Anne Bonny
Had you fought like a man, you need not have been hang'd like a dog.
One of the most famous pirates of her era, Anne worked alongside (Calico) Jack Rackham and Mary Read. Although she never commanded a ship of her own, she still had a reputation as a fighter and leader of her men. Anne kept her real sex a secret, posing as a male pirate for most of her career.
October 1720, Anne, Mary, and Jack were captured by Jonathan Barnet, a privateer and were taken to Jamaicafor their sentences. Anne and Mary both claimed to be pregnant to stay their executions. n accordance with English common law, both women received a temporary stay of execution until they gave birth. Read died in prison, most likely from a fever from childbirth. Anne stayed in prison until she gave birth and was later released. She disappeared after.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Anne was born in Ireland and raised in the Carolinas. Bonny's mother died when she was 12. Her father attempted to establish himself as an attorney but did not do well. It is recorded that Bonny had red hair and was considered a "good catch" but may have had a fiery temper; at age 13, she supposedly stabbed a servant girl with a knife.
She married a poor sailor and small-time pirate named James Bonny. James hoped to win possession of his father-in-law's estate, but Bonny was disowned by her father. Anne's father did not approve of James Bonny as a husband for his daughter, and he kicked Anne out of their house. James and Anne moved to Nassau.
In the summer of 1718, James Bonny became an informant for the governor. James Bonny would report to Governor Rogers about the pirates in the area, which resulted in a multitude of these pirates being arrested. Anne disliked the work her husband did for Governor Rogers.
While in the Bahamas, Bonny began mingling with pirates in the local taverns. She met John Rackham ( (Calico) Jack Rackham ), captain of the pirate sloop Revenge, and Rackham became her lover. Rackham offered Bonny's husband, James Bonny, money in exchange for her with the purpose of divorce, but her husband refused. Anne and Rackham escaped the island together, and Bonny became a member of Rackham's crew. Anne eventually divorced her husband and married Jack at sea, continuing the pirate life she led.
Social
Contacts & Relations
Wife of (Calico) Jack Rackham
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