Henri Caesar

Infobox Pirate
name = Henri Caesar
lived = fl. 1791-1830


caption =
nickname = Black Caesar
type = Pirate
placeofbirth = Haiti
placeofdeath =
allegiance =
serviceyears = 1805-1830
base of operations = Port-de-Paix
rank = Captain
commands =
battles =
wealth =
laterwork =

Henri Caesar, also known as Black Caesar, (fl. 1791-1830) was an 19th century Haitian revolutionary and pirate. He was a participant in the Haitian Revolution under Dutty Boukman and Toussaint Louverture as well as active in piracy for nearly a 30-year period during the early 19th century.

Biography

Henri Caesar was born to a slave family kept by a French plantation owner known as Arnaut. He worked as a houseboy on the estate and, as a young man, worked in the lumberyard. He was apparently mistreated by the supervisor and later killed the man during the slave insurrection, torturing him with a saw. Joining the rebel forces led by Dutty Boukman and Toussaint Louverture, he remained with the revolution until its independence from France in 1804, when he left to try his luck at sea. Based in Port-de-Paix, he captured a Spanish ship in 1805 and soon began attacking small villages and lone vessels near Cuba and the Bahamas. Adopting the name Black Caesar, he was very successful during his piratical career before his disappearance in 1830. Although his fate is unrecorded, he most likely fled the area after President Andrew Jackson ordered an expedition against pirates active on the Florida coast after its purchase by the United States in 1828. There is one story of his capture in west Florida and, taken to Key West, was tied to a tree and burned to death. The widow of a preacher, whose eyes had been burned out under torture from Black Caesar, had been used to light the fire. [McCarthy, Kevin M. "Twenty Florida Pirates". Sarasota, Florida: Pineapple Press, 1994. (pg. 41) ISBN 1-56164-050-6]

He is supposed to have buried between $2 and $6 million at several locations throughout the Caribbean including Pine Island, White Horse Key, Marco Island, Elliot Key and Sanibel Island, although none has ever been recovered. He is said to have been associated with another pirate, Jose Gaspar or Gasparilla, however his existence is doubted among historians.

In popular culture

*The 1980 book "Black Caesar, Pirate" by Cliff Gardner, which gives a fictionalized account of his life, is the first biography of his to be published.

References

:Dutch|Black Caesar (piraat)|2008-05-23

Further reading

*Gardner, Cliff. "Black Caesar, Pirate". Atlanta: Peachtree Publishers, 1980.
*Ferlinghetti, Lawrence. "City Lights Anthology". San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1974.

External links

* [http://www.treasurelore.com/florida/florida_treasure.htm Florida's Fabulous Treasures] by Jeffrey Kramer
* [http://www.thepiratesrealm.com/Black%20Caesar.html The Pirate's Realm: Black Caesar]