Benito de Soto

Benito de Soto was a Spanish pirate who seized control of the slave ship Defensor de Pedro following a mutiny in 1827 and turned to piracy in the Atlantic, most notoriously attacking the British ship Morning Star in 1828, during which the crew and passengers were brutalized. He was eventually captured, tried in Gibraltar, and hanged in 1830, sometimes described in later accounts as one of the last major Atlantic pirates of the era.

Quick Facts

Real NameBenito de Soto Aboal
Bornc. 1805 (unverified)
Died1830-01-25
NationalitySpanish (Galician)
Years Active1827-1830
Known ShipsDefensor de Pedro (renamed Black Joke)
FateCaptured, tried in Gibraltar, and hanged on January 25, 1830

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