Costa Rican ambassador pays tribute to Guernseyman
THE Costa Rican ambassador to the UK paid tribute to Guernseyman William Le Lacheur yesterday, in a formal ceremony to unveil a blue plaque at his Forest family home.
Rafael Ortiz Fabrega pulled the cord to reveal the plaque at L’Epinel Farm, Rue de L’Epinel, along with the Bailiff, Richard McMahon – the latter having provided the audience of approximately 50 parishioners, deputies and other islanders with a synopsis of the 19th century seafarer’s role in helping to establish the Central American territory as a successful nation.
After the ceremony, Mr Fabrega spoke at length about Captain Le Lacheur’s influence in helping to establish the coffee export industry in Costa Rica.
Le Lacheur was the first to sail a cargo of coffee beans directly from the country to Europe and his ships carried essential goods back to Costa Rica to enhance coffee growing technologies and processes.
These journeys involved long voyages in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans and the rounding of Cape Horn.
The Guernsey merchant also helped to introduce the first non-Catholic denomination into Costa Rica, having worshipped at Eldad church, and the young men who travelled from Central America to the UK took home a new-found knowledge of football, which is now the country’s number one sport.
‘There are deeds and accomplishments that regardless of time, you know, live on,’ Mr Fabrega said of Le Lacheur’s contribution.
‘When I became the ambassador in the UK four years ago, it was one of our main objectives to try to really link that history between our country and this beautiful island.
‘The Captain was also very much a part of having saved our country when we were invaded in 1856.’
In that year, Captain Le Lacheur suspended his coffee export operations in order to make his ships available for the Costa Rican army to be transported to the north of the country to fend off a force of American military adventurers at the Battle of Santa Rosa.
‘This was a group of filibusters that were coming from the Confederacy in the US – from New Orleans – and were thinking of making our small nations colonies of the Confederacy and bringing us into slavery,’ Mr Fabrega said.
The Bailiff said it had been particularly important to have the ambassador present at the ceremony and he hoped to see cultural links develop further.
‘Our links with Costa Rica, through William Le Lacheur, are probably a foothold for people from Guernsey into Central America that wouldn’t exist with some of the neighbouring countries,’ he said.
