Corsarios españoles en el Golfo de Honduras, 1713-1763

Abstract

The main objective of this article is the presentation of the corsair activities in the Gulf of Honduras between the years 1713 and 1763, the times when Great Britain received the privilege of trading with Hispano-America through the Asiento and the permission vessel. This event caused the development of contraband in different parts of the Greater Caribbean, such as the Atlantic coast of the General Captaincy of Guatemala. The problem was soon detected by metropolitan authorities, who rigorously began to combat illicit trade by granting Indian governors the power to issue corsair patents. Through the historiographic and archival studies it was possible to find  valuable information about the Spanish corsairs, who from their bases in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Campeche, Bacalar and Omoa fought the British navigation in the region of the Gulf of Honduras. It should be emphasized that this article is an innovative contribution because it develops the aspect of the regional Corsair, so little known, and which was an effective weapon against the British transgressions.