Benito de Soto facts for kids
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Benito de Soto Aboal (born March 22, 1805, in Mouriera, Spain – died January 25, 1830, in Gibraltar) was a famous pirate captain. He commanded the ship Defensor de Pedro, which was sometimes wrongly called the Burla Negra (meaning "Black Joke"). In 1828, his ship was involved in several pirate attacks in the Atlantic Ocean. This happened during a time when piracy was increasing, especially after new countries became independent in South America. Some of his most well-known attacks were on the British ship Morning Star and the American ship Topaz. Benito de Soto was caught and put on trial in Gibraltar on January 20, 1830. He was hanged five days later, on January 25. Other members of his crew were also captured in Spain. Their trial started on November 19, 1829, and ten of them were executed on January 11 and 12, 1830.
Becoming a Pirate
The ship Defensor de Pedro was originally a Brazilian brig. It was led by a naval officer named Mariz de Sousa Sarmento. In 1827, the Brazilian government gave Sarmento permission to trade and act as a privateer. This meant he could attack enemy ships during a conflict between Brazil and the United Provinces of Buenos Aires (which is now Argentina).
Sarmento gathered a crew of about forty people from different countries. Most were from Brazil, but some were from Spain, Portugal, and France. Benito de Soto joined the ship as the second mate. The Defensor de Pedro left Rio de Janeiro on November 22, 1827. It arrived near Elmina, in what is now Ghana, around January 3, 1828.
On January 26, Sarmento went ashore with about eight crew members. While he was gone, a crew member named Miguel Ferreira led a mutiny. A mutiny is when the crew takes control of a ship from its captain. Not everyone on board joined the mutiny. The rebels forced ten crew members who did not want to join them into a small boat. They made another ten stay on the ship to help sail it. It seems the ship had not yet loaded any cargo. So, the Defensor de Pedro sailed away into the South Atlantic as a pirate ship. There were now twenty-three men on board. There is no proof that the crew ever changed the ship's name to Burla Negra.
Capture and End
Benito de Soto's life as a pirate ended when his ship, the Burla Negra, hit a hidden rock. The ship was badly damaged off the coast of Cadiz, Spain. He and his crew then tried to go to Gibraltar. However, they were recognized there and captured. Benito de Soto was sent back to Cadiz for trial. He was found guilty and was hanged along with the remaining members of his crew.
See also
In Spanish: Benito Soto Aboal para niños
