[PDF] The Story Of Gasparilla And The Pirate Islands Of The Florida West Coast eBook

Author : Jack Beater
Publisher :
Page : 152 pages
File Size : 48,74 MB
Release : 1968
Category : Florida
ISBN :

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"An adult tale of pirates, treasure, women prisoners and the Florida West Coast Islands."--Cover.

Author : Lloyd Arthur Wiggins
Publisher : Xlibris Corporation
Page : 222 pages
File Size : 48,49 MB
Release : 2013-03-14
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 1483608212

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This is a story of a small island off the southwest coast of Florida, on the shores of Gasparilla Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, with its varied plant life among numerous types of land and sea birds. The other residents are local Florida crackers, snowbirds from the North, and holidaymakers looking for sanctuary from the hustle and bustle of modernday living. The lucky ones who set foot on this boat-only-access island will have a sense of tranquility and well-being that is the result of being totally free from modern-day encumbrances and surrounded by the sounds of nature. The main characters are Nikki, Lloyd, and George and how they found a contingent of new friends on a small spit of land called Little Gasparilla Island, fondly referred to as LGI Prologue This islands namesake is Juan Gomez Gasparillaor, as hes known today throughout the west coast of Florida, Jose Gaspar. Some think of Gaspar as folklore, while others say he is just a myth. A few locals have stories handed down by ancestors through the ages and say the proof is probably in the United States naval archives, since the pirates were hunted down by the USS Enterprise in the early 1800s. They all were either killed or put on trial in New Orleans and subsequently hung, all except for Jose Gaspar. He was alleged to be sixty-five years old and on his last campaign before dividing up the spoils among his cohorts. Rather than get caught, he wrapped himself in the anchors chain and rope then jumped into the dark blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico to end his life; that was his only way to escape the hangmans noose. It is believed that Gaspar and his band of thieves and murderers had their haven around Charlotte Harbor. The barrier islands, such as Gasparilla and Little Gasparilla, would have been excellent cover where they could evade and lie in wait behind tall sand dunes or mangroves, searching the Gulf waters for European vessels sailing within sight, carrying gold, silver, and jewels collected from the Americas to take back to their kings and queens or other financiers. Rumor has it that the pirates would slaughter everyone on board the captured ships except for the attractive ladies, who would become concubines of Jose Gaspar. He was a noted womanizer when he was assigned to the court of Charles III as a naval attach at the age of twenty-seven. He jilted the daughter-in-law of the king for another woman of the court and was about to be arrested on trumped-up charges of treason when he commandeered a Spanish ship, called the Florida Blanca, and set sail with a hastily assembled volunteer crew for the Florida straits. Little Gasparilla had two passes barely navigable for a sailing ship, but not for a man-of-war ship. The much larger pass into Gasparilla Sound was on the south end of Big Gasparilla through the Boca Grande Pass, with its two rivers emptying into the Gulf, flowing through Charlotte Harbor. This proved to be ideal for the crew to hide and pounce on unsuspecting heavily laden sailing ships heading north. Legend has the number of conquered vessels by Gaspar to be over four hundred. Back then, the amount of the bounty was reported to be in excess of thirty million Yankee dollars. Todays count would be in the billions, which would take scores of stolen chests to accommodate the spoils. No treasure of his to this day has ever been found. I have visited Little Gasparilla most winters for several months during the last seventeen years. On my many walks toward the state park on the north end of the island, I always look wishfully for doubloons washing ashore or a treasure chest sticking out of a tall sand dune while looking for sharks teeth. Besides the tangible treasures that may bein ones wildest dreams, could befound, there are other riches to discover while walking on the sand, be it purely spiritual or just a perfect seashell lying on the shore of Little Gasparilla Island, brought in by the gentle waves.

Author : James F. Kaserman
Publisher : iUniverse
Page : 61 pages
File Size : 20,17 MB
Release : 2007
Category : History
ISBN : 0595471528

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Presents the history of piracy and smuggling along the hundreds of miles of Southwest Florida's coast from the early 17th century to the present day and the pirates that gave their names to various locales along the coast.

Author : James F. Kaserman
Publisher : The History Press
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 37,24 MB
Release : 2011
Category : History
ISBN : 9781609494193

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The coast of southwest Florida, with its shallow waters, inlets, and mangrove islands provides the setting and backdrop for a variety of pirates, privateers, and independents. The history of this region and Florida as a whole is influenced largely by the illegal activities of piracy. Piracy has a long and rich tradition in this area dating from before the formation of America through the infamous prohibition era. Educators, authors, and pirate enthusiasts James and Sarah Kaserman recount the stories, legends and myths that surround piracy in Florida. Telling the tales of Anne Bonny, Calico Jack Rackham, Civil War smugglers and prohibition rum runners, the authors provide a compelling narrative of the historically dangerous waters around Southwest Florida and beyond.

Author : William H. Marquardt
Publisher :
Page : 280 pages
File Size : 40,19 MB
Release : 1999
Category : Excavations (Archaeology)
ISBN :

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Discusses the findings of various archaeological explorations of the island, which began in the 1980's.

Author : Gene Burnett
Publisher : Pineapple Press Inc
Page : 298 pages
File Size : 11,55 MB
Release : 1996-06
Category : History
ISBN : 9781561641178

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Virtually every month for fourteen years, Gene Burnett wrote a history piece under the title "Florida's Past" for Florida Trend, Florida's respected magazine of business and finance. The first volume of collected essays from that series proved so popular among book readers that two more volumes have been published. Pineapple Press is now proud to make them available in paperback. Burnett's easygoing style and his sometimes surprising choice of topics make history good reading. Each volume divides Florida's people and events into Achievers and Pioneers, Villains and Characters, Heroes and Heroines, War and Peace, and Calamities and Social Turbulence. Read a chapter and you'll find you've gone on to read more. Read this volume and you'll find yourself looking for the next two. Next in series > > See all of the books in this series