Anne Bonny was an Irish pirate operating in the Caribbean and one of the most famous female pirates of all time. Born in the Kingdom of Ireland around 1700, Bonny moved to London and then to the Province of Carolina when she was about 10 years old.
She then married and moved to Nassau in the Bahamas, a known sanctuary for pirates, around 1715. It was there she met Calico Jack Rackham and became his pirate partner and lover. Along with Mary Read, she often disguised herself as a man and became one of the most recognizable and wanted faces of the "Golden Age of Piracy."
Captured alongside Rackham and Read in October 1720, Bonny and Read were soon sentenced to death, but their executions were stayed due to both of them being pregnant.
Read died in jail in early 1721, but what happened to Bonny next is unknown. Some claim that she, too, died in prison, while others have guessed she escaped or was released. Her time and place of death thus remain unknown.
Early Life
Anne Bonny was born around 1700 around Old Head of Kinsale, in County Cork, Ireland. Her mother was Mary Brennan, who was a servant to William Cormac.
It is believed that Bonny's father was her mother's employer, William Cormac. Cormac moved away from London to get away from his wife's family, and he began dressing Anne Bonny as a boy and calling her Andy. When Cormac's wife discovered William had taken in the illegitimate daughter and was bringing the child up to be a lawyer's clerk and dressing her as a boy, she stopped giving him an allowance.
Cormac then moved to the colony of Carolina and took Anne Bonny and her mother with him. Bonny's father abandoned the original "Mc" prefix of their family name to blend more easily into the culture of Charles Town.
The initial move was rough, and the family saw it rough. However, William's knowledge of the law and ability to sell goods soon financed a townhouse and, eventually, a plantation. Her mother died when Anne was 12, and her father tried to open a legal practice. His practice did not do well. However, he joined the merchant business and built a large fortune.
It is recorded that Bonny had red hair and was considered a "good catch" but may have had a fiery temper; at age 13, she supposedly stabbed a servant girl with a knife. She married a poor sailor and small-time pirate named James Bonny.
James hoped to win possession of his father-in-law's estate, but Bonny was disowned by her father. Anne's father did not approve of James Bonny as a husband for his daughter, and he kicked Anne out of their house.
There is a story that Bonny set fire to her father's plantation in retaliation, but no evidence exists in support. However, it is known that sometime between 1714 and 1718, she and James Bonny moved to Nassau, on New Providence Island, known as a sanctuary for English pirates called the Republic of Pirates.
Many inhabitants received a King's Pardon or otherwise evaded the law. It is also recorded that, after the arrival of Governor Woodes Rogers in the summer of 1718, James Bonny became an informant for the governor. James Bonny would report to Governor Rogers about the pirates in the area, which resulted in a multitude of these pirates being arrested.
Anne disliked the work her husband did for Governor Rogers.
Calico Jack Rackham
Anne Bonny seemed to be drawn to the life of a pirate. She seemed always to be a rebel, so it was no surprise when she met Calico Jack Rackham and became his lover.
Jack loved Anne so much that he offered money to James Bonny in exchange for her with the purpose of divorce. James refused, and Anne left with Rackham anyway and became a member of his crew.
To blend in, she disguised herself as a man and only Calico Jack, and eventually, Mary knew her real gender.
Anne Bonny became pregnant with Calico Jack's child, and it became impossible to hide her identity. Rackham landed her on the island of Cuba and bore a son. Nobody really knows what happened to the child. Whether he was abandoned, left with Rackham's family, or died is unknown. However, Bonny rejoined Rackham and continued the pirate life.
She divorced her husband James and married Jack Rackham at sea.
Bonny, Rackham, and Read stole the ship, William, then at anchor in Nassau harbor and put out to sea. Rackham and the two women recruited a new crew. Their crew spent years in Jamaica and the surrounding area. Over the next several months, they enjoyed success, capturing many, albeit smaller, vessels and bringing in abundant treasure.
Bonny took part in combat alongside the men, and the accounts of her exploits present her as competent, effective in combat, and respected by her shipmates.
Governor Rogers had named her in a "Wanted Pirates" circular published in the continent's only newspaper, The Boston News-Letter.
Although Bonny was historically renowned as a Caribbean pirate, she never commanded a ship of her own.
Capture and Disappearance
In October 1720, Rackham and his crew were hunted and attacked by the pirate hunter Jonathan Barnet under a commission from the Governor of Jamaica. Most of Rackham's pirates put up little resistance, as many of them were too drunk to fight. However, Read and Bonny fought fiercely and managed to hold off Barnet's troops for a short time.
Calico Jack and his crew were taken to Jamaica, where they were convicted and sentenced by Governor Lawes to be hanged.
Anne Bonny is recorded as saying a few words to her husband prior to his death. She said, "Had you fought like a man, you need not have been hang'd like a dog".
After being sentenced, Read and Bonny both "pleaded their bellies," asking for mercy because they were pregnant. In accordance with English common law, both women received a temporary stay of execution until they gave birth. Read died in prison, most likely from fever from childbirth. Anne stayed in prison until she gave birth. What happened to her afterward is disputed.
There is no official historical record of Bonny's release, execution, or death. This has fed speculation as to her fate. Some rumors say that Bonny died in prison, while others say that she escaped and reverted to her life as a pirate.