The black corsair

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The Black Corsair is a novel cycle by the writer Emilio Salgari from the 19th and 20th centuries .

Cavaliere Emilio di Roccabruna, Lord of Valpenta and Ventimiglia , the name of the Black Corsair , is next to the figure of the Malaysian pirate Sandokan the most popular figure of the Italian adventure writer Emilio Salgari . He is the main hero of the first two volumes of the five-book cycle “The Pirates of the Antilles”.

The books

The pirates of the Antilles

The books were published in German by Phönix-Verlag in 1930:

  1. 1898: Il Corsaro Nero - The Black Corsair
  2. 1901: La Regina dei Caraibi - The Caribbean Queen
  3. 1905: Jolanda la figlia del Corsaro Nero - The daughter of the black corsair
  4. 1908: Il figlio del Corsaro Rosso - The Son of the Red Corsair (translation by K. Heinz Hellwig, Phönix-Verlag, 1930)
  5. 1908: Gli ultimi filibustieri - The last privateers (translation by K. Heinz Hellwig, Phönix-Verlag, 1930)

prehistory

It is the story of four brothers of the Ventimiglia family who, alongside the Duke of Savoy, fight for France against the Spaniards. During the fighting in Flanders, a naval unit, to which the four brothers also belong, is encircled by ten times the force and has to barricade itself in a fortress. The leader of this unit is the Flemish Duke van Gould. However, the latter contacts the Spaniards and promises to play the fortress into their hands if they would give him the post of governor in the American colonies and a large sum of money in return. When van Gould opens the gates to the Spaniards, he is surprised by the oldest of the Ventimiglia brothers. He shoots him down and then fled to America, where he held the post of governor of Maracaibo . But the three Ventimiglia brothers who are still alive find him after a short time and fight him as the “Red Corsair” , the “Green Corsair” and the “Black Corsair” . First of all, the Green Corsair succeeds in getting close to Van Gould. He falls into the hands of the Spaniards and is hanged. The Red Corsair suffers the same fate shortly afterwards. This is where the first novel begins.

The black corsair

Of the Red Corsair's companions, only the two flibos, Carmaux and van Stiller, manage to escape. On the sea they encounter the “Fólgore”, the ship of the Black Corsair. When they report the death of his third brother to him, he decides to return to Maracaibo with Carmaux and van Stiller to fetch the corpse of the Red Corsair and bury it in the sea. This endeavor succeeds with some difficulty. During the Red Corsair's funeral, the Black Corsair vows to kill all members of the Van Gould family. Shortly afterwards a Spanish ship is boarded. On board is the Flemish Duchess Honorata Willerman, Duchess of Weltendrem. The black corsair decides to take her to Tortuga as a hostage . The Duchess is irresistibly drawn to the pirate and he, too, cannot completely ignore her. Finally, they confess their love to each other.

Around the same time, the pirates of Tortuga decide to raid and plunder the city of Maracaibo. The Black Corsair, who sees this as an opportunity to get hold of Van Gould, plays a central role in the planning and execution of the plan. Honorata, who does not want to leave her lover, smuggles herself onto the “Fólgore” with the help of Carmaux and van Stiller.

After hard fighting, Maracaibo falls into the hands of the pirates. However, the Duke van Gould managed to escape. He wants to move through the jungle to the city of Gibraltar. The Black Corsair, Carmaux and van Stiller take up the chase. At the same time they order the remaining pirates to come to Gibraltar as well. Meanwhile, the corsair and his companions, including a Spaniard whom he once gave his life, are fighting their way through the murderous jungle, where they are exposed to constant attacks by Indians and wild animals. And although they are getting closer and closer to the Duke van Gould, he manages to escape at the last moment. Disappointed, the black corsair returns to his ship, where Honorata greets him profusely. She is recognized by the Spaniard. She is actually Van Gould's daughter. In order not to lose face, the black corsair must keep his oath. In tears he orders his people to put Honorata in a boat.

The Caribbean Queen

Two years after the events from the first volume, the "Fólgore" calls at the port of Puerto Limon. The administrator of the Duke van Gould, Don Pablo de Ribeira, lives there. Together with Carmaux, van Stiller and the Black Mokko, the Black Corsair goes ashore. He wants to find out from the caretaker where Van Gould is, who has disappeared since he fled. At the same time, he wants to find out whether there is something about the rumors that Honorata van Gould survived the exposure in a small dinghy. The corsair learns from Don Pablo that Honorata is most likely still alive, but that nobody knows where she is currently. As for Van Gould's whereabouts, Don Pablo refuses to reveal it. Only when the pirates threaten to kill him does he reveal his whereabouts: Veracruz. During the conversation, Spanish troops banded together to overpower the Black Corsair. Don Pablo pretends to help the Flibustians escape, but betrays them. With the help of Yara, an Indian servant who hates the Spaniards as much as the black corsair, the privateers manage to escape. Back on board the “Fólgore”, it was decided to pull in more pirates and conquer Veracruz. In order to prevent Van Gould from escaping again, the Black Corsair wants to visit the city together with Carmoux, van Stiller, Mokko and Yara before the attack in order to seize Van Goulds. In Veracruz, the corsair and his companions get caught in a trap. Yara is shot and the others have to hide in a fortress tower. Meanwhile, the other pirates arrive and storm the city. Van Gould escapes again. With the "Fólgore" the black corsair takes up the chase and sets up Van Gould's ship. It is boarded in a terrible storm. When van Gould realizes that all is lost, he blows up his own ship. The corsair, Carmaux, van Stiller and Mokko are able to save themselves on a raft made from the wreckage of the ship and float helplessly on the sea until they finally end up in Florida . There they get into the hands of cannibals who take them prisoner. Your white queen should decide the fate of the prisoners. It turns out that Honorata is the queen. She forgives the black corsair for abandoning her. Together they flee across the sea in a boat. Carmaux, van Stiller and Mokko are tracked down by their companions a few months later. The former first officer Morgan now takes command of them.

The daughter of the black corsair

By chance, Captain Morgan learns that the Black Corsair has returned to his homeland with Honorata. There they get married. But just ten months after the wedding, Honorata dies giving birth to her daughter Jolanda. The former corsair is so grieved that he voluntarily seeks death. He also died in the fighting against the French who invaded Savoy . Sixteen years later, Jolanda de Ventimiglia embarks on a Dutch ship in order to take over the inheritance of her grandfather, the Duke van Gould, in America. Once there, she is captured by the Count of Medina y Torres, an illegitimate son of Duke van Gould, who is also after his father's legacy. He is now the new governor of Maracaibo. Morgan wants to free the daughter of his former commandant and sends Carmaux and van Stiller to Maracaibo, where they should make inquiries. The two are lucky and meet the planter Don Raffaele, who is very well informed. They kidnap the Don and take him to Morgan's ship. There Don Raffaela reports that Jolanda is actually in the power of the governor. Morgan sends Don Raffaele back to town with an ultimatum. He demands the surrender of Jolanda and threatens to storm the city. The count rejects Jolanda's release. Then the pirates storm the city, which only offers weak resistance. But the governor manages to escape. Carmaux and van Stiller find the frightened Don Raffaele, who tells them that Jolanda must still be in Maracaibo. He suspects her in the custody of Captain Valera, the right hand of the Count of Medina. He was hiding in a secret dungeon in the Carmelite monastery . There he is overpowered by the pirates and Jolanda is freed. Morgan is not yet satisfied, however, he also wants to get his hands on the Count of Medina. After Maracaibo was sacked, he set off for Gibraltar with a few ships and also took the city. But the count has long been up and away with a ship. On the way he meets a Spanish squadron that he is targeting the pirates. Despite the superiority of the Spaniards, they manage to beat them. On the subsequent trip to Tortuga, the pirates get caught in a severe storm in which Morgan's ship is badly damaged. Another Spanish ship was spotted during the storm. This is also damaged, but not as severe as that of the pirates. The Spaniard is boarded. Among other things, the wanted governor of Maracaibo is on board. On his instructions, Captain Valera, who is also on board, sabotages all repairs to the ship. As the storm does not subside, it is slowly being driven back to the coast. When this is already in sight, a wave washed Morgan and Jolanda overboard. To help them, Carmaux jumps after them. With only a few weapons they can get to land safely, where they soon meet two Indians. They are being pursued by a group of an enemy tribe. They join forces and decide to make their way to the village of the two Indians. On the way they are attacked and separated by the hostile Indians. Jolanda and Morgan, who has been wounded by an arrow, form one party. The two are now trying to get by on their own, getting closer and closer. Jolanda devotedly takes care of the badly wounded Morgan. Together they finally reach the village of the two allied Indians. There they find Carmaux again and, to their surprise, Don Raffaele, whom they thought was dead. But he was able to save himself after Captain Valera threw him overboard. Shortly afterwards, two rafts made from ship wreckage are sighted. It is the comrades who also survived the storm. They report to Morgan that their ship is lost, but that a Spanish corvette is lying on the coast . It is quickly decided to hijack them. The pirates leave, leaving only Jolanda and Don Raffale behind. As soon as the pirates have disappeared, some Spaniards come to the village. They are led by the Count of Medina. He takes Jolanda prisoner again. Don Raffaele manages to eavesdrop on him and thus learns that the count wants to go to Panama . He brings this news to Morgan, who immediately decides to bring new pirates from Tortuga and attack the city of Panama. In a bloody skirmish, Panama is stormed and looted. Jolanda can be freed and the Count of Medina dies as a repentant sinner at Morgan's blade. Back on Tortuga, Morgan and Jolanda get married. A little later, Carmaux and van Stiller, who are now old, retire.

The movies

Based on the novels, numerous film adaptations of the material were made, mainly in Italy. The best known is certainly the one from 1976 directed by Sergio Sollima with Kabir Bedi in the lead role.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Emilio Salgari, Karl-Heinz Hellwig: The daughter of the black corsair: Adventure novel . Phönix-Verlag C. Siwinna, 1930 ( google.de [accessed on June 8, 2020]).
  2. ↑ The Black Corsair. Retrieved June 8, 2020 .
  3. ^ El corsario negro. Retrieved June 8, 2020 .
  4. ↑ The Black Corsair. Retrieved June 8, 2020 .