engaged Cofresí in battle.[18] There are two official accounts of this event, submitted by those involved in it.

Spanish government's version

The Spanish government's version states that on March 2, 1825, the commander of the island's south military division requested the service of three military vessels. These were San José, Las Animas and the Grampus, which belonged to the United States.[19] The mayor of the municipality of Ponce asked Capt. John D. Sloat to command a recon mission with the intention of capturing Cofresí.[19] Three American officers and a doctor accompanied Sloat in this mission, they were: Garred S. Pedergrast, George A. Magrades and Francis Store plus a crew of twenty-three sailors were assigned to the mission.[19] The sailors were heavily armed and a new cannon was mounted on the ship. On the afternoon of the third day one of the ships located Cofresí, near the port of Boca del Infierno in Ponce, Puerto Rico.[19] When the pirates spotted the American vessel they confused it with a merchant ship, and proceeded to attack it.[19] Both vessels exchanged cannon fire. Cofresí commanded El Mosquito to go near land, but was forced to disembark in the coast and to retreat into a nearby forestal area.[20]

The Grampus' crew sent their sailors to look for the pirates by land, while the ships closed the access to the beach. Sloat estimated that Cofresí had lost a third of his crew in the previous exchange, based on the number of bodies on the water surrounding the boat.[20] Later that day the mayor of the town of Los Jobos issued a statement which detailed the pirate's entrance into the beach, and he subsequently notified the local authorities about the event.[20] A search operation was launched and during the dusk hours six pirates were captured. The Spanish government then sent military personnel to block all the roads and plains surrounding the area. Two of the search groups believed that the pirates would have to pass through a certain road in order to escape and planned to ambush them there. The pirates reached the location at 10:30 p.m. and tried to escape, but were intercepted. Cofresí was injured in the confrontation, which facilitated their capture.[20] His injuries were severe, but a doctor dictated that they were not lethal. The rest of the crew was captured by the police departments of Patillas and Guayama on March 7 and 8.[21] In the aftermatch, Cofresí and eleven members of his crew were turned over to the Spanish government.

United States government version

An illustration created during the early 20th century to depict the capture of Cofresí's El Mosquito (right).

The American version states that Commander Sloat solicited permission for the use of two small ships after becoming aware of Cofresí's latest actions. The report claims that Sloat was aware of an evasion strategy that was used by the pirates to escape when using large ships, which consisted of traveling as close to the coast as possible and thereby avoid being followed. Therefore, he used the small ships in order to pursue them while attempting this strategy.[22] Both vessels were armed and began working in an exploratory manner, traveling through several ports and coastal towns. On the third day while sailing near Ponce, the group located a ship in Boca del Infierno and identified it as El Mosquito (Ana). When Cofresí saw the American schooner he confused it with a merchant vessel, since it was not flying its actual colors, and ordered his crew to attack. When El Mosquito approached the ship, the Grampus revealed that it was a military vessel by hoisting the Navy jack and opened fire.[22] The subsequent exchange lasted forty-five minutes and ended when the pirates abandoned their ship and swam to the nearby beach. Vicente Antoneti who was traveling with Sloat, disembarked and notified the local Spanish military unit about the event. Two of the pirates died in the battle and six others, including Cofresí, were injured.[23]

Military prosecution

Cofresí was assigned a War Council trial, with the possibility of a civil trial being completely discarded.[12] This was an oddity since other cases that were as serious or more grave often took longer, months or years in some instances. Subsequent claims state that he was judged as an insurgent corsary and listed as such in Spain, in an explanatory action.[12] It has been theorized that the reason behind these irregularities was that the Spanish Government was under international scrutiny, with several neutral countries filing official complaints about pirate and corsary attacks in Puerto Rican waters.[12] There was additional preassure due to the beginning of David Porter's trial in the United States, after illegally invading the municipality of Fajardo.[12] The ministry took an accelerated pace with the Cofresí trial, denying him and his crew the summoning of defense witnesses or testimony as dictated by the protocol of all military or civil trials.[12] The entire trial was based on the confession of the pirates, with the legitimacy or the circumstances that lead to them not being established.[12]

The defendants' social status and association with criminal or otherwise outlaw elements precipitated this course of action. Captain José Madraza served as judge and prosecturor during the trial, taking place over the course of a single day.[12] It has been speculated that Miguel de la Torres influenced the process, with negotiations possibly taking place between him and Madrazo beforehand. Details of the trials were suppressed, with only the official Gaceta del Gobierno (lit. "Government's Gacette") publishing its account.[12] This result was highly suspicious due to the Caribbean press' high interest in piracy, suggesting an media blackout or coverup. Despite this, the United States press quickly acted to propagate its knowledge of the case in order to influence the Porter trial, since he justified his invasion by claiming that Puerto Rico had become a Government-sanctioned pirate's nest.[12] On July 14, 1825, a contemporary Cogressman would expose that Henry Clay, the incumbent United States Secretary of State, pressured the Spanish Governor to execute the pirates.[12]

Aftermath

Fort San Felipe del Morro

Cofresí and his crew remained jailed in El Castillo del Morro (Fort San Felipe del Morro) in San Juan for the remainder of their lives.[5] On March 29, 1825, Cofresí and his men were executed by a firing squad.[24] According to legend, Cofresí "maldijo" (placed a curse on) Captain Sloat and the USS Grampus before he died.[25] In 1848, the USS Grampus was lost at sea with all hands aboard,[26] However, Captain Sloat was not among those who perished, he went on to become the Commander of the Norfolk Navy Yard.[27] Cofresí and his men were buried behind the cemetery on what is now a lush green hill that overlooks the cemetery wall. They were not buried in the Old San Juan Cemetery (Cementerio Antiguo de San Juan), as believed in the local lore, since they were executed as a criminals and therefore could not be laid to rest in this Catholic cemetery.[5] During this time, defendants were forced to pay for trial expenses and Cofresí's family was charged 643 pesos, two reales and 12 maravedí.[12]

Era documents suggest that Juana Creitoff had little to none support from Cofresí's brothers and sisters, being left with the burden of the debt.His bothers distanced from the trial and the legacy of their brother, with Juan Francisco leaving Cabo Rojo for Humacao. Historical evidence suggests that Ignacio also disassociated himself from Creitoff and her daughter.[12] Due to Cofresí's tendency to hide the treasure gathered trough piracy, the only asset that the Spanish government could seize towards covering the debt was an African slave known as Carlos, who was priced at 108 pesos and 2 reales. The remaining quantity was paid from a loan by a the Mattei family of San Germán.[12] Félix and Miguel Mattei are now presumed to have been anti-establishment smugglers that were related to Henri La Fayette Villaume Ducoudray Holstein and the Ducoudray Holstein Expedition.[12] The loan was likely never paid back, since Juana Creitoff died a year later.[5] Cofresí's Cave is located in a sector of Cabo Rojo called "Barrio Pedernales" which is just south of Boqueron Bay. According to local legend, after Cofresí shared some of his treasure with his family and friends, he would hide what was left over in the cave. Throughout the years no one has found any treasure in the cave.[28]

One of his most notable successors was Ana González Cofresí, better known by her marriage name Ana G. Méndez.[29] She was Cofresí's great granddaughter, trough her eponymous mother, directly descended from the Cabo Rojo bloodline.[29] González was known for her interest in education, becoming the first member of her branch of the Cofresí family to earn high school and university diplomas.[29] An accomplished teacher, she became notorious for founding the Puerto Rico High School of Commerce during the 1940s, an era where women's rights were still underdeveloped and most women rarely completed a formal degree.[29] By the turn of the century, this initiative had evolved into the largest conglomerate of private universities in Puerto Rico, the Ana G. Méndez University System.[29]

Legacy

Cofresí's life and death have inspired several myths and stories. These included those depicting him as a generous figure, who used to share what he stole with the region's poor population. In these myths he is generally described as a benevolent person, with authors writing about his supposed personality. These portray him as a noble gentleman who became a pirate out of necessity; as a generous man, claiming that on one occasion he went as far as saving the life of a baby in a confrontation and providing money for his upbringing and as a brave man, showing disregard for his life on several occasions.[30][31][32] Other myths and stories describe Cofresí as an evil or demonic figure. Among them there are myths that claim that during his life he had sold his soul to the devil in order to "defeat men and be loved by women".[33] Accounts of apparitions of his spirit include versions claiming that when summoned in medium sections, the strength of Cofresí's spirit was excessive, to the point of killing some of the hosts he possessed.[34] An edition of Fiat Lux, a magazine published in Cabo Rojo, notes that several persons in that municipality have said that they have witnessed the pirate's spirit. In the Dominican Republic, folktales attribute magic abilities to Cofresí; these say that he was able to make his boat disappear when surrounded. This was based on a hideout that he had established in a cave located in a nearby beach.[34] Cofresí has been the subject of numerous biographical books which include "El Marinero, Bandolero, Pirata y Contrabandista Roberto Cofresí" by Walter R. Cardona Bonet; "The Pirate of Puerto Rico" by Lee Cooper; "El Mito de Cofresí en la Narrativa Antillana" by Robert Fernandez Valledor; "Das Kurze Heldenhafte Leben Des Don Roberto Cofresí" by Angelika Mectel and "Roberto Cofresí: "El Bravo Pirata de Puerto Rico" by Edwin Vázquez. Among the works created by Alejandro Tapia y Rivera, the most notable Puerto Rican playwright of the 19th century, were biographical plays about important figures of the era such as Cofresí and Ramón Power y Giralt.[35]

Another popular legend revolves around his treasure, claiming that the chest containing it was hidden in the water under a Ceiba tree and was only visible while the light of the full moon directly illuminated it.[36] According to this legend, the treasure was guarded by a fish school that would constantly swim around it to keep it disguised under the murky water and were also capable of transforming into sharks, devouring any one that approached it when there was no moonlight and taking their souls to Davey Jones' Locker.[36] Local lore claims that among the hideouts used by Cofresí was a fortress located in Quebradillas, Puerto Rico.[37] The small structure was constructed in the 18th century in the Puerto Herminia beach, serving as an storage building for Spanish customs where materials that entered trough the local port were held.[37] According to these legends, the pirates would ise the merchant activity to pass unnoticed and use the rivers to go inland, where they hid the pludered treasure inside sewer systems.[37] Employing this tendency for smuggling in his favor, Cofresí supposedly used this fortress as his strategic base and was supported by the local population, which he rewarded for its support.[37] The remains pf the stone masonry structure still stand in the coast, having become a tourist attraction due to the mysticism surrounding it.[37] To this day, the municipality of Quebradillas is nicknamed La guarida del pirata (lit. "The pirate's hideout") and several of its sports teams are named after these stories, including its most notable one, the Baloncesto Superior Nacional's Piratas de Quebradillas.[37] In his native Cabo Rojo, he is honored by the Roberto Cofresí Soccer Club (affiliated to the Liga Nacional de Fútbol) and the Roberto Cofresí Cup, both in the discipline of association football.[38] Other kinds of tributes have been made to commemorate Cofresí throughout the Caribbean. In Puerto Rico, a monument in his image was built by Jose Buscaglia Guillermety in Boquerón Bay, a water body located in Cabo Rojo. The town of Cofresí, 10 km west of Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic was named after him.[1]

Notes

  1. ^ Template:Spanish name

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Pariser 1995, pp. 182
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Acosta 1987, pp. 94
  3. ^ Acosta 1987, pp. 89
  4. ^ Acosta 1987, pp. 91
  5. ^ a b c d e f Puerto Rican Folkloric Dance, Retrieved April 2, 2008
  6. ^ Fernández 1978, pp. 50
  7. ^ a b c Fernández 1978, pp. 103
  8. ^ a b Fernández 1978, pp. 46, 50, 56, 58–62, 64, 65, 77, 87, 88, 96, 97, 101, 103–106
  9. ^ a b c d Fernández 1978, pp. 106
  10. ^ Fernández 1978, pp. 56
  11. ^ Fernández 1978, pp. 58
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Luis Ascencio Camacho (2013). "Singularidades y posibles irregularidades en el juicio de Roberto Cofresí" (in Spanish). Academia.edu. Retrieved 2013-10-08.
  13. ^ a b c Fernández 1978, pp. 105
  14. ^ Fernández 1978, pp. 104
  15. ^ Fernández 1978, pp. 59
  16. ^ a b c d Fernández 1978, pp. 60
  17. ^ Fernández 1978, pp. 61
  18. ^ Luis R. Negrón Hernández, Jr. "Roberto Cofresí: El pirata caborojeño" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2007-05-25.
  19. ^ a b c d e Fernández 1978, pp. 61
  20. ^ a b c d Fernández 1978, pp. 62
  21. ^ Fernández 1978, pp. 63
  22. ^ a b Fernández 1978, pp. 64
  23. ^ Fernández 1978, pp. 65
  24. ^ Singer 2004, pp. 84
  25. ^ Fernández 1978, pp. 65
  26. ^ DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER, Retrieved April 2, 2008
  27. ^ My Gold Rush Tales by John Putnam
  28. ^ University of Puerto Rico - Agriculture of Cabo Rojo,(Spanish) Retrieved April 2, 2008
  29. ^ a b c d e "¿Qué pasó hoy?" (in Spanish). NotiCel. 2012-07-01. Retrieved 2013-11-04.
  30. ^ Fernández 1978, pp. 76–77
  31. ^ Fernández 1978, pp. 97
  32. ^ Fernández 1978, pp. 96
  33. ^ Fernández 1978, pp. 101
  34. ^ a b Fernández 1978, pp. 87–88
  35. ^ Van Atten 2009, pp. 238
  36. ^ a b Sancista Luis (2011-11-13). "The Commission of the Piratas" (in Spanish). Sociedad de Sance Eio Tempestuoso. Retrieved 2013-10-10.
  37. ^ a b c d e f "Cuna de piratas" (in Spanish). El Nuevo Día. 2008-06-27. Retrieved 2013-10-08. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  38. ^ "Guaynabo troncha ataque bayamonés al puntero de la LNF" (in Spanish). NotiCel. 2011-10-24. Retrieved 2013-11-04.

Bibliography

  • Roberto Fernández Valledor (1978). El mito de Cofresí en la narrativa antillana. Publisher: Editorial Universitaria, Universidad de Puerto Rico. ISBN 0-8477-0556-0.
  • Suzanne Van Atten (2009). Moon Puerto Rico. Moon Handbooks. ISBN 9781598801828.
  • Ursula Acosta (1987). New Voices of Old- Five centuries of Puerto Rican Cultural History. Permanent Press. ISBN 0-915393-20-4.
  • Harry S. Pariser (1995). Adventure Guide to Dominican Republic. Hunter Publishing, Inc. ISBN ISBN 1-55650-277-X. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
  • Gerald Singer (2004). Vieques: A Photographically Illustrated. Sombrero Publishing Company. ISBN 0-9641220-4-9.

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