Roberto Cofresí

From Hispanopedia
Roberto Cofresí
Statue of Roberto Cofresí in Cabo Rojo.
Born
Roberto Cofresí y Ramírez de Arellano

(1791-06-17)June 17, 1791
Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico, Spanish Empire
DiedMarch 29, 1825(1825-03-29) (aged 33)
Castillo San Felipe del Morro, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Spanish Empire
Cause of death
Execution by firing squad
Other nameEl Pirata Cofresí
OccupationPirate
Years activec. 1819 - 1825
Known forPiracy in the Caribbean
SpouseMaría Benítez
Parent(s)Francesco Giuseppe Fortunato von Kupferschein and María Germana Ramírez de Arellano

Roberto Cofresí y Ramírez de Arellano, called El Pirata Cofresí ("The Pirate Cofresí") (June 17, 1791 – March 29, 1825), was a famous Puerto Rican privateer.

He was born in the town of Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico, into a noble family, although the political and economic difficulties suffered during the Hispanic American Wars of Independence plunged his household into poverty.

Cofresí worked as a sailor from a very young age, which familiarized him with the geography of the region but provided him with a modest wage, and he eventually decided to abandon the life of a sailor and become a pirate. He had prior ties to land-based criminal activities, but the reason for Cofresí's change of vocation is unknown. Historians speculate that he may have worked as a privateer aboard El Escipión, a ship owned by one of his cousins.

At the height of his career, Cofresí evaded capture by vessels from Spain, Gran Colombia, the United Kingdom, Denmark, France and the United States.[1] He commanded several shallow-draft vessels, the best known being a fast six-gun sloop named Anne, and he preferred speed and maneuverability over firepower. He manned them with small, rotating crews that most documents of the period described as numbering between 10 and 20 people. He preferred to outrun his pursuers, but his flotilla clashed with the U.S. West Indies Squadron twice, attacking the schooners USS Grampus and USS Beagle. Most of his crew members were recruited locally, although they were occasionally joined by men from other parts of the Antilles, Central America and Europe. He never confessed to having committed a murder, but he reportedly boasted of his crimes, and between 300 and 400 people died as a result of his criminal activities, most of them foreigners.

Spain formed an alliance with the U.S. West Indies Squadron and the Danish government of the island of Saint Thomas, which finally managed to catch him after setting a trap for him.

He inspired stories and myths after his death, most of them emphasizing a philosophy similar to that of Robin Hood, "rob from the rich and give to the poor," associated with him. This portrayal has become legend, commonly accepted as fact in Puerto Rico and in the West Indies. Some claim that Cofresí became part of the Puerto Rican independence movement and other secessionist initiatives, including Simón Bolívar's campaign against Spain. The historical and mythical accounts of his life have inspired songs, poems, plays, books and films. In Puerto Rico, caves, beaches and other alleged hideouts or sites of buried treasure bear Cofresí's name, and a tourist town near Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic is named after him.

Biography

His father was Francesco Giuseppe Fortunato von Kupferschein,[2] an Austrian aristocrat from a distinguished family, born in the city of Trieste. He had four children (Juan Ignacio, Juana, Juan Francisco and Roberto). Their mother was María Germana Ramírez de Arellano y Segarra, the daughter of a family renowned in both Puerto Rico and Spain, since the Ramírez de Arellano family are descendants of Navarrese and Aragonese kings and of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, the "Cid Campeador." The reasons why the young aristocrat left his homeland are not known with certainty. To this day it remains a mystery. Francesco Giuseppe Fortunato von Kupferschein, by then known as Francisco José, became a prominent man in Cabo Rojo in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

On March 2, 1825, Cofresí sighted from the deck of his ship El Mosquito what he thought was a merchant ship and ordered his crew to take action to assault the merchantman; but the vessel he was preparing to assault turned out in fact to be the schooner USS Grampus of the United States Navy, which was under the command of the American naval officer John D. Sloat. The American warship was accompanied by two sloops-of-war of the Spanish Navy (the San José and the Las Ánimas); the Spanish and American military forces were acting jointly to hunt down Cofresí. The USS Grampus opened fire on El Mosquito and Cofresí ordered his men to return fire; the Spanish vessels also attacked the pirate's ship. After a 45-minute battle, El Mosquito was badly damaged and Cofresí threw himself into the water to swim to the nearby coast in a desperate attempt to save himself, but he was recognized by a resident, who ambushed and wounded him. Cofresí was captured and imprisoned, making a last failed attempt to escape by trying to bribe an official with part of a hidden loot. The pirates were sent to San Juan, Puerto Rico, where a military tribunal found them guilty and sentenced them to death. On March 29, 1825, Cofresí and most of his crew were executed by firing squad.

Modern perspectives

Few aspects of Cofresí's life and relationships have escaped the romanticism that surrounds pirates in popular culture.[3] During his lifetime, the Spanish authorities' attempts to portray him as a menacing figure, emphasizing his role as a "lord of pirates" and nicknaming him "the terror of the seas," planted him in the collective consciousness.[4] This, combined with his daring, transformed Cofresí into a sort of swashbuckling hero different from the fictional pirate tales of the late 19th century.[5] The legends are inconsistent in their description of the historical facts, often contradicting one another.[6] Cofresí's race, economic background, personality and loyalties are among the shifting aspects of these stories.[7][8] However, the widespread use of these myths in the media has led to their general acceptance as fact.[9]

The myths and legends surrounding Cofresí fall into two categories: those that portray him as a generous thief or antihero and those that describe him as overwhelmingly evil.[10] A subcategory represents him as an adventurer, world traveler or womanizer.[11] Reports by historians such as Tió about the pirate sharing his loot with the needy have turned into a detailed mythology. These apologetics attempt to justify his piracy, blaming it on poverty, revenge or the desire to restore his family's honor,[12] and portray Cofresí as a class hero who defies official inequality and corruption.[13]

There is a monument to Cofresí on Boquerón Bay in Cabo Rojo, sculpted by José Buscaglia Guillermety. The town of Cofresí, 10 km west of Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic, was named in his honor.

Two musicals and several poems, songs and books have been written about him. The Compañía de Ballet Señorial de Puerto Rico presented the ballet El Pirata Cofresí in March 2007.

Cofresí has been the subject of numerous biographical and fictional books, including:

  • El marinero, bandolero, pirata y contrabandista Roberto Cofresí, by Walter R. Cardona Bonet
  • The Pirate of Puerto Rico, by Lee Cooper (in English)
  • El mito de Cofresí en la narrativa antillana, by Robert Fernández Valledor
  • Das kurze heldenhafte Leben des Don Roberto Cofresí, by Angelika Mectel (in German)
  • Roberto Cofresí: El bravo pirata de Puerto Rico, by Edwin Vázquez
  • Corsario: Última voluntad y testamento para la posteridad de Don Roberto Cofresí y Ramírez de Arellano de Cabo Rojo, by Luis Asencio Camacho.

References

  1. ↑ Cardona Bonet 1991, pp. 25
  2. ↑ The "surname" Cofresí is a popular linguistic corruption of the original German Kupferschein.
  3. ↑ Fernández Valledor 2006, pp. 88
  4. ↑ Fernández Valledor 1978, pp. 39
  5. ↑ Fernández Valledor 2006, pp. 45
  6. ↑ Fernández Valledor 2006, pp. 46
  7. ↑ Fernández Valledor 2006, pp. 83
  8. ↑ Fernández Valledor 1978, pp. 51
  9. ↑ Acosta 1991, pp. 89
  10. ↑ Fernández Valledor 1978, pp. 76–77
  11. ↑ Fernández Valledor 2006, pp. 89
  12. ↑ Fernández Valledor 2006, pp. 47
  13. ↑ Fernández Valledor 2006, pp. 22

Bibliography

  • Acosta, Ursula (1987). New Voices of Old- Five centuries of Puerto Rican Cultural History. Permanent Press. ISBN 0915393204.
  • Acosta, Ursula (1991). Cofresí y Ducoudray: Hombres al margen de la historia (in español). Editorial Edil. ISBN 9780317616286.
  • Cardona Bonet, Walter A. (1991). El Marinero, Bandolero, Pirata y Contrabandista Roberto Cofresí (1819–1825) (in español). Sociedad Puertorriqueña de Genealogía. ISBN 9781933545059.
  • Clammer, Paul; Grosberg, Michael; Porup, Jens (2008). Dominican Republic & Haiti. Ediz. Inglese. Lonely Planet. ISBN 978174104292-4.
  • Fernández Valledor, Roberto (1978). El mito de Cofresí en la narrativa antillana (in español). Publisher: Editorial Universitaria, Universidad de Puerto Rico. ISBN 0847705560.
  • Fernández Valledor, Roberto (2006). Cofresí: El pirata Cofresí mitificado por la tradición oral puertorriqueña (in español). Casa Paoli. ISBN 0847705560.
  • Ojeda Reyes, Félix (2001). El Desterrado de París: Biografía del Dr. Ramón Emeterio Betances (1827–1898) (in español). Ediciones Puerto. ISBN 0942347471.
  • Pariser, Harry S. (1995). Adventure Guide to Dominican Republic. Hunter Publishing, Inc. ISBN 1-55650-277-X.
  • Singer, Gerald (2004). Vieques: A Photographically Illustrated. Sombrero Publishing Company. ISBN 0964122049.
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