Roberto Cofresí
| Roberto Cofresí | |
|---|---|
Monument of Roberto Cofresí located in Boquerón Bay.
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| Born |
June 17, 1791 Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico |
| Died | March 29, 1825 (aged 33) San Juan, Puerto Rico |
| Piratical career | |
| Nickname | El Pirata Cofresí |
| Other names | Cofrecina(s) |
| Type | Caribbean pirate |
| Allegiance | None |
| Rank | Captain |
| Base of operations | Barrio de Pedernales Isla de Mona Vieques |
| Commands | Flotilla of unidentified vessels Caballo Blanco Neptune Anne |
| Battles/wars | Capture of the Anne |
| Wealth | 4,000 pieces of eight (hidden remnants of a larger fortune) |
Roberto Cofresí y Ramírez de Arellano (June 17, 1791 – March 29, 1825), better known as El Pirata Cofresí, was a pirate from Puerto Rico. Despite his birth into a noble family, the political and economic difficulties faced by the island as a colony of the Spanish Empire during the late 18th and early 19th centuries meant that his household was poor. Cofresí worked at sea from an early age; although this familiarized him with the region's geography, it provided only a modest salary. He eventually decided to abandon a sailor's life, becoming a pirate. Despite previous links to land-based criminal activities, the reason for Cofresí's change of vocation is unknown; historians speculate that he may have worked as a privateer aboard El Scipión, owned by one of his cousins.
The timing of this decision was crucial in establishing him as the dominant Caribbean pirate of the era. Cofresí began his new career in early 1823, filling a role vacant in the Spanish Main since the death of Jean Lafitte, and was the last major target of West Indies anti-piracy operations. While piracy was heavily monitored and most pirates were rarely successful, Cofresí was confirmed to have plundered at least eight vessels and has been credited with over 70 captures. At the height of his career, he evaded capture by vessels from Spain, Gran Colombia, United Kingdom, Denmark, France, and the United States. Cofresí preferred to outrun his pursuers but his flotilla engaged the West Indies Squadron twice, attacking the schooners USS Grampus and USS Beagle.
Cofresí commanded several small-draft vessels, the best known a fast six-gun sloop named Anne, and demonstrated a preference for speed and maneuverability over firepower. He manned them with small, rotating crews, which most contemporary documents and accounts numbered at 10 to 20 in size. Although most crew members were recruited locally, men from the other Antilles, Central America and expatriate Europeans occasionally joined the pirates. Unlike his predecessors, Cofresí is not known to have imposed a pirate code on his crew; his leadership was enhanced by an audacious personality, a trait acknowledged even by his pursuers. According to 19th-century reports he had a rule of engagement that when a vessel was captured, only those willing to join his crew were permitted to live. Cofresí's influence extended to a large number of civil informants and associates, forming a network which took 14 years after his death to fully dismantle.
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Wikipedia