THE LEGEND OF PIRATE JOSE GASPAR
2/20/2008 12:18:32 PM by Wave Editorial Staff
Florida was once a haven for colorful pirates and none was more renowned than the famed Jose Gaspar, nicknamed “Gasparilla” or “The Terror of the Southern Seas.”
Gaspar was not your average privateer. In fact, he was once in very good standing with the Spanish Court until his illegal activities were discovered and he escaped on a stolen Spanish naval vessel. After learning there was a price on his head, he promised to wreak havoc on Spanish vessels and the commerce of Spain.
To his credit are over 400 ships captured between 1789 and 1821 in the Tampa Bay area and elsewhere. Often called the “Last Buccaneer,” he was about to retire when a British ship was sighted off the coast of his stored treasure. He couldn’t resist one last haul. The “merchant” ship was actually the cleverly camouflaged U.S.S. Enterprise warship. Rather than be captured, Gasparilla wrapped an anchor chain around his body and dove off the bow of his flaming vessel. Some of his treasure is still rumored to be buried nearby. Such was his legendary impact on the area that Captiva Island is so named because Gaspar reportedly kept his beautiful women captives there in the late 1700s.
Though most tales of Pirate Gasparilla are consistent, it must be mentioned that there’s no written evidence regarding the legendary exploits of Jose Gaspar and his crew prior to the early 1900s. Nevertheless, his legacy is celebrated each January in Tampa Bay with the decadent Gasparilla Pirate Festival that consists of a large fleet of pirate boats on the water and landlocked events including an arts festival.
The modern Gasparilla event has an interesting history of its own. It began in May 1904 with the first “invasion” occurring on horseback. Subsequently, a U.S. Navy ship would be “attacked” by smaller boats whose crews threw Cuban bread at it. The Naval vessel would retaliate with fire hoses but would eventually concede victory to the unofficial Ybor City Navy, followed by a wild night on the town.