Abstract

Pirate representation is studied in a series of Epic poems in the late sixteenth century and early seventeenth century. The ambiguous image of the English enemy is read in texts by Juan de Miramontes, Pedro de Oña, Martín del Barco Centenera and Juan de Castellanos, among others. On the one hand, Colonial Epic ignores some important differences between privateers and pirates since the privateering had been legally accepted by all European nations, including Spain. Besides, Pirate is always called «Lutheran» and revealing its absolute otherness with respect to the Catholic model. On the other hand, it proposes a laudatory epics enemy painting from the imitation of the values accepted by the colonial society. The relationship between the Spanish hero and the privateer is represented not in a vertical direction, as could happen between colonizer and colonized subject, but on a level of rivalry.

Abstract

The theme of piracy in the colonial epic poetry represents patterns of military defense against an enemy that sets an internal and external challenge from the sea and land. Sometimes, Pirates were especially considered dangerous if they tried to get alliances with subjected populations of Indians. In this article I begin by exploring the presence of Dutch privateers in a passage of Puren indómito, poem by Diego Arias de Saavedra, and their frustrated attempt to gain allies among Araucanian people. Then, two final Cantos of La guerra de Chile, an anonymous poem, were analyzed in relation with the tragic destiny of other Dutch sailor, Jacob Mahu, and how certain intertextual comparison with the episode of Adamastor in Os Lusiadas is argued from a global political lecture. Both poems show the fragility of the Spanish military force in the region.