Anne Bonny and Mary Read: The Female Pirates Who Defied the British Empire
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Historical Note
Much of the biographical detail about Anne Bonny and Mary Read comes from A General History of the Pyrates (1724), a source that blends documentation and embellishment. Historians continue to debate aspects of their early lives.
Fast Facts
Active during the Golden Age of Piracy (early 18th century)
Sailed under pirate captain “Calico” Jack Rackham
Operated primarily in the Caribbean
Captured in 1720 by British authorities
Both pleaded pregnancy to delay execution
Mary Read died in prison in 1721
Anne Bonny’s fate remains uncertain
Why This Story Matters
The world of early eighteenth-century piracy was violent, unstable, and overwhelmingly male.
Women were legally and socially restricted from military life, naval service, and most forms of independent economic survival.
Yet Anne Bonny and Mary Read not only entered that world, they survived in it.
Their presence disrupts assumptions about gender, power, and authority in one of the most brutal maritime environments in history.
The Historical Record
Much of what we know about Anne Bonny and Mary Read comes from A General History of the Pyrates, published in 1724 under the name Captain Charles Johnson. Historians debate the author’s identity, though many attribute the work to Daniel Defoe.
Because piracy records were often incomplete and sensationalized, separating legend from fact is necessary.
What is well documented is this: both women sailed as active crew members aboard pirate vessels and were arrested alongside male counterparts.
Mary Read: Raised in Disguise
Mary Read’s early life shaped her ability to survive.
According to historical accounts, she was raised by her mother disguised as a boy in order to secure financial support from relatives. She later continued living as a man, working first as a footboy and eventually joining military service.
She fought in European conflicts before turning to piracy in the Caribbean.
Mary was accustomed to navigating male-dominated environments long before she joined a pirate crew.
Her background explains how she blended into pirate life. She was already trained in combat and accustomed to concealing her identity.
Anne Bonny: Defiance from the Beginning
Anne Bonny was born in Ireland and relocated to the American colonies as a child.
She married a small-time sailor, James Bonny, but reportedly abandoned him after meeting pirate captain Calico Jack Rackham.
Unlike Mary Read, Anne was not consistently disguised as a man prior to piracy, though she reportedly dressed in male clothing during combat.
Accounts describe her as outspoken, physically capable, and unwilling to submit to traditional domestic roles.
Her defiance extended beyond piracy. She rejected marriage, social expectation, and colonial respectability.
How They Survived in a Violent World
Pirate ships were not democratic utopias. They were governed by codes, discipline, and constant threat of violence.
To survive, Anne Bonny and Mary Read had to prove competence.
Historical accounts indicate they:
Participated in combat
Carried weapons
Demonstrated aggression during raids
Earned the respect of crew members
When their ship was captured by British forces in 1720, most of the male crew reportedly hid below deck. Accounts claim Anne and Mary remained fighting.
Whether embellished or not, this detail reinforced their reputations for ferocity.
Power in piracy was earned through intimidation and reliability in battle. Both women appear to have established that credibility.
Capture and Trial
In October 1720, Rackham’s crew was captured by a British naval vessel off the coast of Jamaica.
Anne Bonny and Mary Read were tried in Spanish Town.
Both were convicted and sentenced to death by hanging.
However, they invoked “pleading the belly,” a legal practice in which a condemned woman could delay execution if she was pregnant.
Both were found to be pregnant, and their executions were postponed.
What Happened to Them?
Mary Read died in prison in 1721, likely from fever, possibly related to childbirth.
Anne Bonny’s fate is less certain.
There are no definitive records confirming her execution. Some historians believe her father may have secured her release. Others speculate she returned to private life in the colonies.
Her disappearance from the historical record adds to her legend.
Why They Belong in Women’s History
Anne Bonny and Mary Read belong in women’s history because they disrupted rigid eighteenth-century gender roles.
They entered a world structured around violence and male dominance and carved space within it.
Their stories reveal:
The limits placed on women’s economic survival
The role of disguise and reinvention
The instability of identity in colonial societies
How power can be seized in unconventional spaces
They were not simply anomalies. They were products of restrictive systems who chose rebellion over submission.
Power, Myth, and Memory
Pirate history blends documentation and myth.
Anne Bonny and Mary Read became cultural symbols partly because they contradicted expectations.
The image of armed women defying imperial authority captured public imagination.
Whether every detail recorded is accurate matters less than what their documented existence proves.
Women have always found ways into spaces that denied them entry.
Some built institutions.
Some exposed them.
Some abandoned them entirely.
Holding the Record Straight
The Golden Age of Piracy was not romantic. It was violent, unstable, and often short-lived.
Anne Bonny and Mary Read did not live long careers of maritime dominance.
But their presence in that world challenges assumptions about who held power and who could wield it.
History remembers the flag.
Truth remembers who raised it.
References
Cordingly, David. Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates. Random House, 1995.
Defoe, Daniel. A General History of the Pyrates. 1724. Dover Publications, 1999.
Johnson, Captain Charles. A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pyrates. 1724. Edited by David Cordingly, Conway Maritime Press, 1972.
Konstam, Angus. Piracy: The Complete History. Osprey Publishing, 2008.
Rediker, Marcus. Villains of All Nations: Atlantic Pirates in the Golden Age. Beacon Press, 2004.
Rogoziński, Jan. Honor Among Thieves: Captain Kidd, Henry Every, and the Pirate Democracy in the Indian Ocean. Stackpole Books, 2000.
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