A renowned Irish pirate who operated in the Caribbean,
is considered one of the rare female pirates in recorded history.
Despite her infamous reputation, her life story remains largely unknown.
However, researchers have uncovered some details primarily through Captain
Charles Johnson’s 1724 book, “A General History of the Pyrates.”
Born in Ireland around 1700, she relocated to London
and the Province of Carolina at the tender age of ten.
In 1718, she married James Bonny, a sailor, and accompanied him
to Nassau in the Bahamas, a known sanctuary for pirates.
While there, she met and became romantically involved with Calico
Jack Rackham, ultimately becoming his pirate partner.
Unfortunately, her piracy career stopped when she was captured alongside Rackham
and fellow pirate Mary Read in October 1720.
Despite all three of them being sentenced to death, herself
and Mary had their executions delayed because of their pregnancy.
However, Mary passed away in jail due to complications
in April 1721.
The fate of our leading lady, on the other hand, remains a mystery.
So join me now as we look back on the skull and crossbones
life of Anne Bonny.
Anne Bonny’s
birthdate has been speculated to be around 1700, with her birthplace
recorded as the Old Head of Kinsale, County Cork, Ireland.
Her mother, Mary Brennan, was a servant woman;
her father, lawyer William Cormac, was Brennan’s employer.
After Cormac’s wife fell ill, he remained home to care for his family
and became involved in a romantic relationship
with Mary Brennan, one of the household maids.
As a result of this affair, Anne was born.
According to records, Anne was considered one of William Cormac’s
legitimate children.
However, official accounts and letters of her life are scarce.
William Cormac left his wife’s family and moved to London,
where he dressed Anne as a boy and called her “Andy.” When Cormac’s
wife discovered he was bringing up his illegitimate daughter as a lawyer’s
clerk, she stopped giving him an allowance.
Afterwards, Cormac
relocated to the Province of Carolina, bringing Anne and her mother.
Initially, the family had a rough start
in their new home, but Cormac’s legal knowledge and business acumen
helped him finance a townhouse and, eventually, a plantation.
He dropped the original “Mc” prefix from their family
name to blend better into the Charles Town community.
However, Anne’s mother passed away when she was only twelve.
Cormac then tried to establish himself as an attorney but was unsuccessful.
Over time, he transitioned into the more lucrative merchant trade
and accumulated significant wealth.
Despite her being considered a “good catch” due to her
reddish hair, it is said that Anne had a fiery temper.
At thirteen, she allegedly stabbed a servant girl with a knife.
She married James Bonny, a sailor and a minor
pirate who hoped to claim his father-in-law’s estate.
However, her father disowned her as he disapproved of
James Bonny as a suitable match for his daughter.
After Bonny’s father discovered her affair with a pirate,
he expelled her from their home.
Anne and James Bonny relocated to Nassau
on New Providence Island between 1714 and 1718.
Nassau served as a haven for English pirates
and was known as the Republic of Pirates.
Many of the island’s
inhabitants had received a King’s Pardon or had evaded the law.
It is also recorded that James Bonny became an informant
for Governor Woodes Rogers after his arrival in the summer of 1718.
James would provide information to the Governor
about the pirates in the area, which led to the arrest of many.
However, Anne disapproved of her husband’s actions,
which was a source of conflict between them.
While staying in the Bahamas, Bonny commenced fraternizing
with a circle of seafaring marauders in the drinking establishments.
There, she encountered a man by the name of John
“Calico Jack” Rackham, and he rapidly became her lover.
Rackham subsequently offered a monetary inducement
to her husband, James, to officially dissolve their marriage,
but her husband defiantly spurned the proposal
and threatened Rackham with physical violence.
Unfazed by the threat, Bonny and Rackham escaped from the island together,
at which point she became a bona fide member of his maritime gang.
To conceal her gender while on board the ship, she took on a male guise,
and only Rackham and Mary Read were privy to her true identity
until it became glaringly apparent that she was a woman.
Rackham subsequently ferried her to Cuba, where she gave birth to a boy.
After that, she rejoined Rackham and continued to thrive as a buccaneer,
having aquired an official separation from her spouse
and a ceremonial union with Rackham whilst at sea.
In a daring coup, Bonny, Rackham, and Read boarded
and took control of the vessel William, which was moored in Nassau harbour.
Rackham and the two women then commenced the process of intensifying their crimes.
They prowled the waters around Jamaica and its surroundings for several years.
Bonny was an active combatant alongside the male members of the crew,
and Governor Rogers singled her out as one of the most wanted pirates.
When Bonny divulged to Read that she had become infatuated with her
because she was a woman, Read disclosed her feminine assets.
To allay any suspicions of amorous dalliances
between the two women Rackham might harbour, Bonny
then suggested that Read was of the same sex.
Speculation regarding the nature of the relationship between Bonny
and Read abounded, and it eventually culminated in a series of engravings
depicting the two women fighting on the beach.
One of the unfortunate victims of the pirates was a woman
named Dorothy Thomas, who provided a vivid description of Read and Bonny:
They were attired in men’s jackets, long trousers, and kerchiefs
tied about their heads, and each of them brandished a machete and a pistol
in their hands, cursing and swearing at the men and urging them
to murder her.
In October 1720, the notorious pirate Calico Jack
and his crew were caught off guard by a sloop captained by Jonathan Barnet,
operating under a commission from Nicholas Lawes, the Governor of Jamaica.
They were taken away and convicted by Governor Lawes,
after sentencing and prison they were all hanged.
Two female Rackham crew members, Anne Bonny
and Mary Read were among the pirates.
During their trial, it was expected that Bonny might receive favourable treatment
due to her father’s connections with many of the gentlemen planters of Jamaica.
However, her decision to join Rackham’s crew and flee with him was considered
a damning circumstance, which ultimately led
to her imprisonment.
According to Captain Charles Johnson’s book “A General History
of the Pyrates,” Bonny’s last words to Rackham were, “Had
you fought like a man, you need not have been hang’d like a dog.”
This quote has become famous and is often cited in pirate lore.
Both Bonny
and Read invoked their pregnancy, “pleading their bellies,” to request
a stay of execution from the court, which was granted until they gave birth.
Unfortunately, Read died in prison, most likely from a fever
she contracted during childbirth.
The ledger of a church in Jamaica lists her burial as “Mary Read, pirate”
on April 28, 1721.
Anne Bonny’s fate after giving birth is not known for sure.
Some sources claim that her wealthy father managed to secure her release,
and she went on to live a comfortable life.
There is no concrete evidence to support this claim.
Other sources suggest that she may have been released
on condition of returning to her father’s plantation.
Again, there is no definitive evidence.
The legendary tale of piracy and adventure on the high seas, is a well told story
and despite the doubts surrounding her destiny,
Anne Bonny’s legend as a bold and daring pirate continues
to captivate the fascination of individuals worldwide.
Her story has been told in countless books, movies,
and other forms of popular culture, cementing her place in history
as one of the most intriguing figures of the Golden Age of Piracy.
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