D. Miguel Enríquez (c. 1674–1743), was a privateer from San Juan who operated during the early 18th century. A mulato born out of wedlock, he was a shoemaker by occupation during his youth. After working for the governor as a salesman Enríquez was recruited to defend Puerto Rico, then a colony of the Spanish Empire. He commanded a couple of guarda costas, receiving a letter of marque and reprisal from the Spanish Crown for his performance. Operating during the height of the Golden Age of Piracy, Enríquez's fleet was also credited with controlling the proliferation of buccaneers in the region. However, he was considered a pirate himself by the merchants of other nations, since it was common practice of the government to ignore when foreign ships were attacked. Employing a systematic approach, Enríquez was able to become the most successful and influential Puerto Rican of his time and one of the most powerful men in the New World, converting San Juan into one of the best supplied and important ports in the Caribbean.
During his years as a privateer, Enríquez established close links with the Spanish Monarchy. In the Caribbean he rallied the support of the Catholic Church, the Spanish bureaucrats and the foreign governors of St. Thomas and Curaçao. Among other tactics, he used his ships for the distribution of urgent messages that arrived at San Juan or La Aguada to the rest of the Antilles. When there was a shortage of royal vessels, Enríquez's fleet was responsible for transporting items on behalf of Spain without charge. For this, the Crown granted him a Royal Auxiliary Identification Document (Spanish: Real Cédula Auxiliar), which allowed him to directly seek help from the Council of the Indies regardless of how insignificant a conflict was. His ships also provided transportation for the authorities that arrived at Puerto Rico en route to other locations and for Catholic missionaries. Throughout the War of the Spanish Succession, Enríquez's fleet was responsible for guarding the Spanish West Indies from incursions by the British and Dutch. In 1717, Enríquez led an operation that expelled foreign settlers from Vieques, for which he was commended. His fleet also participated in other military expeditions in 1728 and 1729.
Enríquez received several recognitions and exemptions that facilitated his work and contributed towards his vast wealth. Under the order of King Philip V (1683–1746), he was awarded The Gold Medal of the Royal Effigy (Spanish: "Medalla de oro de la Real Efigie") in 1713 and was named Capitán de Mar y Guerra y Armador de Corsos (loosely translated as Captain of the Seas and War and Chief Provider to the Crown Corsairs).Challenging Changes His success also led to resentment and constant clashes with the white caste of San Juan, placing him at odds with most of the colonial governors assigned to Puerto Rico. By the time that Matías de Abadía arrived to La Fortaleza, Enríquez was unable to accomplish his removal from office. He was charged with smuggling and stripped of all his power and wealth by the government. Enríquez fled and took refuge in a Catholic convent. The charges of smuggling made by the authorities were eventually dropped, but he chose to remain in the premises where he died a pauper.Puertorriqueñidad By the time that his career was over, Enríquez had commanded a fleet of over 300 ships, of which approximately 150 were lost, employing close to 1,500 sailors.
Early life Enríquez was born in San Juan to a poor family. The actual year of his birth is not clear due to contradictory dates, but the dates of 1674, 1676, 1680 and 1681 are referenced or recorded in official documents. Most of these variations were provided by Enríquez himself, who would report a younger age when questioned. Of those proposed, 1674 seems more likely. He was born to Graciana Enríquez, a freed slave of the same social hierarchy who had inherited the surname "Enríquez" from her former slaver, Leonor. His maternal grandmother was born in Africa, with Angola and Guinea being mentioned while his maternal grandfather was an unknown white man. The name of Enríquez's father is not mentioned in any documentation, with the possible reasons for this being various and unexplored in the surviving records. It is possible that either the identity was truly unknown by the public or that the father was a member of the Catholic clergy, which would have prompted a "silence pact" to avoid a scandal. The second theory is supported by the fact that a member of the elite class, Luis de Salinas, served as the godfather of his brother, José Enríquez, despite the fact that he was also considered an illegitimate child. It seems likely that both Miguel and José shared the same father. Enríquez also possessed several sacramental objects and books written in Latin, which was a language only used by the clergy, now considered to have been inherited from his father. He was the youngest of four siblings, the others being María and Juan. José died soon after his birth, before reaching his first year. They lived in the room of a house belonging to Ana del Rincón on San Cristóbal y la Carnicería Street.
Unlike most children of the time, Enríquez was taught how to read and write at an advanced level, sufficient to compose detailed documents. His writing style was elegant and he knew cursive, implying that it was a product of extended schooling. By age 10, Enríquez had begun to work as an apprentice shoemaker. As a consequence, he also learned how to craft leather. As was the custom during this age, Enríquez was enrolled in the military at the age of 16. These units were divided by social hierarchy, with him serving under Captain Francisco Martín along other mulatos. As a shoemaker, he would only earn four and a half reales per shoe pair. Enríquez never married, but was known to have been involved with several women throughout his life, including Elena Méndez, Teresa Montañez, María Valdés and Ana Muriel. Product of these relations, he had at least eight children, among which were Vicente and Rosa. Of them, Enríquez preferred Vicente, raising him and overseeing his education .
In 1700, aged 26, he was accused of selling contraband in his house. This merchandise was product of trades where people incapable of paying with money, handed items in exchange. The governor sentenced him to a year of forced labor in Castillo San Felipe del Morro and added a fine of 100 pieces of eight. He did not deny the charges, paid the coins without any hesitation and his sentence was changed, upon his own request. Enríquez was now sentenced to serve in the artillery of the Elite Garrison Corps. According to a witness, this change was facilitated due to requests made by influential members of San Juan's society, including some members of the Catholic Church. With his job as a shoemaker, it is unknown how he was able to afford the fine so quickly, but it is assumed that he received help. As part of the sentence, Enríquez could not charge for his work in the military, which also meant that during this timeframe he was economically supported by a third party.
Privateering career
Independent work and letter of marque In 1701, Enríquez began working as a salesman for governor Gutiérrez de la Riva. It was under this governor that he would go on to become a privateer. Like those that preceded him, Gutiérrez was appointed due to his military experience and his inauguration coincided with the War of the Spanish Succession arriving with a direct order to evaluate the cost of building a new vessel to "extinguish the commerce of [...] foreigners" that had reportedly engaged in piracy and other acts that threatened the Spanish economy. Within a month, he responded with a report suggesting a system that operated between privateers and a ship to guard the coasts. Both the geopolitical environment and the economic difficulty of the colony made privateering a successful and lucrative venture, both for the individual and for the government itself. Gutiérrez proposed the construction of a new boat for the sole purpose of plundering enemy ships, with half of the loot destined to the Crown and the remainder being distributed among the crew. This initiative was accepted and by 1704 the process was underway, with the ship being completed in 1707.
Gutiérrez needed a front man for this operation and Enríquez was eventually selected, his race allowing for a safe scapegoat if the privateering resulted in conflicts between the local government and Spain. He proved successful in this venture and within a year his role had grown. Only two years after Gutiérrez took office, Enríquez already served as the governor's delegate and owner of vessels under his command. These first actions were done independently, albeit with the government's compliance. However, by 1704 Enríquez was already being listed as a privateer, receiving an official letter of marque. Multiple invasion attempts by enemy countries further fueled privateering operations, the Spanish West Indies were constantly being attacked by England, Denmark and the Netherlands. The Spanish Crown did not take these threats lightly and ordered Gutiérrez to prepare for a hypothetical scenario, which ultimately proved to be a false alarm. Despite the outcome, this mentality lingered, facilitating the war acts of the privateers. A year later, England unsuccessfully tried to invade Puerto Rico, landing within the vicinity of Arecibo.
With the War of Succession recuperating in the Caribbean, the actions of Enríquez were seen in a positive light. Soon afterwards, French corsairs arrived at San Juan as allies, protected by the Crown with orders to be cared for. However, these foreign vessels were being used to import contraband, which combined with a general animosity due to previous conflicts between these nations, further fueled the need to stabilize the economy by supporting local privateers. On July 23, 1703, Gutiérrez died in San Juan. Despite his connection, Enríquez was generally ignored by the members of the elite that opposed his rule and the privateering operation continued. Gutiérrez's death brought forth a period of instability of five years, during which Puerto Rico had nine governors. This favored Enríquez, who continued to thrive in the shadows. Most of them were simply interim governors and due to their short time in office, none were able to pay any attention to his growing success.
When Pedro del Arroyo was sworn, Enríquez tried to buy his favor by paying the voyage. However, Arroyo died shortly afterwards, preventing a notable profit from this partnership. Despite this, Enríquez actually paid for the funeral service and even provided the black clothing for the servants. Despite his distinction, the former governor was not economically stable and his family was moved into the privateer's house. One of the late governor's sons, Laureano Pérez del Arroyo, lived with him until his adulthood, when Enríquez requested that he was promoted to the rank of captain. In time, Pérez del Arroyo would become of his most vocal enemies. Eventually, as his wealth and influence grew Enríquez inherited some of Gutiérrez's old enemies, including the high class Calderón family.