Mansel Alcantra or Alcantara (

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

1829) was a Spanish pirate active in the

South Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for ...

during the early 19th century. As well as committing acts of piracy, he carried out several incidents of

mass murder Mass murder is the violent crime of murder, killing a number of people, typically simultaneously or over a relatively short period of time and in close geographic proximity. A mass murder typically occurs in a single location where one or more ...

. In 1829, his

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the l ...

, the ''Macrinarian'', captured the

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packet ship Packet boats were medium-sized boats designed mainly for domestic mail and freight transport in European countries and in North American rivers and canals. Eventually including basic passenger accommodation, they were used extensively during t ...

''Topaz'' near

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while en route from

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. After he and his men had finished looting the ship, Alcantara had the entire crew killed. Lubbock, Basil. ''The Western Ocean Packets''. Mineola, New York: Courier Dover Publications, 1988. (pg. 27-28) That same year, he seized and plundered a United States ship, the ''Candace'' from Marblehead. The ship's supercargo, allegedly an amateur actor, disguised himself as a

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by dressing in a black gown and broad rimmed hat. He waited in his cabin pretending to "tell his beads" and, when the pirates finally entered his cabin, they respectfully crossed themselves and left the room. The young man was the only one of the crew and passengers not robbed by the pirates.Lindsey, Benjamin J. ''Old Marblehead Sea Captains and the Ships in Which They Sailed''. Marblehead, Massachusetts: Marblehead Historical Society, 1915. (pg. 92)

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Captain Mansel Alcantra
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alcantra, Mansel Year of birth missing 19th-century pirates 19th-century Spanish criminals Spanish mass murderers Spanish pirates Year of death missing