From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dutch buccaneer
Roche Braziliano
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Born
| 27 February 1630
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Disappeared
| c. 1671
At sea
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Status
| Body never found
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Piratical career
|
Type
| Dutch buccaneer
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Years active
| 1654?1671
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Base of operations
| Port Royal
,
Jamaica
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|
Roche Braziliano
(sometimes spelled
Rock
,
Roch
,
Roc
,
Roque
,
Brazilliano
,
Brasiliaan
[1]
or
Brasiliano
) (c. 1630 ? disappeared c. 1671) was a
Dutch Brazilian
pirate
born in the town of
Groningen
. His pirate career lasted from 1654 until his disappearance around 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 found he was probably born as Gerrit Gerritszoon and that he and his parents moved to
Dutch-controlled Brazil
.
[2]
He is known as "Roche Braziliano", which in English translates to "Rock the
Brazilian
", due to his long exile in
Brazil
.
[3]
Pirate career
[
edit
]
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
Francois 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
[
edit
]
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]
Fate
[
edit
]
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
[
edit
]
- 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
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- General
- Pickering, David. "Pirates". CollinsGem. HarperCollins Publishers, New York, NY. pp-52, 201. 2006.
- Specific
External links
[
edit
]
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