December 15, 1780 - Renato Beluche

Renato Beluche (15 December 1780 – 4 October 1860) was a Louisiana-born Venezuelan merchant, pirate and privateer active in the early nineteenth century Gulf Coast. Born in New Orleans, Spanish Louisiana, to a French smuggler, Beluche went to sea as a pilot's mate in 1802 on board a Spanish Navy warship.

After becoming associated with Spanish American patriots in Latin America, Renato joined their cause, spending over a decade fighting against the Spanish Empire for the cause of Latin American independence. During this time, he joined the pirate Jean Lafitte in assisting the United States to repel a British invasion. Despite his service for the Gran Colombian government, Renato participated in a rebellion against them in 1836, for which he was exiled for nine years. After returning, he helped the government suppress another rebellion, before retiring in 1850, spending the last decade of his life in relative peace and comfort in Puerto Cabello.

Content sourced from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renato Beluche under CC BY-SA 4.0.