March 22, 1805 - Benito de Soto
His career was brief but brutal — spanning roughly two years of Atlantic operations before capture and execution at twenty-four. De Soto commanded the Defensor de Pedro during a period of disrupted maritime order following South American independence, when weakened naval oversight created openings for opportunistic violence at sea. The attacks on the Morning Star and the Topaz were distinguished by their exceptional ferocity, drawing enough attention to bring swift judicial response from both British and Spanish authorities.
From Wikipedia
Benito de Soto Aboal (22 March 1805 – 25 January 1830) was a Spanish pirate who operated in the Atlantic during the early 19th century. He was the captain of the pirate ship Defensor de Pedro, sometimes incorrectly named as the Burla Negra ("Black Joke"), that was responsible for several piracies in the Atlantic in 1828, in a period of increased piracy following the independence of the new states of South America.
The most notable attacks were on the British Indiaman Morning Star and the American ship Topaz, which involved great violence. De Soto was captured and tried in Gibraltar on 20 January 1830 and he was hanged on 25 January. Other members of his crew were captured in Spain. Their trial there began on 19 November 1829 and ten men were executed on 11 and 12 January 1830.
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