| Anne Bonny |
Died : 1720
Anne Bonny was one of the two most famous Female Pirates. She sailed on
the crew of Calico Jack Rackham. Anne was Calico's lover but she could
be counted
as none the less fearless
of any other pirate. She was born in County Cork, daughter of an attorney
and his Maid. Anne fought in men's clothing, was an expert with pistol
and cutlass and considered as dangerous as any male pirate. She was fearless
in battle and often was a
member of any boarding party.
In October of 1720 retribution was close at hand. The governor of Jamaica,
hearing of Calico's presence sent an armed sloop to intervene and capture
the Captain and crew. Calico's ship Revenge, was caught by surprise and
much to Anne dismay, the pirates fought like cowards and were taking far
too easily. Anne and Mary Read, were also captured but upon capture confessed
there "sex". and pleaded to be tried separately after they gave birth.
www.geocities.com/CollegePark/4704/annebonny.html |
| William Kidd |
America's most famous pirate,
William Kidd was a wealthy man. He was a privateersman hired by Lord Bellomont,
Royal Governor of Massachusetts, to seek out and capture Blackbeard. Failing
to capture Blackbeard, Kidd became a pirate himself - although he denied
being one until his dying day. Returning to Boston in 1699, Kidd was arrested
and shipped to London for trial. He was sentenced to be hanged at Execution
Dock in London on May 23, 1701. On the first attempt, the rope broke, but
the Sheriff's men dragged him back to the gallows and hanged him successfully
the second time. Kidd's body was painted with tar, wrapped in chains and
placed in an iron cage on the river bank. For almost twenty years, his
body remained gibbeted as an example to other would-be-pirates.
from victorian.fortunecity.com/manet/394/page24s.htm |
| Ned Low |
Described as a "maniac and
a brute" by his own men, Ned Low was a Boston ship rigger who turned to
piracy. He earned a reputation for extreme cruelty. After capturing a Nantucket
whaler, Low made her commander eat his own sliced off ears, sprinkled with
salt, before he killed him. When he captured the Spanish galleon "Montcova",
he personally slaughtered fifty-three officers and made one Spaniard eat
the heart of another before killing him. His own crew finally set him adrift
in an open boat without provisions. Two days later a French ship rescued
him, but upon discovering who he was, the French gave him a short trail
and hanged him.
from victorian.fortunecity.com/manet/394/page24s.htm |
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| Mary Read |
Died : November 18, 1720
Mary Read led a man's life
most of her life. Her parents are unknown. What little that is known is
that her widowed mother raised her as a boy. She was born in London. Unfortunately
her husband died, and Mary once again assumed men's clothing, attempted
once again a life in the Army, but failing at this, shipped off to the
West Indies. On the way there, her ship was taken By Captain Calico Rackham.
As fate would have it, another female Pirate, Anne Bonny, was part of Calico's
crew. Anne, saw a young strapping sailor among the newly captured prize
and decided, she would have her way with the young man. Much to anne' surprise,
when she got the man alone, he opened his blouse and exposed to Anne that
he too was a woman. Mary confessed that she would much rather join with
Rackham and Anne rather than lead the dull life a woman and she too became
one of Calico's pirates.
from victorian.fortunecity.com/manet/394/page24s.htm |
EDWARD TEACH -
BLACKBEARD |
Blackbeard and his crew
of pirates terrorized sailors on the Atlantic Ocean and
Caribbean Sea from 1716 through 1718.
Although Ocracoke Inlet in
North Carolina was his base of operations, Blackbeard (Edward Teach) terrorized
the New England coast. Teach's beard was the talk of two continents. Jet
black, it completely covered his face, even growing around his eyes and
giving him a fierce appearance. He never took marriage seriously and during
his lifetime he had fourteen wives and fathered forty children. In 1691,
he and a sizeable crew landed at Lunging Island in the Isles of Shoals
off Portsmouth, New Hampshire. There he buried a large treasure of silver
bars which has never been discovered.
from victorian.fortunecity.com/manet/394/page24s.htm |
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