Jose Gaspar-
This is probably one of my favorite pirate stories. The tales are big and the legend still lives today in the form of an annual festival called Gasparilla in Tampa, FL.

Jose Gaspar, also known as "Gasparilla" was a Spanish naval officer that later found a life of piracy. It has been said that he amassed a fortune of over $30 million dollars in treasure, and plundered over 400 ships from 1789 to 1821. His primary "playground" was the West coast of Florida down to Cuba, and he buried treasure all along the Florida coast. By one account, the area of Port Charlotte is to be one of his many hideouts. This area is made up of many small islands and a large bay (Charlotte Harbor). It is also said that other pirates such as Jean Laffite, and Black Ceasar would sometimes frequent this area as well to join forces with Gaspar and his men. In December of 1821 at the age of sixty five, Gasparilla had decided that he would retire from his role as a pirate and that he and his men would split up all of the treasure. On this day he and the crew spotted what they thought to be a British merchant ship and chose to make one last attack. As they got closer to the ship it was revealed to all on board of Gaspar's ship (The Floridablanca), that the vessel they sought to take over was actually an American warship. A battle ensued and the Floridablanca was pummeled with cannon balls and was going down. Jose Gaspar had met the end of his reign. However, he was not going to be captured, he took an anchor chain and tied it around his waist, waving his cutlass high said  "Gasparilla dies by his own hand, not the enemy's" he jumped into the water and disappeared.

There is no documented proof that Jose Gaspar ever existed, other than the information on him that was given by a man named John Gomez, who claimed to have sailed with Gasparilla. I believe that if Gaspar had captured as many ships as told, he would not have been one to choose a life in the "limelight", therefore not wanting any attention and smart enough to lay low from the pirate hunters. You can make your own assessment of the story, but as for me, I believe.

Information On "Gasparilla" can be found at these sites:
josegaspar.net
University of South Florida Library PDF Page