Capture of the El Mosquito

The Capture of the Anne was the result of a naval campaign carried out by an alliance between the Spanish Empire forces in Puerto Rico, the Danish government in Saint Thomas and the United States Navy that pursued Roberto Cofresí's pirate flotilla in March 1825. The campaign was instigated by economic losses suffered by all of the parties involved due to the pirate's actions, as well as diplomatic concerns caused by their use of the flags of Spain and Gran Colombia which menaced the fragile peace between the naval powers. There were additional personal motivations by several of those involved, who had been directly attacked by the freebooters themselves. Among the diplomatic concerns caused by Cofresí was a robbery carried out by several of his subordinates, which in turn served as the catalyst behind an incident that threatened war between Spain and the United States known as "The Foxardo Affair", eventually leading to the resignation of his rival, pirate hunter David Porter.