Anne Bonny: Female Pirate and "Fierce Hell Cat"
She caused scandal with her birth with her illegitimacy, she became a teenage bride to a sea captain, gained a reputation as a tough female pirate, travelled in disguise as a man, and before meeting her fate at the noose, she disappeared from history. This is the tale of Anne Bonny...She was born in County Cork, Ireland on an undetermined date between 1697-1700. Her mother was a maid named Mary Brennen and her father was a lawyer William Cormac; a married man and father and known adulterer. There is nothing like a woman scorned and Cormac's wife was no exception; she was very vocal about her husband's infidelity and destroyed his reputation. William then fled Ireland in disgrace with Mary and Anne headed for America. They eventually settled in Charleston, South Carolina. Once there, William opens his own practice with much success and with the wealth and prestige he gained, he moved his family to a plantation. All was well until Mary died during Anne's teenage years, and Anne was left to take care of the large household.
It was during her teenage years that Anne developed a ruthless reputation. At age 14 she was supposedly accused of killing one of her maids that spit on her with a knife. Also at 14 she is said to have left a young man bed ridden for several weeks after she attacked him for making unwanted romantic overtures towards her. At 16 and a said to be beauty, Anne was swept off her feet by a small-time pirate named James Bonny; she fell in love. Although it appeared that James was only after her estate and her father strongly opposed the match, Anne remained stubborn and married the man. In response, her disappointed father then turned Anne out of the house.
James takes his wife to New Providence (now Nassau), a pirate den in the Caribbean. Once they arrived, James found it difficult to support his new wife, so he took a job as a pirate informer with a local privateer and once governor of the Bahamas, Woodes Rogers, who made it his mission to suppress piracy. Anne was angered with his new affiliation since by then she had made numerous friends amongst pirates. She soon tired of her husband and her surroundings and started an affair with a wealthy man named Chidley Baynard who showed her the good life and showered gifts on Anne. One night, Baynard escorted Anne to a ball; there she ran across the then governor's sister-in-law who snubbed Anne and told her to keep her distance. Anne responded by punching the lady in the face, knocking several of her teeth out. Chidley was unimpressed with this display and stopped courting Anne.
Anne's next love affair involved was with a small-time pirate and known ladies man named Captain Jack Rackham, who was also known as Calico Jack. With the help of her friend Pierre, a known and celebrated homosexual who ran a popular ladies establishment, Anne ran away with Jack. Disguised as a man in fear that the other pirates would oppose a woman aboard, Anne left on Jack's ship the Revenge. Although their relationship was not originally public, it was extremely passionate it led to Anne becoming pregnant. It is believed that Jack dropped Anne off in Cuba to deliver their baby with a friend's family and there are several theories as to what happened to the fate of the infant. Some say that she abandoned the baby or that the family friend agreed to raise the child; others contend that the baby died at birth.
After a few months, Anne returns to the ship and finds that another woman has come aboard, another female pirate named Mary Reed. The women became fast friends and were even rumored to have a lesbian relationship later on. Both gained the reputation as formidable fighters fighting along side the men and earning the title of "fierce hell cats".
In 1720, ex-pirate and commander of the British Navy Captain Barnet, made an attack on the Revenge while the entire crew were completely drunk. They had been celebrating all night following the capture of a Spanish commercial ship and everyone on board was in a drunken stupor and unable to fight. It is said that only the women wanted to try and fight, but when the men gave in, the women stayed aboard and proceeded to continue on a drinking binge until they were captured.
The pirate ship was taken to Port Royal where the crew were to stand trial. Everyone was found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging, however, Anne and Mary made a surprise announcement which caused a sensation. Both women claimed that they were with child. Learning this news, the judge decided that the women would be held in prison until they gave birth and then would face the noose. Before Jack was executed, Anne was granted a last visit where she gave him an earful saying something to the effect of, "If you would have fought like a man you would not being dying like a dog."
Although Mary never was hung, she unfortunately died in prison, either from illness or in childbirth. Anne Bonny's fate however is known only in myth. There is no existing record of Anne every being executed or giving birth. There are several versions of what may hav
e happened to her. One theory is that having learned of his daughter's imprisonment, Anne's father William paid to arrange her release, where she returned to Charleston and had her baby, even possibly remarried. The other theory is that Anne had learned that her first husband James had died in a hurricane and she was now a free woman. It is believed that she remarried a wealthy man, Dr. Michael Radcliffe, who paid for release; the two boarded a ship in Norfolk, Virginia heading west and were not heard from again. Of course, Anne could have died and the true record has simply been lost in time.
Regardless of Anne's fate, she remains a fascinating figure in history as a strong female character who was ahead of her time.
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