We often hear about male pirates at sea. Female pirates are indeed rare, because many of them are not physically better than men and are not suitable for sea warfare. So many are at home. In my opinion, their abilities should not be underestimated. In fact, there are female pirates who are scary at sea. Do you know any famous female pirates? Let's take a look together.
Rachel Wall
Rachel Wall is believed to be the first American female pirate born in Pennsylvania in 1760. At the age of 16, she married George Wall, and they soon moved to Boston with Rachel as a maid and George as a fisherman.Fortunately, their profession didn't bring them little monetary gain, and George proposed a pirate plan. They took a small group of crew to go fishing in fine weather. After the storm, they pretended to be in trouble and ransacked their rescuers. The plan lasted for about a year.
When they encountered a storm, it caused irreparable damage to their ship. Rachel survived, but George left forever. Even though her husband is dead, she continued to commit crimes, and engaged in land brutality. Eventually, She was arrested for assaulting a young woman and sentenced to death after confessing to crimes including piracy. Moreover, she was the last pirate lady executed in Massachusetts.
Mary Read
Mary Read, was an English pirate. She and Anne Bonny are two famous female pirates from 18th century, and among the few women known to have been convicted of piracy at the height of the "Golden Age of Piracy".
Read was born in England in 1685. She began dressing as a boy at a young age, at first at her mother's urging in order to receive inheritance money and then as a teenager in order to join the British military. She then married and upon her husband's death moved to the West Indies around 1715. In 1720 she met Jack Rackham and joined his crew, dressing as a man alongside Anne Bonny. Her time as a pirate was successful but short lived, as she, Bonny and Rackham were arrested in November 1720. Although Rackham was swiftly executed, both Read and Bonny claimed to be pregnant and received delayed sentences. Read died of a fever in April 1721, likely due to complications from the pregnancy.
Read was born in England in 1685. She began dressing as a boy at a young age, at first at her mother's urging in order to receive inheritance money and then as a teenager in order to join the British military. She then married and upon her husband's death moved to the West Indies around 1715. In 1720 she met Jack Rackham and joined his crew, dressing as a man alongside Anne Bonny. Her time as a pirate was successful but short lived, as she, Bonny and Rackham were arrested in November 1720. Although Rackham was swiftly executed, both Read and Bonny claimed to be pregnant and received delayed sentences. Read died of a fever in April 1721, likely due to complications from the pregnancy.
Anne Bonny
Anne Bonny, was an Irish pirate operating in the Caribbean, and one of a few female pirates in recorded history.
Bonny was born in Ireland around 1700 and moved to London and then to the Province of Carolina when she was about 10 years old. She then married around 1715 and moved to Nassau in the Bahamas, a sanctuary for pirates. It was there that she met Calico Jack Rackham and became his pirate partner and lover. Although she was captured alongside Rackham and Mary Read in October 1720.
All crew members were sentenced to death including the three of them, but Bonny and Read had their executions stayed because both of them were pregnant. Unfortunately, Read died of a fever in jail in April 1721, moreover, Bonny's fate is unknown. Some people say she escaped the death penalty. Her life and death is still a mystery.