Charlotte de Berry

 

 

Some aspects of Charlotte de Berry’s life story sound far-fetched enough to have come from a story book, and there are many who think she was indeed fictional. However, if even figments of her story are true she was an extremely cunning and able pirate who commanded and fought alongside her crew just as well as any man.

 

 

Charlotte de Berry is thought to have been born in England in 1636. However not much is documented about her until exactly two centuries later when she appeared in an 1836 ‘penny dreadful’ written by Edward Lloyd entitled History of the Pirates. Because of this she is widely regarded as being fictional. Most reports of her life seem to stem from the writings of Lloyd, however, there are a few variations to her legend in the public domain. 

Edward Lloyd’s story begins when Charlotte was in her mid-to-late teens living in a coastal town. Her father was retired from his sea-faring life by this time and as Charlotte inherited his keen interest and almost romantic fascination with the sea, he would share his knowledge with her. She would speak of wishing she’d been born male so she could pursue a sailor’s life, these feelings sometimes drove her to dress in men’s clothes and visit public houses near the docks, where she knew sailors would be. There was always a risk of her real identity being discovered but Charlotte could quite easily disguise her female shape under a baggy shirt and jacket. Luckily most sailors had long hair which they tied back, so she did just that. She would sit and drink with the men, discussing all things nautical, her knowledge was so great that her façade was never uncovered. On one occasion she met a sailor named Jack Jib, an experienced seaman with over 20 years of sailing under his belt. They took an instant liking to each other and married – it is assumed she revealed her true identity quite early on. Jack got called up by the Royal Navy to go to sea, and she was determined to join him. Charlotte again donned men’s clothes and got accepted, as a male sailor, to join Jack at sea. They fought alongside each other in six battles and she saved his life four times, her reputation as a great warrior growing with every victory. Their affection towards each other was noted by other sailors onboard, but never was the nature of their relationship questioned. 

However, things were about to change. Jack was suddenly accused of numerous crimes by a tyrannical lieutenant. He was brought before a court martial and sentenced to be flogged through the fleet. This most horrific of treatments left Jack in an awful state and he only survived the injuries for a further week before his body shut down completely. Charlotte was inconsolable and at this point something inside her changed, she swore revenge on the man responsible for prescribing this punishment.

When the ship docked up and the crew were paid, everyone disbanded. Charlotte kept an eye on the movements of the dastardly lieutenant. She waited patiently in a lane where she knew he would be passing. Then, choosing her moment carefully, she sprung from the shadows and shot him dead with her pistol. Then, like the pirate she was, plundered his pockets and stole all his gold coins. 

 

Forced Marriage

Some time passed and Charlotte remained on land. She began working in a waterfront saloon as an ‘entertainer’. A sea merchant named Captain Wilmington took a shine to her and repeatedly requested her company, Charlotte refused again and again. He finally gave up asking nicely and simply kidnapped her, forced her to marry him and took her aboard his ship bound for Africa. Wilmington was a nasty man with a filthy temper. He would order the punishment of his crew on the slightest of offences and secretly they all began to plot against him. On many occasions Charlotte would intervene and convince her husband not to administer cruel beatings, making her increasingly popular. She began to hear rumours of the crews desires to dispatch Wilmington, and was waiting for an opportunity to offer her services. One day the ship moored up on an island and the seven crew members disembarked. Charlotte convinced Wilmington to allow her to follow and so she did, keeping a distance away so the crew did not know she was eavesdropping. The sailors discussed their deadly plan to kill Wilmington but could not decide who would lead the mutiny.

At this moment, Charlotte appeared before them and one of the sailors drew his cutless and exclaimed, ‘We are betrayed!’. Before he could lunge at her she said, ‘Hold! I am your friend, alike the enemy of Captain Wilmington, and burning for revenge. I have overheard all you have said, and only swear to be faithful to me, and I will rid you of your cares, and place the vessel in your hands this very night.’ The sailors were in complete shock, but as Charlotte told them of her years at sea and all the bloody battles she had attended dressed in men’s clothing, their shock turned to raucous applause. They agreed to follow her and do as she instructed. The sailors returned to the ship with the supplies they’d been sent for, and shortly after Charlotte arrived back. Captain Wilmington suspected nothing.

Charlotte and Wilmington went to bed as normal. She lay next to him and waited until she was sure he was in a deep sleep. She then retrieved the knife she had hidden earlier, and plunged it down onto his neck, almost disconnecting his head from his body entirely. She then sounded a signal to the crew to alert them that the deed was done, and they came running into the cabin and marvelled at her bravery. A couple of the crew weren’t comfortable with murder and mutiny but they were tossed overboard which eliminated that problem. Charlotte now had complete control of the vessel and her crew rejoiced, shouting ‘Long life and success to the gallant female pirate captain, Charlotte de Berry!’. And so began Charlotte’s career as a pirate captain.

 

Captain Rodolph

Charlotte once again began dressing in men’s clothing, even giving herself a masculine pseudonym, Captain Rodolph. Rumours of Captain Rodolph’s crew and their cruel capabilities spread round Africa’s coast. They cruised the seas looking for vessels that traded in gold dust. They would storm the ships, take all their findings and from the crew try and recruit more pirates. If they were met with any resistance they would kill them. On one of their regular patrols they encountered an English vessel named Lizard. As it approached Charlotte could see how well equipped it was, and judging by the size of the vessel, safely assumed there would be valuable cargo onboard. She resolved to attack it and take the ship by force. She hoisted the black flag which was met with laughter from her opposition. The battle commenced and both sides fought with equal ferocity and determination. Charlotte’s crew boarded the Lizard three times only to be driven back; they had clearly met their match. The ships were getting blown to pieces and the decks were strewn with slain pirates, but Charlotte persisted with her pistol, shooting down the Lizard’s captain. The remaining crew were intimidated by Charlotte’s prowess but vowed to regain control of their ship. In the bloody chaos of the battle most of the sailors were thrown overboard and as they clambered back aboard dodging the hail of bullets, the Lizard began to sink and quickly disappeared beneath the sea taking with her the remaining crew and the treasure. Charlotte was disappointed to have lost so many men and the Lizard’s treasure, but she soon set about repairing her own ship, known as the Trader, and recruiting more sailors. 

Back on land Charlotte removed her male attire and dressed in women’s clothes. While preparing for their next voyage Charlotte met a wealthy 22 year-old who fell hopelessly in love with her. He immediately proposed and Charlotte was so taken with him that they married in secret. She then revealed to him her occupation and told him he was welcome to join her as an outlaw at sea. He realized he could not be without her and agreed to join the crew, bringing with him a whole posse of his father’s slaves to man the decks.

 

Cannibalism

Three years of piracy passed when one day the Trader was hit by a tempest, so violent was the storm that some of the crew were flung overboard along with food provisions. Following three days of starvation the remaining crew reached breaking point and came to a most gruesome decision – they would draw straws to determine who would sacrifice their lives for the good of their comrades. The shortest straw drawn was that of Charlotte’s husband. Charlotte immediately implored them to take her life instead. Remarkably one of his slaves intervened and begged, out of loyalty, to take his place. Before this could even be discussed the slave took his own life with a dagger and they feasted on his flesh for the next two days. It was then time to draw straws again. Unbelievably, the same thing happened, another slave offered himself up in place of his master. Two days later, Charlotte’s husband, obviously incredibly unlucky, drew the shortest straw for the third time. Charlotte pleaded with the crew to wait a little while longer in hope of rescue, but they were ravenous, and so they took the flesh from his calves. Charlotte begged for them to keep him alive one more day, sure that help would arrive, but they refused and said they would kill her too.

Charlotte’s husband knew his fate was sealed and asked they shoot him and be convinced that he was utterly dead before they finish hacking him up. They agreed and shot him, however, his heart had barely stopped beating before the greedy pirates devoured him. One of the sailors cruelly offered her a portion of her husband which drove her to run to another side of the ship where she screamed in distress. Suddenly she heard a sailor exclaiming, ‘a sail! a sail!’. Help had arrived. 

Soon after their rescue Charlotte’s crew were involved in one final battle. By this time the grotesque manner in which she lost her husband, and the knowledge that his death could have been prevented if the crew had waited for help, had driven her insane. She ambled madly about the ship, pistols in both hands, as the battle raged around her. She received a fatal blow from a rival pirate’s cutlass, and as she was tossed overboard she was heard to exclaim, ‘My husband! Thy bride, Charlotte, the female pirate, comes to join thee!’.