The Legend of Gasparilla and His Treasure - CAROLYN ARNOLD His death seems to come straight from Hollywood. 5 Popular Mai Tai Recipes and How To Make Them, Mango Tango Cocktail Recipe Boat Drinks, Taste the New St. John Brewers Love City Hard Seltzer, A Day With Stormy Pirates Charters US Virgin Islands, An Island Interview With Caribbean Adventure Author, John H. Cunningham, Love Pets and a Free Place To Stay? The latter two locations being the most logical. So are you juiced up and just caught the gold fever? Most of the suspected locations are in and around the state of Florida. He remembers their grandfather telling stories when they were children of Ernesto finding the treasure of Tampa Bay pirate legend Jose Gaspar. (4) The person who gets most of the credit for the Gasparilla myth is John Gomez who drowned around 1900 at the age of 122. According to Floridian folklore, Gaspar was a fearsome pirate that operated out of a secret base in southwest Florida in the late 18th and early 19th . Sign up for our WTFF Newsletter to get weird Florida news delivered straight to your email: WTFF News: Because regular news is depressing. There have been many stories told of treasure Captain Kidd buried back in America. But Rodney Kite-Powell, a Tampa-Bay curator, doesnt believe that the legendary figure was even real. Supposedly a group of pirates traveled from the gulf inland via river to a spot in Indiana where they hid a bunch of gold coins east of the town of Freedom. The American Continents have a rich treasure history dating back to ancient civilizations of the Toltecs and Aztecs who understood the mining and smelting of gold and silver from which they made ornaments shields and household utensils. A Treasured History: The Story of Gasparilla, Tampa's Most Prized There are multiple stories about his life that vary greatly depending upon the source of the information, leading some to conclude that he was not a real person. He would then sell these items to local customers in east Texas. Ye be walkin the plank if ye so think. Pirate Blackbeard entered the history books in the early 1700s. Jose Gaspar, the legendary buccaneer who inspired Tampa's Gasparilla Pirate Festival, as well as fantastic tales of lost treasure, most likely never really existed. Friendly down to earth staff. In all, he buried 13 casks and chests of treasure in the vicinity of his headquarters. He renamed this ship Queen Anns Revenger which gave him one of the largest fleets on the East coast of America and Caribbean. Jose was also an officer of high standing in the naval affairs of the Spaniards. Rumor has it, that the stolen goods are still hidden somewhere on the island. A few years later, he fell out of favor with the government and turned to a life of piracy. Dropa Stones: Are They 12,000 Year Old Discs? Keep me posted! They will be focused on the Florida coastline, right in my back yard. There's really no way to know which is the case," Maria wrote, in an email to WTSP-TV. ", According to the railroad brochure, the "narrative was compiled by the writer from incidents told by John Gomez, better known as Panther Key John, a brother-in-law of Gasparilla and a member of his crew, who died at the age of 120 years, at Panther Key, Florida, 12 miles below Marco, in the year 1900; also from records left by John Gomez, Jr., the cabin-boy on Gasparilla's ship, who was kidnapped by Gasparilla and who witnessed the death of this pirate and all on board his vessel. Debbie gave us a great tip to hide the tooth in the sand and make our son think he found it. This Plantation is said to be roughly 5 miles West of the town of Iowa. Jos Gaspar - Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); If anybody wants to start a treasure seach team, WTF Florida? Since the 1870s, treasure hunters have been trying unsuccessfully to crack this code you see below: Some say its Spanish. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. Email him at elcompa29@gmail.com. Available at: https://ymkg.com/the-legend-of-jose-gasparilla/. http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/f2/ferret-iii.htm, Florida's Pirate Jose Gaspar and his Treasure Story. He apparently helped repeal a British Invasion on New Orleans. A team of treasure hunters could be on the verge of unearthing the "world's largest treasure hoard," said to be worth over $20 billion. However, there is another story, that has some validity, of what happened to his treasure. Jose Gaspar commandeered the 'Floridablanca', the ship upon which he was serving, to commence his life of piracy. The parade that follows is one of the largest in the country, drawing hundreds of thousands of people to Tampa Bay. Oak Island: Legends of Pirates and Treasure, Barbarossa the Pirate: Scourge of the Mediterranean, Flying Dutchman: Phantom Ship, Legend and Sightings, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Gaspar, https://www.wfla.com/news/gasparilla/history-of-gasparilla-jose-gaspar-his-krewe/, https://ymkg.com/the-legend-of-jose-gasparilla/. Lafitte was wanted by the US government for they deemed his acts as piracy, not privateering. By booking through these links, the small commission we earn helps us bring you more Caribbean content so that you can save money and have a better island vacation. But Rodney Kite-Powell, a Tampa-Bay curator, doesn't believe that the legendary figure was even real. (story from treasurelore.com). After that, they searched his cabin and found a jar of gold coins and a small sheet of copper engraved with a code indicating the location of buried treasure. All of it is built around the story of Gaspar. Mike Lopez said his sister was not expecting to find a human hand, a treasure map, and gold coins. When Maria and Mike were children, their grandfather would tell them stories about his father, Ernesto Lopez, finding Jose Gaspar's pirate treasure. Box allegedly containing Gaspars hand and related items Photo Credit. These stories and locations presented are based on our research but should be taken with some skepticism. He subsequently set fire to all his buildings before sailing out to sea, never to be heard from again. Location & Hours 2119 N Oceanshore Blvd Flagler Beach, FL 32136 Get directions Edit business info You Might Also Consider Sponsored Purple Haze 22 23.4 miles away from Jose Gaspar Treasure Marcus E. said "Hand crafted glass smoking utensils. The ship contained $1,000,000 in assorted treasure, and should be there today. Is There Any Pirate Treasure Left? - treasure unknown He weighed in on the treasure map as well and believes it was a blueprint for the area during the 1920s and 1930s, but nothing more. The battle raged and the story goes that as Jose Gaspar realized the inevitable, he stood on the bow of the ship and stated something like Gaspar dies by his own hands. "Maria came across it and once she told me she found a hand in a box. The treasure on Money Island is said to hidden in the crevice of a large rock that is only visible during low tide. Gaspar did not exist, but never mind that. The theme and focal point of Gasparilla is a friendly "invasion" by mythical pirate Jos Gaspar and his crew, who are portrayed by members of Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla (YMKG), an organization created for this purpose in 1904. New Castle Island in Delaware is said to house treasure hidden by pirates from Madagascar in 1699. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Gaspar apparently did not share this attraction and instead gave his attention to other women of the court. It does not store any personal data. According to the sources we studied, Gaspar was probably born in Spain in 1756. Jean Lafitte. Marias brother Mike believes the couple in the photo may be their great grandparents, Eve and Ernesto Lopez. If you choose to embark on a hunt for any treasure do so at your own risk. Groups gather in St. Petersburg park to shed light on local violence, Tampas St. Josephs Childrens Hospital holds prom for pediatric patients, Photos: Rays back at Trop in spring game against Twins, Photos: Publix Gasparilla Distance Classic, Photos: New York's Naked Cowboy makes brief appearance in Tampa, Photos: Opening day for the Florida Strawberry Festival, Photos: IndyCar Series takes over streets of St. Petersburg, Hundreds of USF students join statewide walkout to protest DeSantis education policies, Photos: Lightning return home to take on Ducks, Photo Gallery: Family mourns Josiah Pinner during a candlelight vigil. Once again our legend states that he hid 3 large chests among a group of trees on San Jose Island. When Gasparilla requested that they accompany him and his crew on a raid, the two young lovers assumed they would be slaughtered. Crystal and I greatly appreciate any support! Dodge and Hardee get credit for creating Gasparilla, and Hardee and the krewe more so for crafting Gaspar's backstory (including giving him the first name Jose and a death date of 1821). In this time Spain controlled a huge swathe of the Americas and Gaspar grew rich. There are numerous tales and stories of pirate treasures hidden thought the world, some of which are not attributed to any particular pirate. We also participate in programs from eBay, CJ, Bluehost, Clickbank, ShareASale, and other sites. Maybe you can find one and claim the fame and wealth that will ultimilty accompany your successful efforts. The items found by his sister were neatly packed inside a wooden box. 1. Historic Mysteries provides captivating articles on archaeology, history, and unexplained mysteries. His fleet would capture vessels at sea, and take all the goods back to Galveston. Overview. May 4, 1904Gasparilla Pirate Festival / First event date. Wikipedia, 2022. But, now? Shipwrecks: Who owns the treasure hidden under the sea? This was around the 1870s, after the Civil War. He wished to return to America to retrieve this treasure after Kidds execution but he never made it back. Not much is known of his early life before his pirating career. Oak Island the Strange, the Bizarre, and Maybe the "Truth! Although Gasparilla was a well-educated, well-dressed pirate and ladies man, things did not always go as planned. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. For whatever reason, burial of chests laden with gold and jewels seems to be the norm, but is there any pirate treasure left? What date is Gasparilla 2021? These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. This characterization continues through the stories of Gasparilla as a pirate. The city of Tampa hosts a Gasparilla Day each year. I love searching for all types of "treasures" with my family. He continued the diving operation, but while they were working, his wife came down with a fever and died. . The legend states that Gaspar terrorized the western coastal waters of Florida in the late 18th to early 19th century. Since 1904, pirates have invaded the City of Tampa to kick off the Gasparilla Pirate Festival. link to A Beginners Guide to Magnet Fishing: 15 Sure Fire Tips. Leading a group of escaped convicts, Gaspar with his stolen ship established a home base in 1783 in the area of Charlotte Harbor, north of the present day Fort Myers on an Island he named "Gasparilla." He is said to have also taken that name for himself as it means "Gaspar the outlaw."