Some call her a feminist who chose piracy as a way of rebelling against a male-dominated world; others portray her as a tomboy who never grew up. Whatever her motives, in deed and daring Anne Bonny, one of history's most infamous women pirates, was a plunderer, cutthroat, sailor, ransomer, raider, and general menace to maritime commerce in the Caribbean. In short, most pirates probably would have considered her an asset to their trade.
Anne Bonny was born in Kinsale, Ireland in the late 1690's. She was the daughter of a penniless maid and her employer, a well-to-do lawyer who was then married. After their tryst was discovered, the two ran off to America and established themselves as respected plantation owners in South Carolina.
When Anne was sixteen, a ne'er-do-well sailor named James Bonny married Anne in an attempt to steal the plantation, but Anne's father instead disowned her. Bonny then took Anne to the pirate lair of New Providence in the Bahamas, where he turned stoolpigeon to Governor Woodes Rogers, accusing any sailor he didn't like of piracy for a handsome reward.
If Charleston had been a pirate's den, then New Providence was an outright capital of calamity. Anne grew to dislike her spineless husband and spent most of her time with the pirate elite. Her best friends consisted of the pirates' paramours and of Pierre, the most celebrated homosexual on the island, who ran a popular ladies' establishment--- and with whom Anne had a teasing rivalry for the favors of the male population. Pirates virtually ruled the city at that time.
Anne soon left James for the infamous Calico Jack Rackham, joining the latter on his ship. Because the pirate code explicitly forbade female crew members, she disguised herself as a man and fought adeptly alongside the rest of the crew. It was only a matter of time before she was discovered, however, and according to one legend, the first fellow shipmate to express anger at having a woman aboard paid for his opinion with his life. She stabbed him through the heart.
However incredible a woman's presence on board may have seemed to Rackham's crew, amazingly, Bonny was not the only female on board. Also disguised as a man was a woman named Mary Read, and the two became fast friends. They shared the secret with Rackham, and the trio happily wreaked havoc throughout the Caribbean for nearly a year until Bonny became pregnant. She gave birth in Cuba then returned the ship, apparently abandoning the child. Ironically, it would be another unwanted pregnancy that would later save her life. To be continued...
Now available for purchase! Anne Bonny Pirate Action Figure from Archie McPhee!
More about Anne Bonny - and Mary Reade - tomorrow...
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