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. 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. 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. 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. 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. On July 23, 1703, Gutiérrez died in San Juan. 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 his distinction, the former governor was not economically stable and his family was moved into the privateer's house. In time, Pérez del Arroyo would become of his most vocal enemies. In a letter sent on February 14, 1705, the work done by two ships owned by Enríquez in the waters of Puerto Rico and Santo Domingo is praised. King Phillip V expressed satisfaction and encouraged the continuation of this labor, not without claiming the weapons captured from his victims. In 1707, Enríquez requested to be placed in charge of a company based there or in the adjacent locales of
Havana or
Cartagena. The authorities could not jeopardize the success attained by Enríquez's privateering fleet, which has gathered positive feedback from the local government. Enríquez actually planned this outcome, organizing his local influence so that the communications that reached the Crown were largely positive. This correspondence was being sent years before this, by 1705 these letters were granting him the responsibility for controlling contraband and pirates in the coasts of Puerto Rico.
Caballero and Captain of the Land and Seas With the delay or failure to arrive of the
Real Situado, the governors were forced to collect money from the wealthier residents to make do. Enríquez loaned money to the government since 1705 and noted this when issuing his requests. He was officially recognized as Captain of the Sea and War on July 11, 1710. That same year, one of his ships brought the loot of a British vessel captured off Tortola to the port of Cumaná. It is possible that Enríquez already knew him through Gutiérrez, who purchased merchandise from his company. Like those that preceded him, Danío wanted to quickly gain a profit. As a dominant local merchant, this appointment would normally threaten Enríquez, but it seems likely that he was involved to some degree in the election process. In 1712, Danío wrote to Phillip V requesting a recognition for the privateer's achievements. The king consulted the Council of the Indies, which proposed that Enríquez should receive the Medal of the Royal Effigy (Spanish: "Medalla de la Real Efigie") which knighted him as a Caballero of Spain. This awoke the ire of the higher classes, who could not fathom how a
mulato could receive such a recognition. This rare privilege shielded him from the authorities of the other Spanish colonies, redirecting any conflict to the tribunal of the Council of the Indies. By the end of his five-year term, Danío had earned 55,179 pieces of eight, more than five times the amount that he would have earned by solely fulfilling his office.
Silver shortage and feud with Ribera On July 18, 1711, Juan de Ribera was appointed as governor by the king, but he could only take office when his predecessor's term was over. Prior to arriving to Puerto Rico, Ribera and Enríquez exchanged friendly letters. While exchanging letters, Enríquez spent over 20,000 pieces of eight as gifts and other considerations and even lent his best vessel,
La Gloria, so that Ribera could arrive. Ribera arrived to San Juan on December 23, 1713, replacing Danío. Enríquez was confident that with his previous actions he had gained the governor's favor, but noticing that his ship arrived fully loaded likely offered an early warning that the functionary actually intended to compete with him. Having spent the two years after being appointed in the adjacent Cumaná and Margarita, the governor had observed the models used in the Americas and established connections, also becoming familiar with Enríquez's own modus operandi. He quickly employed his connections in attempts to take over Enríquez's market. After completing his first term, Danío left his entire fortune in charge of Enríquez, while he returned to Spain. They agreed that the money would be sent there when needed. However, the arrangement was difficult, since the money was filtered by small quantities or failed to arrive at all. {{Quote box |width=320px |border=1px |align=right |bgcolor=#ffe4b5 |fontsize=100% |halign=center Ribera systematically stripped Enríquez of his belongings, also launching a campaign to discredit him among Spanish merchants. The governor took control of the shipyard and used it to construct a sloop, a brigantine and a schooner. The animosity between both was fueled by the fact that no side was willing to recognize the authority granted to the other. On one occasion the governor asked him to certify (on behalf of the Royal Guinea Company) that a ship had not returned, after it arrived from Saint Thomas loaded with an illegal haul, but Enríquez refused to commit fraud. The same occurred later with a ship that arrived from Trinidad, but this time he firmly refused, claiming that he was willing to risk his life if that meant conserving his honor. Enríquez had tried to win the functionary's favor when he arrived, providing slaves and several other gifts. The first year of his incumbency was nominal, however, in early 1717 a series of conflicts between them became apparent. According to a witness account, these differences began when Enríquez refused to loan 4,000 pieces of eight that Pozo wanted for personal matters. Eventually, Pozo sided with another man that was battling to gain power, dean Martín Calderón. Throughout Ribera's term, the elite class of San Juan launched a disparaging campaign, offended by the fact that a
mulato had essentially become the most influential figure in Puerto Rico. They would constantly address the Spanish Crown and accused him of smuggling, a notable concern during the era, or attempted to disregard his privateering skills. The high class group that led the campaign was the Calderón family, to which the dean belonged. It is likely that these differences materialized years before, but that these groups were simply waiting for the opportune moment to act on them. Despite their status, the Calderón family was notorious for being involved with contraband and Ribera allied with them to pursue his own goals. The family even employed the influence of one of his members to create divisions between Enríquez and the newly arrived bishop Pedro de la Concepción Urtiaga. He was able to counter these accusations following the arrival of a prelate that favored him, neutralizing their influence. After briefly considering a relocation to Santo Domingo, Enríquez launched a counterattack. He proposed to the local authorities that they should speak on his behalf, accomplishing this through several figures, including Danío. Frequent letters began to tip the balance in the privateer's favor, but time favored the governor. Based on this, Enríquez granted Danío the rights to serve as his extra-official representative and provided him a vessel in which to travel to Madrid. Locally, Enríquez convinced functionaries to send complaints devised by himself while portraying them as being personal. During the final months of 1715, the Council of the Indies was investigating Ribera, confirming that some of the complaints were real. As a result, Francisco Fernández del Barco was assigned to evaluate his administration. Ribera's anti-privateering politics were abolished. A few days after, Fernández issued two documents that secretly prepared the governor's eventually deposition. The first was sent to the governor of Cumaná, José Carreño, and requested that he travel to Puerto Rico and execute the confiscation of Rivera's property and interests with the help of local authorities which was done on May 3, 1716. The second letter restituted all of the property that Ribera had stripped from Enríquez. Carreño took the office temporally, until the appointed interim governor arrived. He was sentenced to pay 40,317 pieces of eight and he was forced to pay an additional sum of 86,370 to Enríquez. Afterwards, Ribera remained imprisoned in Castillo San Felipe del Morro until a frigate named
La Reina arrived to take him to Spain. After only serving nearly two years, the former governor was returned to Spain in chains.
Acquiring unparalleled wealth In 1716, Enríquez made a suggestion to Carreño that they organize an expedition and take the island of Saint Thomas. The interim governor sent an official proposal and noted his belief that the privateer and 500 militiamen would suffice and that no royal investment would be needed, but ultimately desisted of the idea after the project failed to gain approval. As usual, Enríquez tried to earn his favor. However, due to his role as interim governor, Bertolano distanced himself from any of the groups that dominated the Puerto Rican society. This approach did not please Enríquez, who went on to claim that his opponents, led by Pozo, were being favored. The proprietary restrictions brought forth by the
War of the Quadruple Alliance led to Pozo and dean Martín Calderón requesting an ecclesiastical investigation into the privateer's assets that ended with the Bishop of San Juan siding with Enríquez. Afterwards, both sides continued to perpetually exchange accusations and insults. Despite running a generally neutral administration, Bertolano was accused of being biased by both sides after his term concluded. His years of loyalty to the Crown had been ignored by the king himself. However, the process was delayed. Prior to this, Pozo had been even able to secure that his allies won the 1719 municipal elections, running a smear campaign against Enríquez to get them elected. The process was plagued by irregularities, with viable voters being arbitrarily disqualified beforehand. This was a goal that he and Enríquez had originally planned since the end of his first administration. However, with time the privateer lost interest, feeling that it was no longer necessary to secure his goals. Danío did not take the office immediately since he was ordered to gather and equip a hundred soldiers that would accompany him. The enemies of Enríquez panicked, fearing that the privateer would possess the support of the governor, bishop and accountant. However, their initiative failed. However, the irregularity in the fulfillment of their previous agreement took a toll. Knowing this, Enríquez quickly tried to once again earn his favor through letters, directly accusing his adversaries of the breach of their accord. Danío arrived to San Juan on April 6, 1720, and was immediately received by a belligerent Pozo, who told him that the privateers' enemies were now his own. Enríquez thrived, his fleet capturing four vessels, two from the Netherlands and one from Great Britain and France apiece. Soon after, Danío began a trial of residence that seized the properties of Pozo, who had since gathered a considerable fortune. The former treasurer was also jailed and permanently vanished from the New World. Furthermore, Danío also managed to acquire ecclesiastic censorship from Valvidia, who threatened his allies with eternal damnation. Some were even banished from San Juan. Those affected quickly countered by sending letters to the Crown, which responded by ordering the excarteration of Pozo, allowing him to present his case in Spain. However, before the former treasurer could do that, he found himself involved in the secret investigation that was being done against Enríquez. Judge Tomás Férnandez Pérez was placed in charge and arrived to San Juan in 1721. Once the judge heard all of their versions, he determined that they were merely motivated by their desire to punish the privateer. Enríquez expected to emerge stronger from this process, however, his relationship with Danío quickly took a turn for the worse. It is likely that the governor felt that the privateer was not willing to cooperate or help him during the investigation. The remainder of Enríquez's enemies may have noticed this and pursued his favor, leaving Pozo and his faction alone. The residents of San Juan were surprised, being familiar with their prior affinity. Among them there was Miguel de Ubides, a vocal critic of Enríquez, who received the authorization to purchase a ship from the governor of Margarita. The governor also ordered the incarceration of Enríquez in Castillo San Felipe del Morro for cheering posters where the images of several powerful figures were satirized. Enríquez continued to perform favors for the Royal authorities, fixing their ship in his private shipyard and serving as a ferry for a variety of government and Church officials. Later that year, Enríquez fell victim to two embargoes, where his properties remained confiscated until 1724. However, the authorities were only able to seize what was registered in his name, with neither jewels or coins being listed in the official forms. However, this offering was declined. In a letter addressed to the king, Enríquez claimed that he possessed a document stating that he was actually the creditor of the governor's fortune and as such owned nothing. Among those that agreed to help were a group of military officials that had been neglected by Danío in October 1720, only to be fully attended by Enríquez. Valdivia tried to request an excarceration with external help, but Enríquez remained in jail. The governor tried to restart the official privateering project by himself, meeting moderate success by mimicking the
pirate code's repartition of the loot captured. They captured three vessels, two from France and Great Britain and a third one sailed by freebooters. Phillip V named José Antonio de Isasi . The Council named Captain José Antonio de Mendizábal as his replacement. On August 23, 1724, Mendizábal took the office of governor and only six days afterwards he ordered the incarceration of his predecessor. However, Danío's case dragged on for a prolonged time period, forcing him to remain captive in San Felipe del Morro until at least 1730. The former governor was subsequently transported to Madrid, where he remained in jail. Enríquez provided transport to Danío's prosecutor, Simón Belenguer so he could return to Spain, but was unable to gain his favor. This functionary criticized all of the involved and even argued that the privateer's actions were more akin to a pirate than to a military officer. However, Belenguer placed most of the blame on Enríquez and issued harsher sentences to his allies that to his enemies. Dean Martín Calderon and Pozo were declared free of guilt. To justify his actions, Mendizábal conducted his own investigation. The governor largely ignored Balaguer's sentence. This created a new rift between the Empire and Great Britain, which directly benefited Enríquez. The First Secretary of State,
José Patiño, decided that the privateer's fleet would be employed towards this end. This functionary archived all the complaints issued by his enemies, dismissing the efficiency of their work. During the summer of 1728, he was forced to attend a local enemy. Captain Isidro Álvarez de Nava and other members of the military were plotting to assassinate Mendizábal and the privateer. Word of this reached the governor on June 26, 1728, but was largely ignored. Álvarez was the most experienced military captain and would take the office of governor in case of death. He was also related to Fernando de Allende, who insisted that if Enríquez survived, the assassination would fail in turning the balance of power. A subsequent confession, offering full detail of the plot, put an end to it. The conspirators vehemently denied these accusations, claiming that Enríquez was framing them. The governor negotiated with the soldiers and convinced them to submit to a temporary sentence in Castillo San Felipe del Morro. Afterwards, Álvarez was released and continued his defense at Madrid. The secretary never answered this petition. Mendizábal's cooperation benefited both his business and his military influence, and the governor went as far as employing politics to favor him. On one night, a group of 23 slaves escaped from El Plantaje and were joined by some employees from his shipyard. Consequently in May 1728, Enríquez ordered two of his ships to go to Saint Thomas to reclaim the slaves that had escaped. He also ordered that if this could not be accomplished, they should go to the San Juan cays and capture as many as possible, which they did and returned with 24 slaves. Taking notice, Mendizábal requested a treaty with Denmark that allowed the return or replacement of slaves that escaped between Puerto Rico and Saint Thomas. Despite being fully invested in the war effort, Enríquez also continued to serve the Crown in other aspects. His fleet was forced to secure the arrival of Cumaná's Situado, evading a British squadron. Enríquez also continued providing transport to the authorities and even some civilians. However, Enríquez's confidant failed when he lost the relevant documentation, losing to a local privateer and costing a significant amount of money. Enríquez's enemies considered this an opportunity to give credibility to their allegations. Enríquez also lost his influence within the Church with the arrival of a new bishop, Sebastián Lorenzo Pizarro, who declined any gift or favor that he offered. After the war ended, the Empire's relation with Great Britain normalized, further complicating this venture. On October 11, 1731, Matías de Abadía docked at San Juan and took office a few hours later. Even before traveling to San Juan, the governor had orders to settle the constant conflicts between its residents. Abadía was also placed in charge of attending Camino's case against Enríquez and of investigating the assassination attempts. Álvarez was also released and reinstated in his military position, with the privateer being forced to pay again. The fact that Spain needed a scapegoat to appease the British government complicated his position. His privateering venture systematically shrunk, until his last ship was decommissioned by the governor. Furthermore, knowing the lucrative nature of the practice, Abadía employed front men that worked as privateers for him. Eventually, he decided to abandon privateering altogether. During the following years, Abadía used his position to bolster several credit claims against, Enríquez, which eventually ended with the governor ordering a complete embargo. In 1734, the privateer filed a complaint stating that Abadía was prohibiting him from using the title of Caballero of the Royal Effigy and requesting a confirmation of said title. The Council of the Indies preferred to ignore the request, instead telling him to show the relevant medal to the governor. In May 1735, Vicente died, filling the former privateer with guilt. Attempting to escape the administration of Abadía, Enríquez took refuge in the Convent of Santo Tomás on October 30, 1735. He remained there after hearing rumors that he was going to be jailed at Castillo San Felipe del Morro. However, even there the governor pursued him. Abadía requested permission to obtain a search warrant and check if Enríquez had taken any wealth there. Between 1735 and 1737, Enríquez wrote to Phillip V six times requesting an independent prosecutor that could launch a neutral investigation. He also offered to reorganize the now scattered privateers. During the following years, his only contact to the outside world was through the Dominican friars. To Enríquez's chagrin, Abadía had unusual longevity in the office of governor, with the Crown granting him time beyond the stipulated five years. In 1740, the Council of the Indies revised Mendizábal's case and issued a declaration restoring his honor and rank. On June 29, 1743, Abadía died while still in office. Five months afterwards, Enríquez died a sudden death. Only Paris and Rosa Enríquez, his unrecognized daughter who would later claim that he had been poisoned, mourned his death. ==Legacy==