I had to write something about pirates, when handed an opportunity like this. I considered which direction to go with it and finally settled on ten women of piracy. Other than the first entry, female pirates don't get much credit in popular media and discussion; and some of them have fascinating backgrounds. I have hopes that, perhaps, one of the blurbs in this blog might inspire someone to read a little more about one of these ladies.
01. Anne Bonny & Mary Read: I have listed these ladies together, because they were the best friends of the pirate world, served on the same ship, and ultimately came to a similar fate.
Anne Bonny was the illegitimate daughter of a lawyer, William Cormac; and his housemaid. They immigrated to America shortly before her birth. Anne was known for being a stubborn girl, "with a fierce and courageous temper." She soon eloped with a young ne'er-do-well, James Bonney, against her father's wishes. Together, James and Anne took to the seas and began a life in piracy. However, in 1718, Bahamian Governor Woodes Rogers offered the King's pardon to any pirate, and James turned informant. In disgust, Anne began dressing as a man, so she could return to piracy. Soon after, she met and fell in love with Captain "Calico" Jack Rackham (so nicknamed for his preference toward fancy dress) and began serving on his ship as pirate and mate.
Mary Read was born in England. Her mother had been married to a sailor who went to sea and never returned. When he left, she was pregnant with a son who died shortly before she gave birth to her second, illegitimate child, Mary. Under financial strain, Mary's mother approached her mother-in-law, asking for financial assistance. Knowing her mother-in-law hated girls, she dressed Mary as a boy she claimed was the son. She was successful in obtaining money, and she continued to dress Mary in this way to keep receiving help. Mary realized that this was beneficial, as she was able to do much more as a man than she ever would as a woman. She served as a footman, a sailor, a soldier, and finally owned a tavern with her husband (a man she met while serving as a male soldier). When her husband died, she couldn't stand sitting in the tavern any longer and she went back to see as a soldier.
Destinies crossed one day when the Vanity (Rackham's ship) overtook the merchant vessel on which Read served. Here Read began her life in piracy as one of Rackham's men. Anne discovered Mary's disguise, and the two began a friendship around the secret. It is said that Rackham threatened to kill Mary at one point, thinking that she was a young man that Anne had begun an affair with. He was relieved at finding it was only another woman, and he accepted Mary as one of his crew (though she still dressed as a man for the safety and ease of the ship).
On November 16, 1720; the crew of the Vanity were anchored at Point Negril, Jamaica celebrating with hard drink their recent success. It was then that a British sloop came upon them. Then drunken men of the ship hid below decks, leaving Anne and Mary alone above to defend the ship. Despite their calls for aid, no one came. Anne and Mary fought the British valiantly, injuring and killing several before they were completely overwhelmed.
Captain Jack and his men were the first to be tried and sentenced to hang. Anne was allowed a last visit to see her lover before his execution. Instead of speaking of love or grief, she said, "Had you fought like a man, you need not have been hang'd like a dog."
Anne and Mary were both sentenced to hang, after the execution of their crew mates, and they both "plead their bellies" -- a term for allowing a pregnant woman to have her execution delayed to allow her to give birth. This request was granted. Mary died of a fever in prison before giving birth. While no record tells what became of Anne, it is believed that her father paid a bribe for her freedom, allowing her to raise her child.
02. The Red Lady: I can't find much on this woman at all, but I *loved* the story. She's probably not real, but if she was, she was fantastic. The following is from the Wikipedia:
"One of the most cunning pirates of the sixteenth century who never revealed her identity. She commonly disguised herself as a singer or an entertainer to be brought on ships and once the crew ever advance on her or leave her by herself she would take her disguise off having a top, pants and her weapons underneath. She would then immediately kill all aboard the ship and sail to sea."
03. Jeanne de Clisson: Jeanne was born in France in 1300. In 1330, she married her second husband, Olivier III de Clisson, with whom she had five children (She had two with her first husband.). Olivier worked in defending Brittany against English Forces, when he decided to switch sides. The French crown didn't take it well, and he was executed.
In angry response to the execution of her husband, Jeanne sold off the entirety of her inherited estates and purchased three warships. She had them all painted black with dyed red sails, calling them "The Black Fleet". She then set out destroying French ships, leaving a handful of men alive to report that "The Lioness of Brittany" had struck again.
She did not stop her actions when the King died in 1350. She continued to attack French ships, taking pride in attacking the ships of nobleman while they were on board. She would then behead them with an axe and throw the bodies overboard.
After thirteen years at sea, she married Sir Walter Bentley. She died around the age of sixty.
04. Lady Mary Killigrew: Lady Killigrew and her husband, and Vice-Admiral Cornwall, worked as privateers for the Queen of England in the 1500s. "In the winter of 1583, storms forced a ship into the harbor at Falmouth in Northern England. Some reports say the ship was Spanish, others say it was German. Regardless, Lady Mary led her pirates out to the ship, boarded it, massacred the crew, then plundered the ship's cargo of jewels, silver, and coins. When Queen Elizabeth I heard about the attack she was understandably very angry, and her ire led to Lady Mary's immediate capture. She was then tried and found guilty of piracy and was sentenced to be hanged, but in an interesting twist of fate, the Queen eventually pardoned her."
05. Rachel Wall: Rachel Wall was born in Carlisle, PA in 7160 and is credited with being the first true American pirate woman. Accounts say that Rachel and her husband George were honest working folks until they decided one day to head out to sea with friends to try their hand at piracy.
"Rachel and George's piratical tactics in luring prey were highly deceptive. Typically, they would fish until a storm rolled in and would then put out a distress signal. When another ship responded, they would kill the crew, transfer the cargo to their ship, and then sink the aiding vessel to make it appear that it had simply gone down in the storm. In 1782, their ship really was caught in a bad storm during which George and at least one other man were thrown overboard and drowned. Rachel, however, was rescued and went back to Boston where she continued to steal from boats harbored at the docks, until she was finally apprehended and convicted of murdering a sailor.
Sentenced to die for the sailor's murder, Rachel denied to the end that she was guilty of that particular incident, though she did confess to her crimes of piracy. When her execution was carried out in October of 1789, she became the last woman to be hanged in the state of Massachusetts."
06. Sadie Farrell, a.k.a. "Sally the Goat": This is one that I am not even going to try to paraphrase. It's some wild and wacky stuff about a rather unique river pirate who operated in New York. It isn't long; you should read it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sadie_Farrell
07. Alwida (spelled in a number of ways): She has one of my favorite stories. It many variations, but here is one of the more popular versions.
"Alvida (aka Alwilda, Alfhild, Alvild) was the daughter of Synardus, the king of Gotland. Her parents kept her locked in her room, and set two poisonous snakes to keep away all but the most ardent of suitors. The most persisant and brave fellow turned out to be Prince Alf of Denmark, and though he passed the test Alvilda's parents were none too happy about the match. Deciding she wasn't ready to be wedded to some stuffy Prince, Alvilda took advantage of her parents' irresolution and hightailed it out of there. She joined a crew of cross-dressing women, but had barely got started in a career in terrorizing the Baltic coast when they came across a crew of pirates that had lost their Captain. They were so impressed by her capable skills that they voted unanimously to elect her as their new leader. With these fresh reinforcements beneath her ruthless guidance, this formidable woman became such a nuisance to the merchant trade that her former betrothed, Prince Alf, was dispatched to bring the troublesome pirates to justice.
Alvilda and her crew fought back to the best of their abilities, but in the gulf of Finland they were bested at last. Prince Alf and his men boarded the pirates' ship, where hand to hand fighting ensued. After sustaining heavy casualties, Alvilda's crew succumbed and she herself was taken captive. With her beauty concealed by a face covering helmet, she was taken prisoner, and it was only when this helmet was removed that Prince Alf realized who the scourge of the seas had been. For her part, Alvilda was so impressed by how Alf had fought in battle that she married him on the spot. She went on to share his wealth and throne as Queen of Denmark, and together they had a daughter, who they named Gurith. Whether little Gurith followed in her mother's ocean going ways is not known."
N.B. Alwida was the inspiration behind the name of the "One Piece" pirate, Alvida.
08. Grace O'Malley: O'Malley is an important figure in Irish history, as well as the history of piracy. She was an incredible woman of noble birth who was educated, confident, brave, and cared about her homeland. She used piracy as a tool against the British invading her homeland and as a way to finance the rebellion. She even sailed into England herself to meet with the Queen of England at a time when no other Irish nobleman would set foot on their soil.
http://www.essortment.com/grace-omalley-irish-pirate-21540.html
09. Jacquotte Delahaye: She was a half Haitian, half French woman operating in the mid 1600s. She was a beauty, known for her red hair. She turned to a career in piracy after her father's death. I couldn't find much on her, but I still wanted to include her because of this part. To escape pursuers, she faked her own death, living under and alias for a few years. She then returned to her life, gaining the nickname, "Back from the dead Red".
10. Anne Dieu-le-Veut (also Marianne or Marianna): Anne was a French prisoner who was deported to Tortuga. When her husband was killed in a bar brawl with pirate Laurens de Graff, Anne immediately challenged him to a duel. He agreed to a duel. He drew a sword, and Anne drew a gun. He begged off the duel then, saying he wouldn't duel a woman. However, he was so impressed with her actions that he proposed to her on the spot. She accepted. (Though he was already married to a wife he abandoned, they did live like a married couple). She then when to sea with her new husband, raging the seas as pirate. Her career is often compared to Anne Bonny, but unlike Bonny, she didn't hide in men's clothes. While sea lore says that having a woman aboard the ship is bad luck, the men aboard her ship considered Anne to be good luck. She was given the nickname, "Dieu-Le-Veu (God wills it)", because it seemed, whatever she wanted, God gave.
~*~
I wish that I had more time to work on this one. I guess, you can see where I started to run out of time and energy; but the sad part is that I wish I had more of both to dedicate to this. I will have to revisit this topic in a smaller format sometime in the future...
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