FEMALE PIRATES

Why should men get to have all the fun?

ANNE BONNEY & MARY READ

Anne Bonney was the sweetheart of pirate captain “Calico Jack” Rackham. She fought in men’s clothing, had a fiery temper, and could handle a cutlass and pistol as well as any man. She often led the boarding parties during a raid.

In 1718 a tough new sailor came aboard Calico Jack’s stolen ship, William, while he and Anne were raiding the Carolinas. Bonney took a fancy to the new guy but was dismayed to find out that the “guy” was actually a girl named Mary Read. But they soon became friends and, along with Jack and his crew, raided ships on the Caribbean Sea for several years.

It all came to an end in 1720 when Jack’s ship was taken by surprise while captain and crew were passed out drunk in the hold. Mary and Anne tried to rally the men to fight, but it was no use—all the men were captured and sentenced to death, but the women were granted stays of execution.

Anne visited Calico Jack before his hanging. “I’m sorry to see you here,” she told him, “but if you’d have fought like a man, you needn’t hang like a dog.”

Mary Read died of a fever in jail. As for Anne Bonney, she was released and vanished from public record. No one ever heard of her again.

Kid fact: Girls’ hearts beat faster than boys’ hearts.