Gasparilla -
Diva Delight - wet or fast.
Jose Gaspar - Gasparilla, The Pirate
Jose Gaspar was a Spanish pirate that prowled the waters of Tampa Bay, Florida. One of the more successful pirates, Gaspar is credited with capturing over 400 ships from 1789 to 1821. Adopting the nickname Gasparilla, he buried treasure in numerous places throughout the west coast of Florida.
Known as the "Last Buccaneer", Gasparilla was planning on retiring from a life of piracy. Ironically, on the day he was dividing his treasure among his crew. he spied a fat British merchant ship passing offshore. Gaspar couldn't resist one last plunder and gave chase. Unfortunately, the merchant ship was really the disguised USS Enterprise - a U.S. Navy warship on a pirate-hunting mission.
Jose Gaspar pulled in close to the ship before realizing, too late, that it was a trap. A spirited battle between pirate and pirate-hunter ensued. Gaspar's ship caught fire and was about to be boarded. Rather than give up and be hanged for piracy, Gasparilla wrapped a heavy chain around his waist and jumped off the bow of his ship.
While Gaspar disappeared beneath the waves, he was not forgotten, nor was his treasure. Gaspar had left it on shore with some of his trusted crew as he went to attack what he though was the merchant ship.
After the battle, the crew that remained onshore took the treasure inland and buried it in different places along the coast. None of Jose Gaspar's treasure has ever been recovered.
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