LADIES ON BOARD

MAP OF THE SPANISH MAIN

I guess when people hear about famous pirates, they naturally think of men like Blackbeard, Captain Morgan, or Cortes.  But, the interesting thing is that some of the most well known buccaneers are actually women.  Female pirates have actually been around since medieval days plunderin’ and pillagin’ with the rest of ‘em.  No story compares, however, to the ones of Anne Bonny, the swashbuckler who could scare the hair off any man’s head, just the same as any other fearsome pirate.  Here’s what I have heard...

Anne Bonny's life seems to consist of a series of unfortunate events.  I guess it all started with the awkward circumstances surrounding her birth.  In around 1700, Anne Bonny was born in Ireland as an illegitimate child to a wealthy lawyer and his wife's chamber maid.  Her father didn’t desert her, however.  In fact, he took Anne and her mother with him to the Carolinas where he bought a large plantation.  The next unfortunate event in Anne's life took place when she was about sixteen years old.  Her father disowned her after she agreed to marry a ne'er-do-well sailor named James Bonny.  Well, James Bonny turned out to be no good.  He took Anne away to the Bahamas and became the Governor's right hand man.  This left Anne in a lurch.  She had nothing to do but cause trouble in her little town, and so she soon fell in love with one of the richest men in the Caribbean, Chidley Bayard.  Unfortunately, Bayard already had a lover: a violent Spanish beauty named Maria Vargas.  Anne slew Maria in a duel to the death.  Just to let you know how violent these two ladies were, I will tell you some of the rumors that have circulated.  Maria Vargas is said to have once decapitated a child who accidentally dirtied Maria's skirts.  And as for Anne, well she killed a servant with a carving knife just because the servant made her mad.  Back to the story…  After Anne killed Maria, she enjoyed a prominent life with Bayard until an unpleasant encounter with the Governor's sister, in which Anne punched her in the mouth, knocking out two of her teeth.  Because of this, Anne was no longer allowed to accompany Bayard on his voyages.  Of course, with him being gone so long, Anne got bored again and took up with another roguish fellow.  This man, "Calico Jack", was the one who introduced Anne to a life of piracy.  She insisted on accompanying him on his pirating adventures, but became upset when she realized she was pregnant and would have to eventually leave her lover and the ship.  Sooner or later, Anne did leave the ship to give birth.  Sadly, however, her daughter, whom Anne was beginning to look forward to raising and settling down with, died within an hour of being born.  Anne became depressed and enraged, believing her lack of rest at sea was the cause for her daughter's death.  After a while, Jack finally came back to check on Anne and was disturbed to find her in a deep state of depression.  He took her back to the Bahamas and Anne began to meet life again with a renewed fervor.  As odd as it may seem, during all this time Anne was still married to James Bonny.  Well, James was none too thrilled about Anne's affairs and he ordered Jack to either buy her from him or have Anne stoned to death.  Anne chose the obvious way out: escape. 

She and Jack set sail again as pirates on The Providence, a ship newly captured by Mary Read, another famous female pirate.  The women at sea, in order to maintain their identities as pirates, dressed as men.  The Providence was eventually taken over and Mary and Anne were forced to reveal their gender before the trial.  In order to prolong their execution, the women "pleaded their bellies", which meant they were pregnant.  They were, therefore, sentenced to hang after the birth of their babies.  Mary Read was never hanged because she died of a fever in jail, along with her unborn child.  Anne, as was typical, vanished from jail and out of sight.  She was never heard from again, though some say she was rescued by her father, who took her back to the Carolinas.  Her story ends here.  Anne was only twenty at the time of her disappearance.





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