Renato Beluche played many roles in the turbulent world of the nineteenth-century Caribbean. He was a merchant sea captain as well as a successful Privateer. He was Simon Bolivar's favorite admiral as well as an active partner in the affairs of the Laffite brothers. He fought both as a revolutionary and as a defender against revolt. He was a patriot in the eyes of eight American nations and a brigand in the eyes of England and France.
In tracing the course of Beluche's chameleonlike career, this biography by Jane Lucas De Grummond gives us a panoramic view of the complex affairs of the Caribbean during one of the most volatile periods in its history. Renato Beluche is the product of the more than forty years that De Grummond has devoted to the history of the United States, the Louisiana Gulf Coast, and Latin America. It draws together her knowledge not only of Beluche's exploits but also of the wars, revolutions, and treacherous allegiances that shaped the development of the Caribbean.
Renato Beluche was born in New Orleans in 1780, the son of a recently emigrated Frenchman whose wig-making business was a front for smuggling. In 1802 Beluche went to sea as a pilot's mate on the flagship of the Spanish fleet, and by 1805 he was master of a merchant schooner. By this time, the Laffite brothers had established a smuggling base at Grande Terre on the Louisiana coast. Flying the French flag, Beluche captured Spanish and English ships and sent them to Grande Terre, Cartagena, and New Granada.
In 1813, Beluche became associated with the Venezuelan patriots who were rebelling against Spanish rule, and with their leader, Simon Bolivar. Beluche would spend the next decade in the service of the Venezuelan revolution, interrupted only by a brief period when he joined with Jean Laffite and the Baratarian smugglers who had come to the aid of General Andrew Jackson during the British invasion of the Gulf Coast.
After serving as an artillery commander beside Dominique You in the Battle of New Orleans, Beluche was drawn back into the liberation of Venezuela. He participated in the Aux Cayes Expedition, the Battle of Los Frailes, the Battle of Lake Maracaibo, and the Siege of Puerto Cabello. In 1824, Beluche settled his family in Puerto Cabello, and after independence was finally won, he worked as a coastal shipping captain.
In 1836 Beluche fought on the losing side of a rebellion against the Venezuelan government and was exiled for nine years. He returned in 1845 and helped crush another revolt that raged from 1848 until 1850. For the next decade he led an uncharacteristically quiet existence, and he died peacefully in Puerto Cabello in 1860. Renator Beluche's vigorous career on the sea had taken him to nearly every corner of the Caribbean; he had lived a life intertwined with the history of his world."
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Jane Lucas De Grummond is professor emerita of history at Louisiana State University. She is the author of Envoy to Caracas, The Baratarians and the Battle of New Orleans, and (with Beulah de Veriere Smith Watts) Solitude: Life on a Plantation in Louisiana, 1788--1968, and the editor of Caracas Diary, 1835--1840: The Journal of John G.A. Williamson, First Diplomatic Representative of the United States to Venezuela.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
FREE
Within U.S.A.
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. First Edition. Ship within 24hrs. Satisfaction 100% guaranteed. APO/FPO addresses supported. Seller Inventory # 080711054X-8-1
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Very Good ++. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good ++. Maps (illustrator). First Edition. SUBTITLED : ` Smuggler, Privateer, and Patriot: 1780- 1860'. As a young man, Renato Beluche. lived on Chalmette Plantation just outside the city of New Orleans. The year was 1788. Beluche seems to have been born to be a soldier, though perhaps not always in the commissioned sense. LEARN more about : Dupre line, Pacific Squadron, Rio San Juan, Port-au-Prince harbor, Ceres, Urica, Espartana, Marcus Lafitte, Trinidad de Cuba, Negril Bay, and Bay of Haquen. Several b/w maps and a few b/w photographs accompamy text. Cond : Boards are light green with black lettering at spine. White end-papers. D.J. ,with a Beluche portrait, is light blue with white lettering. (D.J. now protected in mylar.) Tight in binding. No names nor marks. Some foxing (or soiling) to page edges. Excellent Spanish history reference. Spanish of the New World style. See the Beluche range map on pp. 8 -9. QUote (p. 25) : " The two parts of Beluche's plantation sold for a total of 11,230 pesos. Since the record shows that the estate was auctioned for 12,854 pesos, a couple of slaves must have been sold also. After the auction costs of 547 pesos, court costs, and debts of at least 9,661 pesos were paid, there may have been a few pesos left over for Rosa. Where she ._._._. . " Size: Octavo. Seller Inventory # 015724
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Good. G/G. Jacket in mylar. Inscribed by author. Jacket spine edge rub, foxing to rear panel and top edge. Inscribed by Author(s). Seller Inventory # ABE-1684856681849
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. Near fine copy in hardcover with very good jacket. Jacket has fading on spine, light rubbing. Seller Inventory # 041730