In tracing the course of Beluche’s chameleonlike career, this
biography by Jane Lucas De Grummond gives us a panoramic view of
the complex affairs of the Caribbean during one of the most
volatile periods in its history. Renato Beluche is the product
of the more than forty years that De Grummond has devoted to the
history of the United States, the Louisiana Gulf Coast, and
Latin America. It draws together her knowledge not only of
Beluche’s exploits but also of the wars, revolutions ,and
treacherous allegiances that shaped the development of the
Caribbean. Renato Beluche was born in New Orleans in 1780, the
son of a recently emigrated Frenchman whose wig-making business
was a front for smuggling. In 1802 Beluche went to sea as a
pilot’s mate on the flagship of the Spanish fleet, and by 1805
he was master of a merchant schooner. By this time, the Laffite
brothers had established a smuggling base at Grande Terre on the
Louisiana coast. Flying the French flag, Beluche captured
Spanish and English ships and sent t