Amaro Pargo

Amaro Rodríguez Felipe (18th century portrait).

Amaro Rodríguez Felipe y Tejera Machado (3 May 1678, in San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Tenerife - 4 October 1747, in San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Tenerife), more popularly known as Amaro Pargo, was a famous Spanish corsair.

He participated in the Spanish treasure fleet, amassing a considerable fortune by investing his profits in the lands he owned in Tenerife, primarily dedicated to vine cultivation. The intense trade that flourished between the Atlantic and the Caribbean encouraged piracy and privateering activities. Amaro Pargo took part in privateering missions against fleets from other European countries, capturing ships and sometimes selling them.

He felt a deep devotion to Sister María de Jesús de León y Delgado, even going so far as to fund her funeral and tomb. He made numerous donations to improve the lives of Tenerife’s poorest, particularly focused on bettering the living conditions of the prisoners in the jail of San Cristóbal de La Laguna.

He was noted for his commercial activities and for his frequent religious donations and aid to the poor. In his role as a privateer, he dominated the route between Cadiz and the Caribbean, on several occasions attacking ships belonging to enemies of the Spanish Crown (mainly England and Holland), earning recognition in his time as a hero and coming to be regarded as "the Spanish equivalent of Francis Drake". Because of his service to the Spanish Crown and country, he was declared a Caballero hijodalgo in 1725 and obtained certification of nobility and royal arms in 1727.

He felt a considerable devotion for Sister Mary of Jesus de León y Delgado, even financing his funeral and his grave. He made several donations with the aim of improving the lives of the poorest of Tenerife, especially for the improvement of the living conditions of the inmates of the prison of San Cristóbal de La Laguna.

His figure has been wrapped in a halo of romanticism that has related to piracy, hidden treasures and illicit romances. Different authors have taken advantage of this mysticism that surrounds his figure to elaborate his novels.

Historic context

Eighteenth-century commercial trade was shaped by various military conflicts with Great Britain, such as the War of Spanish Succession, the Anglo-Spanish War of 1727–1729, and the War of Jenkins' Ear. Berber corsair attacks also persisted during this period.

This historical landscape set the stage for what would later be termed the "Golden Age of Piracy," a time when major European empires, including Great Britain, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal, and France, competed fiercely over trade and the colonisation of new lands. Piracy, or the practice of organised looting and maritime banditry, flourished during this era.

This context necessitated that ships involved in Atlantic trade be properly armed. It also spurred the trade of captured vessels during conflict periods, an activity in which both Amaro Pargo and his brother, José Rodríguez Felipe, engaged. Documents such as the Power of Attorney granted by Amaro Rodríguez Felipe to Bartolomé Farraz and Baltasar García Calzada, authorising them to represent him in the process of declaring a captured enemy vessel as a legitimate prize (16 April 1712), indicate that Amaro Pargo conducted privateering actions, either independently or in collaboration with other captains involved in the Spanish treasure fleet.

Biography

Early Years

Amaro Pargo was born in May 1678 in a house located just above the current Ermita de San Cristóbal in La Laguna. His parents were Juan Rodríguez Felipe de Barrios and Beatriz Tejera Machado, who had seven other children: Francisca, Ana, Pedro, and José, along with three sisters who entered the convent of Santa Catalina de Siena—Sister María Santa Beatriz, Sister Clara de San Juan Bautista, and Sister Juana de San Vicente. His paternal grandparents were Cristóbal Rodríguez de Barrios and Ana Lorenzo Machado, while his maternal grandparents were Juan González Pargo de Castro and María Texera Machado.

He was baptized by Father Manuel Hurtado Mendoza at the Church of Nuestra Señora de Los Remedios (now the cathedral of the city), with Amaro López as his godfather. His family primarily resided in La Laguna, where they owned various properties—both rural and urban—around the Plaza de San Cristóbal (also known as Plaza Tanque de Abajo).

The will of his mother, Doña Beatriz, displays the typical characteristics of the agrarian bourgeoisie, which can be identified through the items described—goods for subsistence and exchange (such as cereals, figs, wine barrels, etc.), household furnishings, clothing, and various tools (for domestic tasks, farming work, and artisanal labor). Additionally, the accounting records, sales memoranda, and evidence of the importance of American products like cocoa reveal the commercial network in which all family members were involved.

The Spanish Treasure Fleet

His involvement in the Spanish treasure fleet began between 1703 and 1705, a period during which he was the owner and captain of the frigate El Ave María y las Ánimas, a ship with which he sailed from the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife to Havana. He made this same journey on several occasions and with different ships. His knowledge of transportation methods and the goods exported from the Canary Islands to the West Indies enabled him to make significant profits. He reinvested the profits from the Canary Islands-American trade into his estates, which were primarily dedicated to the cultivation of malvasía and vidueño grapes, with the latter’s production—especially vidueño—being sent to America.

Amaro Rodríguez Felipe was part of the Compañía de Honduras, a commercial modernization enterprise related to Spain’s dealings and services in its American colonies. On January 25, 1714, Spanish King Philip V issued a decree providing guarantees and stability for this transatlantic commercial venture. Amaro, like his superior Diego de Zárate y Murga—Marquis of Montesacro—became aligned with the new Bourbon Dynasty and its Atlantic interests.

The company appointed Amaro Pargo as captain of the ship Nuestra Señora de la Concepción, assigning him to Caracas under a Royal Order issued at the Palace of El Pardo in Madrid on September 26, 1714. The order states: "I hereby appoint you, Don Amaro Rodríguez Felipe, to serve as captain of the ship destined for Caracas, named Nuestra Señora de la Concepción." On October 24 of the same year, Amaro Rodríguez Felipe formally assumed the position of captain of the vessel in the Plaza de Cádiz, under oath and with a ceremonial homage, in the presence of the intendant, Don Francisco de Varas y Valdés.

During this venture, Amaro Pargo and his brother, José Rodríguez Felipe, became involved in the power struggles taking place within the Captaincy General of Venezuela, which, in 1717, became part of the Viceroyalty of New Granada. Specifically, Pargo had a dispute with Governor Marcos de Bethencourt y Castro because the latter had not included him among his supporters, but rather had opposed him. This legal dispute would not be resolved until 1724. The case is detailed in a document from the Archivo General de Indias, titled: "Autos against Amaro Rodríguez Felipe, captain encomendero of the ship Nuestra Señora de la Concepción, for opposing the inspection of this vessel."

It is documented that in March 1719, Amaro ran into legal trouble when he was detained by the Casa de Contratación of Cádiz for preventing an inspection of one of his ships. Amaro explained that this ship, nicknamed El Blandón, had been built in Campeche, had sailed from La Guaira covering the route to Veracruz, and was carrying cacao. However, despite the insistence of Governor Francisco de Varas to detain the privateer and imprison him, Pargo directly informed King Philip V of the situation and accused Francisco de Varas of abuse of authority, inefficiency in his administration, and corruption. After this, the matter was resolved in Amaro’s favor, and he was released.

Amaro Pargo did engage in the transportation of slaves to the Caribbean, although it is believed that he was involved to a lesser extent than other captains and figures of the time dedicated to this activity. In 1710, the privateer became embroiled in an accusation by the priest Alonso García Ximénez, who accused him of freeing an African slave named Sebastián, who was being transported to Venezuela on one of Amaro's ships. Alonso García granted power of attorney on July 18, 1715, to Teodoro Garcés de Salazar to claim the slave’s return in Caracas. Despite this, Amaro Pargo also owned slaves who served in his domestic staff.

There is little known about Amaro Rodríguez’s time in the Caribbean. However, there are documentary records from the period that refer to a paternity claim process. This claim was initiated by Manuel de la Trinidad Rodríguez, a bastard born in Havana to Josefa María del Valdespino y Vitrián. He presented witness statements, among other testimonies, through the legitimating processes of the 18th century. However, Amaro never recognized him as his son. Another illegitimate child was Juan Rodríguez Felipe, born in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, who would later be buried in the parish of San Marcos in Tegueste. Juan Rodríguez was raised by Amaro’s mother, Beatriz Tejera, and his mother was a married woman who had known Amaro's family since childhood, as indicated in the period’s documents.

It is also known that Amaro was the godfather of a novice at the convent of Santa Catalina in La Laguna, named Sister Michaela Rossa de San Vicente Ferrer, whose parents were unknown. There is debate about whether this novice was another unrecognized daughter of the privateer or if she had been taken in by him from among the abandoned children and placed in the convent for her upbringing and education.

According to his will and the distribution of assets, Amaro Rodríguez Felipe amassed a great fortune, consisting of 733 fanegadas of land, both dry and irrigated, spread across Tenerife— in places such as Valle Colino, Vinagre, Tegueste el Viejo, and Tegueste el Nuevo, among others; 42 houses, both in the midlands and in the urban centers of San Cristóbal de La Laguna and Santa Cruz de Tenerife; personal property, including furniture, paintings, liturgical ornaments, and goods; and "property titles of taxes." Although part of this wealth came from the inheritance of his parents and the awarding of land through legal disputes, the majority of it was purchased by Amaro Pargo starting in 1714.

Privateering Activities

Amaro Pargo's privateering commission was discovered in 2024 in the Archivo General Militar de Segovia, alongside other documents detailing various aspects of his life. However, several contemporary documents had already been found earlier, referring to his participation, either individually or in cooperation with others, in privateering raids, such as the capture of ships belonging to enemy European powers. These texts suggest that the targets were fleets hostile to the Spanish Monarchy, and most of the captured vessels were intended for resale or trading. In these documents, the captured ships are commonly referred to as "prizes."

The aforementioned document specifically refers to the capture of a small English vessel, the Saint Joseph, which had consignees in Dublin (Ireland) and was commanded by Captain Alexander Webster. The defense lawyer for this English sailor, Agustín Francisco Ceferino, accused Amaro Rodríguez Felipe of failing to act with rigor in exercising his privateering rights. This was because Amaro Pargo had looted the ship and seized its possessions, as well as forced Captain Webster to sail alongside his own ship, named Nuestra Señora de Candelaria, Santo Domingo y San Vicente Ferrer, also known as El Bravo, to the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, under the threat of sinking the English vessel into the depths of the sea. In response to Francisco Ceferino's criticisms, the prosecutor Andrés Estévez de Guzmán testified that El Bravo was not armed for privateering, but was a vessel engaged in the Atlantic trade. Despite this, the capture of the Saint Joseph was considered legitimate, as England was an enemy power of the Spanish Crown.

After Amaro Pargo's involvement with the Compañía de Honduras, King Philip V, in a Royal Decree dated October 24, 1719, from San Lorenzo de El Escorial, authorized him to build a ship in Campeche, which would be named El Pontencia or La Potencia. This ship was an armed merchant vessel, equipped with 58 cannons and measuring 64 cubits in length and 56 in keel, with a beam of over 16 cubits. This ship was also referred to as Potencias Aliadas and Blandón. According to current studies, the vessel joined the Spanish Navy in 1723, but a year earlier, it is believed to have been involved in the capture and looting of a Dutch ship, Duynvliet (sometimes mentioned as Duyvelant), presumably under the command of Amaro Rodríguez Felipe.

Among the letters and documents described in the inventory of Beatriz Tejera Machado — Amaro Pargo's mother — is a manuscript written by Bernardo de Espinosa to Captain Amaro Rodríguez Felipe, instructing him to give his share of the prize to Manuel Mollette. The inventory also contains a note about "goods left in the box embarked aboard the prize," dated November 29, 1719.

On March 21, 1729, Amaro Pargo signed a power of attorney to collect 800 pesos from a bond he had to deposit by order of the Captain General of the Canary Islands, the Marquis of Valhermoso. According to the text, this was due to "an English prize he had taken while acting as captain" during the return journey from Havana. This action is believed to have been carried out with the ship Santísima Trinidad, also known as El Clavel, which was co-owned by Amaro Pargo and Juan Pedro Dujardín, another sailor involved in the Carrera de Indias.

Later documents highlight the need to arm certain ships for privateering, such as Nuestra Señora del Rosario, San Francisco Xavier, and Las Ánimas, generally known as La Venus. This ship is described as a 282-ton vessel, armed with 32 cannons of various calibers (28 of which were 6-pounders), and a crew of 250 well-armed men. It was commanded by Bartolomé Sánchez Carta, Amaro Rodríguez Felipe, and Nicolás María Bignoni.

During this period, there were a number of corsairs and privateers of Canarian origin with whom Amaro Pargo maintained close collaboration. In 1740, Amaro Rodríguez Felipe and his associate Nicolás María Bignoni urged Captain Bartolomé Sánchez Carta to attack two English brigs that were disrupting the island's trade.

Recognition of nobility

Amaro Pargo requested and obtained the recognition of his family's nobility through a protection decree on January 25, 1725. Later, on January 9, 1727, he would receive a certificate of nobility and arms from the king of arms of Philip V, Juan Antonio de Hoces Sarmiento.

Devotion

Due to his fervent Catholic faith, Amaro Pargo was linked to "countless foundations, endowments, and the establishment of memorials and funds for the benefit of the religious community and the people." Among his contributions, the financing of improvements to the church of Santo Domingo de Guzmán and the convent of Santa Catalina de Siena, where his three sisters resided, stands out.

He was devoted to Sister María de Jesús, a nun of the Order of Preachers from the Santa Catalina convent. This devotion led him to finance her funeral arrangements, which also included the construction of a mausoleum three years after Sister María de Jesús's death. On February 15, 1734, Luis Tomás Leal, Provincial of the Dominican Order, took part in the handing over of the three keys to the tomb, giving one to Amaro Pargo in recognition of his affection for Sister María de Jesús, his good deeds, and his veneration for the order.

He also contributed to improving the lives of the poor in the city of San Cristóbal de La Laguna. He purchased a tribute related to the upkeep of the city's poorhouse, and as syndic representative of the Tenerife City Council, he proposed introducing "quarters" and "ochavos" coins to improve the concerning financial situation and liquidity of the archipelago's subsistence economy.

Death and inheritance

Amaro Pargo died on October 4, 1747, in his hometown of La Laguna and was buried in the Convent of Santo Domingo de Guzmán, in the tomb of the Chapel of San Vicente, which he owned. On the marble tombstone, the family coat of arms is engraved, along with a skull — a symbol that replaced the Latin cross, as the edicts of the time prevented the cross from being stepped on by the faithful. It has often been mistakenly thought that this symbol represented piracy.

Since he had no legitimate heirs, Amaro Pargo bequeathed his wealth to his "close relatives and trusted individuals," linking the properties to various institutions such as the primogeniture, the patronage, and the chaplaincy. The majorazgo (entailment) was entrusted to his nephews, with Amaro González de Mesa and Ana Josefa Rodríguez Felipe holding the principal majorazgo.

Pargo

For centuries, the reason behind the nickname "Pargo" or "El Pargo" (The Parrotfish) for the corsair has been speculated. Traditionally, it was believed that the nickname referred to the corsair being "fast," "elusive in battle," and "moving in the sea like the fish" — the Pagrus pagrus (also called "pargo"). There were also more recent theories, rooted in popular tradition, that attributed the nickname to the corsair's facial features. However, it has now been clarified that "Pargo" was a family name, a nickname linked to Amaro Rodríguez Felipe's maternal family since at least the late 16th century. According to University of La Laguna professor Manuel de Paz and researcher and librarian Daniel García Pulido, his nickname "has nothing to do with his face resembling that of this fish, but rather with the nickname by which his family clan was known."

Exhumation

In November 2013, an exhumation of his remains was carried out by a team of anthropologists, archaeologists, and forensics from the Autonomous University of Madrid, with the purpose of studying the figure of Amaro Pargo, including DNA tests and the recreation of his face.

According to historical records, along with Amaro Pargo, his parents and a black servant named Cristóbal Lynch or Linche were buried. In addition to these, there were six other individuals whose remains were found. According to archaeologist Esther Andréu, head of Arqueomedia— the company in charge of the exhumation— these individuals could possibly be nephews or great-nephews. Furthermore, the remains of infants unrelated to Amaro Pargo were also discovered, which may reflect the custom of burying unbaptized deceased babies with an adult to guide them to heaven.

The exhumation was funded by the French videogame company Ubisoft with the goal of documenting and researching Amaro Pargo's life as a pirate for the fourth installment of the Assassin's Creed series, titled Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. Antonio Alonso, brand manager for Ubisoft in Spain, stated that during his time, Pargo was a figure who "had the same reputation and popularity as Blackbeard or Francis Drake."

In popular culture

The treasure of Amaro Pargo

Amaro Pargo's house in the Machado neighborhood, in the municipality of El Rosario, has suffered constant looting in an attempt to find the supposed treasure he hid. Stories about this treasure vary; some place it around the Roques de Anaga, while others situate it in the area of Punta del Hidalgo and the Cave of San Mateo, in the northeast of Tenerife.

The treasure is said to consist of "carved silver, gold jewels, pearls and precious stones, Chinese porcelain, fine fabrics, paintings, and possibly 500,000 pesos."

Friendship with Sor María de Jesús

Over the centuries and through the lens of Romanticism, people have tried to assign a deeper meaning to the friendship between the corsair and the nun. However, the reality is far from these interpretations, as their relationship was one of sincere devotion to a religious figure who provided protection and support for all of Amaro Rodríguez Felipe's vital and commercial activities. In literary circles, this aspect has been excessively exaggerated, without any factual basis. The writer Balbina Rivero, author of Amaro Pargo, the Pirate of Tenerife, subtly hints at this view in her book, although others, including the author of El Sarcófago de las Tres Llaves, Pompeyo Reina Moreno, reject this notion, believing that Amaro's relationship with Sor María de Jesús was primarily devotional in nature.

One of the reasons for the popular confusion surrounding Amaro Pargo's relationship with Sor María de Jesús lies in the story of the nun Sor Úrsula de San Pedro. This 17th-century religious woman escaped from the Santa Catalina de Siena convent with Jerónimo de Grimón y Rojas, the illegitimate son of the owner of the nearby Palacio de Nava . Both lovers were discovered before they could leave the island, and Jerónimo was accused of kidnapping a nun, executed in the Plaza del Adelantado in La Laguna, with his head displayed on a pike. Sor Úrsula, on the other hand, was walled up for life in the convent.

Literature

Amaro Pargo's dedication to mercantile and corsair activities has sparked the interest of various novelists and historians, many of whom have noted a certain degree of mysticism surrounding his character. Among the works that stand out for their historical rigor is El corsario Amaro Pargo (2004) by Domingo García Barbuzano, who spent five years researching the figure in historical archives, such as the Archive of the Indies in Seville, where documents related to voyages between Spain and America are kept.

Novels inspired by his persona include Amaro Pargo, el pirata de Tenerife by Balbina Rivero and El Sarcófago de las Tres Llaves by Pompeyo Reina. Additionally, the Argentine writer Ernesto Frers references Amaro Pargo in his work Más allá del legado pirata (Beyond the Pirate Legacy).

Film and Television

In 1989, Televisión Española en Canarias aired a television series called La historia en persona. This series consisted of thirteen episodes, one of which was dedicated to the figure of Amaro Pargo.

More recently, in 2017, the first documentary film analyzing various aspects of this historical figure was produced, titled Amaro Pargo: Entre la leyenda y la historia (Amaro Pargo: Between Legend and History). This documentary was broadcast on Radio Televisión Canaria on August 10, 2017. The project was produced by Rumen Justo Reyes and directed by Juan Alfredo Amil, with documentation gathered and interviews conducted by journalist Benjamín Reyes.

In 2023, the American television series Expedition Unknown dedicated an episode to the figure of Amaro Pargo titled "Riches of Spain's Pirate King".

Music and Theater

In 2016, the musical group Rincón de La Mareta dedicated a song to the corsair, Amaro Pargo. Composed by Raquel Álvarez, the song tells the story of Amaro Pargo, his fortune, and his time in Cuba.

In the theatrical play La Conquista más pirata by Timaginas Teatro, Amaro Pargo shares the spotlight with Rear Admiral Horatio Nelson, the Catholic Monarchs, and Alonso Fernández de Lugo.

In May 2022, coinciding with the anniversary of Amaro Pargo's birth, a full album dedicated to his figure was released, titled El Corsario de Aguere, under the musical direction and production of Raquel Álvarez.

Connection with Blackbeard and Doghead

Amaro Pargo is often associated with another historical figure from the world of piracy, Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard. A naval confrontation between the two is sometimes attributed to them, supposedly lasting several days. However, although both sailors were contemporaries, none of their coeval biographies mention this event, leading to the belief that it may be a later popular legend.

On the island of Tenerife, there is also a figure of a pirate known as Cabeza de Perro (Doghead). Currently, there is some debate over the historicity of this character, and more puzzling is the fact that his life—according to popular legend—shares certain parallels with that of Amaro Pargo. Many researchers believe that Cabeza de Perro was a literary character, likely based on Amaro Pargo, created by Aurelio Pérez Zamora in 1895, and later incorporated into the island's folklore as a real historical figure.

Others

Popular tradition attributes to Amaro Pargo numerous events that lack solid historical foundations or are insufficiently documented. Among these is the claim that the King of Spain declared him "Señor de soga y cuchillo" (Lord of the Rope and Knife), a medieval title that granted the holder jurisdiction to punish, even with the death penalty.

In 2017, the Ruta Gastronómica de Amaro Pargo (Amaro Pargo Gastronomic Route) was launched in La Laguna, themed around 18th-century cuisine and inspired by the figure of the corsair.

In 2021, the City Council of San Cristóbal de La Laguna launched an interactive video game titled El tesoro de Amaro Pargo (The Treasure of Amaro Pargo), which allows users to discover the main historical and artistic values of the city, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1999.

See also

• Historia de Canarias
• Flota de Indias
• Cabeza de Perro
• Piratería en Canarias
• Amaro Pargo: entre la leyenda y la historia

Bibliografía

• Template:Cita libro
• Template:Cita libro

Enlaces externos

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Amaro Pargo.

Categoría:Piratas y corsarios de España Categoría:Piratas y corsarios del siglo XVIII Categoría:Esclavistas Categoría:Nobles de las Islas Canarias Categoría:Militares de Canarias Categoría:Nacidos en San Cristóbal de La Laguna Categoría:Fallecidos en San Cristóbal de La Laguna Amaro Pargo