History Of Anne Bonny, A Famous Mariner
Born in Ireland to a wealthy lawyer and his maid, Anne Bonny began her life the same way she lived it — unconventionally.
Born in Ireland to a wealthy lawyer and his maid, Anne Bonny began her life the same way she lived it — unconventionally. After his infidelity was revealed, Anne’s father left his wife and moved across the Pacific Ocean to a Charleston plantation with Anne and her mother. It was there that Anne began to establish her ruthless reputation, reportedly stabbing a kitchen servant after an argument and beating a young man senseless after an attempted rape.
Anne eventually eloped with a poor sailor named James Bonny, sailing the Bahamas with him and making port in the pirate haven of New Providence (now Nassau). Their bliss was short-lived, however, as Anne soon dropped Bonny for pirate ‘Calico Jack’ Rackham and gave birth to Rackham’s child in Cuba before returning to the seas to maraud the Caribbean with her lover.
Anne’s presence aboard the William was unconventional, as women were seen as bad luck for ships. Although she didn’t conceal her gender from shipmates, she was known to disguise herself as a man when pillaging other ships.
One night, after taking a ship, Rackham offered crew positions to those who survived his attack. One of the new shipmates was a Mark Read who turned out to be a woman named Mary Read. Anne and Mary became fast friends, and rumoured lovers. Fearless and skilled at arms, they took their pillaging and plundering to new heights and enjoyed a period of unprecedented success.
In October 1720, Rackham’s crew were enjoying the spoils of their latest plunder when Anne and Mary noticed an approaching ship. With not a man among them sober enough to fight, only Anne and Mary were able to hold their liquor sufficiently to make a stand. The ship was eventually taken by the British Royal Navy, and all were condemned to the gallows — except Anne and Mary who were spared the noose by revealing they were pregnant. Mary reportedly died in her cell the following year, but Anne was released and returned to Charleston where she married, had more children, and lived out the remainder of her life.