Roche Braziliano | |
|---|---|
 An illustration of Roche Braziliano inAlexandre Exquemelin'sThe Buccaneers of America (1678) | |
| Born | 27 February 1630 |
| Disappeared | c. 1671 At sea |
| Status | Body never found |
| Died | Unknown |
| Piratical career | |
| Type | Dutch buccaneer |
| Years active | 1654–1671 |
| Base of operations | Port Royal, Jamaica |
Roche Braziliano[a] (c. 1630 – disappearedc. 1671) was a Dutch pirate from the city ofGroningen. His piratical career lasted from 1654 until his disappearancec. 1671. He was first made famous inAlexandre Exquemelin's 1678 bookThe Buccaneers of America; Exquemelin did not know Braziliano's real name, but historians have argued his probable real name wasGerrit Gerritszoon and that he and his parents had moved toDutch Brazil.[1] He is known as "Roche Braziliano", which in English translates to "Rock the Brazilian", due to his long exile in Brazil.[2][3]
Roche Braziliano was a notoriously cruelbuccaneer who operated out ofPort Royal,Jamaica. He was aprivateer inBahia,Brazil, before moving to Port Royal in 1654. He led amutiny and adopted the life of a buccaneer. On his first adventure he captured a ship of immense value and brought it back safely to Jamaica. He eventually was caught and sent toSpain, but he escaped with threats of vengeance from his followers.[4] He soon resumed his criminal career, purchasing a new ship from fellow pirateFrançois l'Olonnais and later sailing in company withHenry Morgan andJoseph Bradley among others. Braziliano's first mateYellows eventually became a captain in his own right, sailing with Braziliano, Morgan, and others in raids against the Spanish.[5]
Drunken and debauched, Braziliano would threaten to shoot anyone who did not drink with him. He roasted alive two Spanish farmers on wooden spits after they refused to hand over theirpigs. He treated his Spanish prisoners barbarously, typically cutting off their limbs or roasting them alive over a fire.[6] The Spaniards feared him so much, that Spanish mothers used his name as a hush word for their children.[7]
There are also stories that he made Spanish prisoners eat their comrades. Aboard his ship, he tortured and murdered captured Spaniards without cause.[citation needed] As a pirate flag, he carried the image of a skeleton with the text "The corpse of a Spaniard."[citation needed]
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After 1671, Braziliano was never seen or heard from again. To this day, nobody knows what became of the Dutch pirate. Whether he (and his vessel and men) were lost at sea in a brutal storm, was secretly captured, or possibly retired and lived the rest of his life in anonymity is a matter of debate.
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