Anne Bonny
Anne Bonny was born as Anne Cormac in Ireland in 1698. She was a fiery redhead who became one of the most famous female pirates of all time.
Anne’s mother, Mary Brennan, was a servant for Anne’s father, William Cormac, in Ireland. Cormac eventually moved to the Province of Carolina, taking the young Anne and her mother along, and amassed a small fortune there. Anne got her last name after marrying James Bonny, a small-time pirate in Carolina.
After Cormac disowned Anne, the young couple moved to New Providence Island, a then-sanctuary for pirates. In the summer of 1718, a new governor of the island decided to clean the house, and James Bonny became a snitch, resulting in several pirates being arrested. Anne had gotten involved with pirate Calico Jack, who offered James Bonny money to divorce Anne. The offer was refused, and Anne left town in Calico Jack’s ship. She and Mary Read were both disguised as men, and Calico Jack was the only one who knew about it.
The crew terrorized the Caribbean until getting caught in October 1720. Calico Jack and his crew were too drunk to fight, but it is said that Anne and Mary Read put a fierce battle and even held off the enemy for a while. Supposedly, Bonny’s last words to Calico Jack were, “Had you fought like a man, you need not have been hang’d like a dog.”
Anne and Mary were also sentenced be hanged, but both “pleaded for their bellies,” asking for mercy for being pregnant. In following the British law, they were given a temporary stay of execution until they would give birth. Mary died in prison soon after childbirth, but Anne’s fate is still subject to speculation. Many believe she was release after childbirth, but there is neither historical record of her release nor execution.
Some think her father ransomed her, that she returned to her husband, and even that she went back to piracy. There is no official records of Anne’s death, but some historians believe she lived a long life and died in April 1782 in South Carolina.
