Roche Braziliano
Roche Braziliano | |
---|---|
![]() An illustration of Roche Braziliano in Alexandre Exquemelin's The Buccaneers of America (1678) | |
Born | 27 February 1630 Groningen, Netherlands |
Disappeared | c. 1671 At sea |
Status | Body never found |
Piratical career | |
Type | Dutch buccaneer |
Years active | 1654–1671 |
Base of operations | Port Royal, Jamaica |
Roche Braziliano[a] (c. 1630 – disappeared c. 1671) was a Dutch pirate from in the town of Groningen. His piratical career lasted from 1654 until his disappearance c. 1671. He was first made famous in Alexandre Exquemelin's 1678 book The Buccaneers of America; Exquemelin did not know Braziliano's real name, but historians have argued his probable real name was Gerrit Gerritszoon and that he and his parents had moved to Dutch 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]
Pirate career
Roche Braziliano was a notoriously cruel buccaneer who operated out of Port Royal, Jamaica. He was a privateer in Bahia, Brazil, before moving to Port Royal in 1654. He led a mutiny 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 to Spain, but he escaped with threats of vengeance from his followers.[4] He soon resumed his criminal career, purchasing a new ship from fellow pirate François l'Olonnais and later sailing in company with Sir Henry Morgan and Joseph Bradley among others. Braziliano's first mate Yellows eventually became a captain in his own right, sailing with Braziliano, Morgan, and others in raids against the Spanish.[5]
Atrocities
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 their pigs. 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]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ef/Roc_the_Brazilian%2C_Capturing_Boat%27s_Crew%2C_from_the_Pirates_of_the_Spanish_Main_series_%28N19%29_for_Allen_%26_Ginter_Cigarettes_MET_DP835018.jpg/220px-Roc_the_Brazilian%2C_Capturing_Boat%27s_Crew%2C_from_the_Pirates_of_the_Spanish_Main_series_%28N19%29_for_Allen_%26_Ginter_Cigarettes_MET_DP835018.jpg)
Fate
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.
Popular culture
- A pirate named Roc Brasiliano was portrayed by Anthony Quinn in the 1952 swashbuckler film Against All Flags.
- Roche Braziliano is one of the pirates featured in the game Sid Meier's Pirates!
- The ghost of Captain Roche is found as a boss battle in Abbey Games' Renowned Explorers: International Society.
- May be the namesake of the One Piece character Rocks D. Xebec.
- "Rock Braziliano" is featured in the Boardgame "Tortuga 1667" as a playable character
See also
References
- General
- Pickering, David. "Pirates". CollinsGem. HarperCollins Publishers, New York, NY. pp-52, 201. 2006.
Notes
- ^ Name also spelled Rock, Roch, Roc, Roque, Brazilliano, Brasiliaan, or Brasiliano.
- Specific
- ^ Zuidhoek, Arne (2006). Piratenencyclopedie (in Dutch). pp. 20–24.
- ^ Platt, Richard (1995). Eyewitness Guide to Pirates. London: Dorling Kindersley. p. 64. ISBN 0-7513-6035-X.
- ^ Lunsford, Virginia W. (2005). Piracy and Privateering in the Golden Age Netherlands. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 62–63. ISBN 1-4039-6692-3.
- ^ Pyle, Howard. Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates. ISBN 1-60303-278-9
- ^ Marley, David (2010). Pirates of the Americas. Santa Barbara CA: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781598842012. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
- ^ Pickering, David. "Pirates"
- ^ The Monarchs of the Main. Routledge, Warne, & Routledge. 1861.
External links
- Pirates Hold
- Privateer Dragons of the Caribbean
- It all began with piracy
- v
- t
- e
- Albanian piracy
- Anglo-Turkish piracy
- Baltic Slavic pirates
- Barbary pirates (corsairs)
- Brethren of the Coast
- Buccaneers
- Cilician pirates
- Child pirate
- Cossack pirates
- Filibusters
- French corsairs
- Jewish pirates
- Moro pirates
- Narentines
- Privateers
- River pirate
- Sea Beggars
- Sea Dogs
- Sindhi corsairs
- Timber pirate
- Ushkuyniks
- Uskoks
- Vikings
- Victual Brothers
- Wokou
- Women in piracy
Atlantic World | |
---|---|
Indian Ocean | |
Other waters | |
Pirate havens and bases |
- Adventure Galley
- Ambrose Light
- Fancy
- Flying Dutchman
- Ganj-i-Sawai
- Queen Anne's Revenge
- Quedagh Merchant
- Marquis of Havana
- My Revenge
- Royal Fortune
- Saladin
- Whydah Gally
- York
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Pirate_Flag.svg/100px-Pirate_Flag.svg.png)
- 1582 Cagayan battles
- 1985 Lahad Datu ambush
- Action of 9 November 1822
- Action of 28 October 2007
- Action of 11 November 2008
- Action of 9 April 2009
- Action of 23 March 2010
- Action of 1 April 2010
- Action of 5 April 2010
- Anti-piracy in the Aegean
- Antelope incident
- Anti-piracy in the West Indies
- Attack on Veracruz
- Balanguingui Expedition
- Battle of Boca Teacapan
- Battle of Cape Fear River
- Battle of Cape Lopez
- Battle of Doro Passage
- Battle of Mandab Strait
- Battle of Manila
- Battle off Minicoy Island
- Battle off Mukah
- Battle of Nam Quan
- Battle of New Orleans
- Battle of Ocracoke Inlet
- Battle of Pianosa
- Battle of the Leotung
- Battle of the Tiger's Mouth
- Battle of Tonkin River
- Battle of Ty-ho Bay
- Battle of Tysami
- Beluga Nomination incident
- Blockade of Charleston (Vane)
- Chepo Expedition
- Capture of the Ambrose Light
- Capture of John "Calico Jack" Rackham
- Capture of the schooner Bravo
- Capture of the schooner Fancy
- Capture of the sloop Anne
- Carré d'As IV incident
- Dai Hong Dan incident
- Falklands Expedition
- Great Lakes Patrol
- Irene incident
- Jiajing wokou raids
- Maersk Alabama hijacking
- MT Zafirah hijacking
- MT Orkim Harmony hijacking
- MV Moscow University hijacking
- North Star affair
- Operation Enduring Freedom – HOA
- Operation Atalanta
- Operation Dawn of Gulf of Aden
- Operation Dawn 8: Gulf of Aden
- Operation Ocean Shield
- Persian Gulf Campaign
- Pirate attacks in Borneo
- Quest incident
- Raid on Cartagena
- Sack of Baltimore
- Sack of Campeche
- Salvador Pirates
- Slave raid of Suðuroy
- Turkish Abductions
- African slave trade
- African Slave Trade Patrol
- Amistad Incident
- Atlantic slave trade
- Barbary slave trade
- Blockade of Africa
- Capture of the Veloz Passagera
- Capture of the brig Brillante
- Indian Ocean slave trade
- Trans-Saharan slave trade
popular
culture
Fictional pirates |
|
---|---|
Novels |
|
Tropes | |
Miscellaneous |
Lists | |
---|---|
Categories |
|
Piracy portal
Category