José Gaspar, also known by his nickname Gasparilla (supposedly lived c. 1756 – 1821), is an apocryphal Spanish pirate, the "Last of the Buccaneers " who legend says terrorized the Gulf of Mexico for many years from his base in southwest Florida. Details about his early life, motivations, and piratical exploits differ in different tellings. However, the stories generally agree that he was a remarkably active pirate during Florida's second Spanish period (1783 to 1821), that he amassed a huge fortune by taking many prizes and ransoming many hostages, and that he died by leaping from his ship rather than face capture by the U.S. Navy, leaving behind an enormous and as-yet undiscovered treasure.