Ferdinand forced to reinstate sacked liberal ministers after revolt ‘Terror of the Gulf’ Lafitte dies in battle, Pirates of the Caribbean hanged

The legendary ‘gentleman pirate’, Jacques Lafitte, is reported to have been killed in a naval confrontation in the Caribbean. Most of his crew of 60 died with him.

According to one report, Lafitte’s vessel was boarded by crew from a British sloop; in another, onboard an armed private vessel in the service of Colombia. he fought a brief battle with two Spanish ships in the Gulf of Honduras, and was buried at sea.

Whichever is true, this appears to mark the end of a notorious pirate and privateer, who has been called the ‘gentleman pirate’ and ‘terror of the Gulf’. Lafitte was a complex figure, who was targeted by the US authorities, at other times aiding them.

Jacques Lafitte, born in France in 1782, ran a large black market pirate business off the coast of Mississippi, proclaimed his own kingdom of Barataria, spied for Spain, and helped the Americans in the battle of New Orleans against Britain in 1812.

о The British colonial authorities in Jamaica have executed ten Caribbean pirates of Spanish origin in Kingston. The British cutter, HMS Grecian, according to latest reports, has captured a privateeer schooner off Cuba, killing 30 pirates.

These are being seen as further indicators of Britain’s tough approach to pirates, at a time when the United States is stepping up its efforts.

The Royal Navy is increasingly co-operating with the US Navy to tackle piracy, as relations between the two countries have thawed after the War of 1812. The two former enemies worked together last November in an operation against pirate vessels off the Cuban coast.

President James Monroe authorised the creation of an anti-piracy squadron two years ago, amid growing concern about its effect on the US and its trade with Europe.

Commodore David Porter’s ‘Mosquito Fleet’ is now at sea in the Caribbean. o