| 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 (c. 1630 – disappeared c. 1671) was a Dutch pirate from 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. He is known as "Roche Braziliano", which in English translates to "Rock the Brazilian", due to his long exile in Brazil.
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. 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.
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. The Spaniards feared him so much, that Spanish mothers used his name as a hush word for their children.
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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.
