The myth…

Burla Negra was a pirate ship that sailed the Atlantic in search of loot. It emerged suddenly amidst the fog without any of the victims noticing its presence until it was too late, and consequently did not have any opportunity to defend themselves. It was the fastest ship in the Atlantic and its crew was characterised by its bravery and a high sense of justice.

The Burla Negra was only fit for freedom lovers. Only those who had not been subject to more than their own will were welcome in it, and thus, behaved fearless and with no respect to the established regulations. Burla Negra did not attack the Spanish flag vessels, but it sailed under no country’s flag nor under any god’s. Both the crew and the boat itself (although commanded by Benito Soto) had no owner. Burla Negra only abided to the Pirate Code (everyone had the right to vote, the loot was divided equally,…) to which they were subject all the same. The captain was captain because the crew decided so, it didn’t depend on any other factor.

Burla Negra was in its origins a slave ship before it was turned into a pirate ship and its members, who were part of that crew, were people who embarked on it for a living but, little by little, began questioning the working of such undertaking. The dehumanized treatment of slaves, bad temper, and the senior commanders’ lack of scruples, as well as the unjust treatment towards the crew, made Benito Soto alongside a group of sailors decide to mutiny while the ship is anchored on the African coast. Once the ship is taken, they leave the crew ashore and they free the slaves inviting, if they wish, to join them.

Thence they venture towards an island where they’ll decide which plan to follow. They’ll paint the whole ship with tar, in order to easily camouflage themselves in the mist and in the night; they’ll raise the pirate flag and will begin their wanderings boarding all sorts of vessels always proclaiming themselves victorious. After taking hold of the ship and the loot, they abandoned the crew onshore, sank the boat and equally divided the spoils among all pirates.

Burla Negra’s treasures remain hidden in different Atlantic islands and in Galicia. In some cases the crew had to refuel, and they usually asked for shelter in poor people’s homes, with whom they always shared part of the loot if they accepted.

The days of Burla Negra ended with a helmsman error that makes the ship run aground and enables part of the crew to get arrested. Benito Soto, who’s able to escape initially, will be reported by one of his early victims (who identifies him) and will end his days hanged by Englishmen.

Some say that nowadays Burla Negra, with Benito Soto at the head, emerges at night, at high seas when the fog is thick, and when greed or injustice are present in any vessel sailing through the Atlantic, especially at latitudes close to the Galician coast.

Burla negra remains in the collective imaginary/imagination as a symbol of freedom and justice. A landmark of no submission to the established regulations in a quest for the expected future. Even though not proven, it is believed José de Espronceda dedicated “La Canción del Pirata” to Benito Soto.

[…]
My treasure is my gallant ship,
My only God is freedom;
My law the strength and the wind,
My sole homeland, the sea.
[…]

…Reality

At the beginning of the 20th century, in Santa María’s sandbank in Cádiz, strong tides caused a sunk brigantine to appear open air along with hundreds of coins minted in the 18th century.

It was Burla Negra, the ship commanded by Galician Benito Soto, the last pirate of the 19th century, hanged in Gibraltar in 1830*.

Born in Moureira’s quarter of Pontevedra in 1805. He began working as a fisherman with his father and his siblings; from an early age he joins a merchant vessel through the Atlantic, enrolled on a ship engaged in slave trade called “El Defensor de Don Pedro”. Together with his second in command, Victor Barbazán, they decide to mutiny on the African coast, and abandon the rest of the crew in Ghana. They rename the ship as “The BURLA NEGRA” (The Black Joke).

From that moment on they devote themselves to piracy, and they attack whichever ship they meet along the way, except for Spanish vessels. Their main victims are English, American, and Portuguese, acquiring a sinister reputation. The legend of Burla Negra is born, and in seafaring taverns in England, the omnipresent menace of the “Black Joke” arises every so often.

After five years of looting and boardings: Morning-Star, Sunbury, Cessnock, Topacio, New Prospect, etc, decide to split the riches and retire. Burla Negra sets its course towards Ponteverda’s harbour, camouflaged under the pseudonym “Buen Jesús y las Ánimas” (“Good Jesus and the Souls”).

In April 1828 Burla Negra anchors and transfers part of its treasure ashore (where it is concealed to be sold afterwards). It does the same in A Coruña and on May 5th it ventures towards Cádiz. On May 9th, due to a storm, it beaches in Santa María’s sandbank (Cádiz). The pirates, loaded with money, make a great party sparing no expenses in Cadiz’s capital for six days, they are recognized by one of their early victims and get arrested. Benito Soto and three others succeed in escaping towards Gibraltar, where they are finally apprehended and judged by the English. On January 25th 1830 Benito Soto is hanged, his body cut into pieces, and his head, pinned on a spike for public mockery. His last words were: “Goodbye everyone, the show’s over!”.

^{*Some facts point out it happened in 1833.}