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Anne Bonny
Born : Unknown
Died : 1720
Anne Bonny was one of the
two most famous Female Pirates. She sailed on the crew of Calico Jack Rackham.
Anne was Calico's lover but she could be counted as none the less fearless of
any other pirate. She was born in County Cork, daughter of an attorney and his
Maid. The lawyer split Ireland in disgrace but found fortune in the Carolinas.
There, he amassed a fortune and bought a large plantation
A ne'er do well
pirate/sailor named James Bonny married Anne in an attempt to steal the
plantation but Anne's father instead disowned her. James then took Anne to the
Bahamas where he turned Stool Pigeon to Woodes Rogers, turning in any sailor he
didn't like as a pirate for a handsome reward.
Anne quickly grew to
dislike her spineless husband and quickly caught the eye of one Calico Jack, a
pirate of some renown. Gov. Rogers had recently passed an amnesty for pirates
which left Bonny out of work. The admiration between Anne and Calico was mutual.
Calico Jack was a handsome man who knew how to spend money as well as steal it.
Anne was a well endowed lass with a fiery spirit and a temper that matched that
of any man. (It was rumored that in her youth, she even killed a servant woman
with a carving knife because the servant made her mad)
In any event, Calico
offered to buy Anne from bonny but Bonny instead took the matter up with
Governor Rogers, who said that Anne was to be flogged and returned to her true
husband. That night Calico and Anne slipped out in the harbor, stole a sloop
and began a life of piracy together.
Anne fought in men's
clothing, was an expert with pistol and cutlass and considered as dangerous as
any male pirate. She was fearless in battle and often was a member of any
boarding party.
In October of 1720
retribution was close at hand. The governor of Jamaica, hearing of Calico's
presence sent an armed sloop to intervene and capture the Captain and crew.
Calico's ship Revenge, was caught by surprise and much to Anne dismay, the
pirates fought like cowards and were taking far too
easily.
Anne and Mary Read, were
also captured but upon capture confessed there "sex". and pleaded to be tried
separately after they gave birth. (Both women were pregnant at the time) both
received separate trials from the men but were still sentenced to hang. Mary
read escaped the hang man by dying from fever while in jail. Anne however,
received several stays of execution before mysteriously vanishing from official
records. It is believed that her father, who had contacts in the island, forgave
his daughter for her acts and ransomed her back to the Carolinas where she
assumed a new name and a new life.
On a side note, just to
show how tough she was, when Calico Jack was granted a special favor to see Anne
on the day he was to hang, Anne's words to him were, "I'm sorry to see you here,
but if you'd have fought like a man you needn't hang like a
dog." |
