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History's Hinge - 'Ain Jalut

[Bart]

   There is more than a bit of mystery with this one. Captured and convicted in 1720, and sentenced to hang, it is claimed she disappears from the jail she where was held for sentencing, before her hanging takes place, and then disappears from history altogether. Yet the first line of her bio shows a death year of 1782. That would be 84 years, and the obvious question is how do they know she died in that year? Wiki appears to use an average for her birth year here, but by no stretch of the imagination can 62 years be called an average year for her death. Sixty two years is a long time, and why sixty two? It could have been any year, any number of those sixty two. Normally when a bio cannot pinpoint a year of birth or death, a question mark is used. One cannot help but wonder if there may well be a headstone in a cemetary in Charleston that could give us some answers. She gets a pink headline, after all, she was Daddy's little girl.

- Bart

Anne Bonny (c. 1698 ? 1782) was an Irish pirate who plied her trade in the Caribbean.


Early Life

   Much of what is known about Anne Bonny is based on Captain Charles Johnson's A General History of the Pyrates. Official records and contemporary letters dealing with her life are scarce. Various sources disagree about her birth year, but it was probably between 1697 and 1705.

   Anne Bonny, born in County Cork, Ireland, was a daughter of attorney William Cormac and his maidservant. Her mother was named either Mary or Peg Brennan. When the affair became public, Cormac, with his new wife and newborn child, left Ireland for Charleston, South Carolina, where he made a fortune and bought a large plantation.

Marriage and Later Affair With a Pirate

   The few records of Bonny which exist seem to reflect that she was intelligent, quick tempered, and pretty. When Anne was thirteen, she supposedly stabbed a servant girl in the belly with a table knife, although it is unclear whether this is fact or purely legend. At sixteen, Anne married a sailor and small-time pirate named James Bonny. James Bonny hoped to win possession of his wife's family estate, but Anne was disowned by her father.

   According to legend, Anne started a fire on the plantation in retaliation. James Bonny then took his new bride to New Providence(modern-day Nassau), Bahamas, a pirate hub and base for many pirate operations, where he became an informant for Governor Woodes Rogers.

   While in the Bahamas, Anne Bonny began mingling with pirates at the local drinking establishments, and met the pirate "Calico Jack" Rackham, with whom she shortly thereafter had an affair. Rackham offered to buy Anne from James Bonny in a divorce-by-purchase, but James refused. He complained to the governor, who brought Anne before the court, naked, and sentenced her to be flogged and to return to her legal husband. Anne Bonny and Rackham instead eloped.

Life as a Pirate

   Legend tells that because of a superstition of the time that women aboard ships brought bad luck, Bonny was forced to disguise herself as a man in order to join Rackham's crew aboard the Revenge. Anne and Jack stole a ship at anchor in the harbor and set off to sea, putting together a crew and taking several prizes. She took part in combat alongside the males. Also according to legend, she stabbed another pirate through the heart when he discovered her true sex.

   However, according to a recent History Channel documentary, True Caribbean Pirates, which aired July 9th, 2006, Bonny never hid her identity, and was well-known by the other pirates, having mingled with them socially, and she was readily accepted as a crew member.

   Over the next three years or more, she and Rackham saw quite a few successes as pirates, capturing many ships, and bringing in an abundance of treasure. Although Bonny would become one of the best-known pirates in history, she never commanded a ship of her own, nor was she ever the deciding factor as to what ships they attacked. It is likely that her reputation as being a female pirate would be what would eventually lead to her fame. However, she was by all accounts competent, good in combat, and respected by her fellow pirates.

Meeting Mary Read

   Bonny was not to be the only female pirate on Rackham's ship. A woman by the name of Mary Read also disguised herself as a man to join the crew, after her ship was taken during a raid. Bonny and Read became close companions to one another, and when Bonny walked in on Read undressing one day, she discovered her secret. The two women agreed to keep this from everyone, and Bonny swore not to reveal that Read was really a woman. It was indicated in the writings of author and Captain Charles Johnson that at least at first their attraction to one another was of a romantic nature, but that is not known beyond a doubt.

   However, Read's true sex would not remain secret for long. Rackham became suspicious of Bonny's close relationship with the new sailor, and demanded an explanation. When Read confessed that she was actually a woman, Rackham allowed her to stay on as a member of his crew, eventually revealing her secret to the other crew members. However, this had no effect on her service, and she was accepted on board the ship as Bonny had been.

Capture and Imprisonment

   In November of 1720, Rackham and his crew were attacked by a sloop captained by Jonathan Barnet, who was working for the governor of Jamaica. Most of Rackham's pirates did not put up much resistance as many of them were too drunk to fight. However, Read and Bonny, who were sober, fought fiercely and managed to hold off Barnet's troops for a short time. After their capture, Rackham and his crew were sentenced by the Governor of Jamaica to be hanged. Jack hid while the pregnant (and recently proved) ladies dealt with a great number of captors. Bonny is reported to have chastised the imprisoned Rackham (who wanted to see her one last time) by saying, "I am sorry to see you there, but if you had fought like a man, you need not be hanged like a dog."

   After their arrest and trial, Read and Bonny announced during the sentencing phase that they were both pregnant. According to the latest information recently released by The History Channel, both were in fact pregnant, although there is no mention as to who the father of either child was. Both women received a temporary stay of execution until they gave birth. Mary Read soon died in prison, most likely from a fever, but also it has been alleged she died during childbirth.

Mysterious Disappearance

   Bonny disappeared from the historic record while in prison. There is no record of her release or of her execution. This is somewhat unusual and has led some to theorise that her father ransomedher and gave her an opportunity to begin a new life. Other sources claim that she returned to her husband, or even that she resumed a life of piracy under a new identity. The most accepted scenario is the first, that her wealthy father paid a ransom for her release. It is also extremely likely, though, that she escaped and resumed a life of piracy, seeing as the woman pirates who were successful in hiding their true sex completely escaped being recorded in history.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Bonney

[Bart]

   Anne seems to have disappeared from the world's stage at this point, there is some conjecture that her wealthy father bought her release after the birth of the child. This is one version of her life after the trial.

   Anne's child, born five months after the trial, on April 21, 1721, was named John Cormac Bonny. John Rackham seems to have been listed as the illegitimate child's father. After the child's birth the mother and child return to Virginia via South Carolina. There are some records that imply that she married a Joseph Burleigh at this time, 1721. It is guessed that this marriage was arranged by Anne's father to get her started upon a clean slate when she returned (one can only imagine the dowry required to get a man to marry a woman reputed to be such a wildcat). The Anne thus recorded gave birth to eight more children with her husband, three of whom died young. This Anne is said to have died on April 25, 1782 (which would have put her age at somewhere around 70-80) and was buried in a place called Sweethaven (possibly in York County, Virginia).

http://freenet-homepage.de/hawkeyepike/bios/bio01.htm

[Bart]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[While I hesitate to try my hand at profiling Anne Bonny after all the others that have done so before, my previous link to another site has gone bad and rather than search for another I will try to provide my own, based upon the resources I own.]

   Anne was born in Ireland, an illegitimate child of prominent lawyer, William Cormac, and the family maid, Peg Brennan (my best guess at the year of birth is around 1700-1705, marriable age was around 13-14, if the marriage to Bonny lasted 1-3 years and time with Rackham at about the same that would have made her somewhere between 15-20 at the time of the trial).  Her father fled the scandal surrounding the birth taking mother and child with him to Charleston, South Carolina.  Although the father prospered as a merchant in the colonies, he and the mother appear to have been somewhat less successful as parents.  Anne was troublesome, headstrong and ill-tempered.  While many of the stories were exaggerated, they include a stabbing incident with a servant girl and the sound thrashing of a would be rapist.

   Anne eventually married the unsuccessful James Bonny.  The marriage faired poorly as James, taking his wife to the pirate haven of New Providence, had a hard time supporting his wife.  He eventually turned informer for the new governor, Woodes Rogers, further alienating his headstrong wife.  Disillusioned with her husband, Anne transferred her affections to the peacock like figure of Calico Jack Rackham.  Rackham returned Anne's affections by lavishing her with gifts.  When James Bonny refused Rackham's offer to buy Anne, the couple snuck aboard a merchant sloop with a handful of Rackham's old pirate buddies and took over the ship.  Thus began Anne's pirate career.

   While Calico Jack looked the part of the dashing pirate, his career was somewhat lackluster, at least after taking up with Anne.  The prizes taken seem to have been mostly coastal traders and fishing boats.  Mary Read seems to have joined the pirates when a Dutch trader she was serving on was taken by the pirates.  At some point during Anne's sojourn with Calico Jack she is said to have gotten pregnant and have been set ashore in Cuba to deliver the baby.  She was later picked up and carried on with Rackham as before.

   In late October, 1720, off the coast of Jamaica, a British Navy sloop, commanded by a Captain Barnet, came across Rackham's anchored ship.  With most of the crew drunk the only resistance the pirates put up was offered by Anne and Mary.  Realizing that the fight was lost the women turned on their less than courageous crewmates, killing one and wounding others, screaming at them to 'fight like men'.  Anne and the others of the pirate crew were captured and put on trial for piracy.  All were sentenced to death, but Anne and Mary escaped the noose by pleading their bellies (no English court would kill an unborn child).

   Anne seems to have disappeared from the world's stage at this point, there is some conjecture that her wealthy father bought her release after the birth of the child.

   [What follows was submitted to me by a visitor to my site in September of 2000.  I cannot verify any of the information, but it has a certain ring of at least 'the possible' to it. It may just be the epilog to Anne's story.  Thank you TJ]

   Anne's child, born five months after the trial, on April 21, 1721, was named John Cormac Bonny.  John Rackham seems to have been listed as the illegitimate child's father.  After the child's birth the mother and child return to Virginia via South Carolina.  There are some records that imply that she married a Joseph Burleigh at this time, 1721.  It is guessed that this marriage was arranged by Anne's father to get her started upon a clean slate when she returned (one can only imagine the dowry required to get a man to marry a woman reputed to be such a wildcat).  The Anne thus recorded gave birth to eight more children with her husband, three of whom died young.  This Anne is said to have died on April 25, 1782 (which would have put her age at somewhere around 70-80) and was buried in a place called Sweethaven (possibly in York County, Virginia).

http://pirateshold.buccaneersoft.com/roster/anne_bonny.html

[Bart]

THE LIFE AND EXPLOITS OF ANNE BONNEY

   This female pirate was a native of Cork. Her father was an attorney, and, by his activity in business, rose to considerable respectability in that place. Anne was the fruit of an unlawful connexion with his own servant maid, with whom he afterwards eloped to America, leaving his own affectionate and lawful wife. He settled at Carolina, and for some time followed his own profession; but soon commenced merchant, and was so successful as to purchase a considerable plantation. There he lived with his servant in the character of his wife; but she dying, his daughter Anne superintended the domestic affairs of her father.

   During her residence with her parent she was supposed to have a considerable fortune, and was accordingly addressed by young men of respectable situations in life. It happened with Anne, however, as with many others of her youth and sex, that her feelings, and not her interest, determined her choice of a husband. She married a young sailor without a shilling.

   The avaricious father was so enraged, that, deaf to the feelings of a parent, he turned his own child out of doors. Upon this cruel usage, and the disappointment of her fortune, Anne and her husband sailed for the island of Providence, in the hope of gaining employment.

   Acting a part very different from that of Mary Read, Anne's affections were soon estranged from her husband by Captain Rackam; and eloping with him, she went to sea in men's clothes. Proving with child, the captain put her on shore, and entrusted her to the care of some friends until her recovery, when she again accompanied him in his expeditions.

   Upon the king's proclamation offering a pardon to all pirates, he surrendered, and went into the privateering business, as we have related before: he, however, soon embraced an opportunity to return to his favorite employment. In all his piratical exploits Anne accompanied him; and, as we have already recorded, displayed such courage and intrepidity, that she, along with Mary Read and a seaman, were the last three who remained on board when the vessel was taken.

   Anne was known to many of the planters in Jamaica, who remembered to have seen her in her father's house, and they were disposed to intercede in her behalf. Her unprincipled conduct, in leaving her own husband and forming an illicit connexion with Rackam, tended, however, to render her friends less active. By a special favor, Rackam was permitted to visit her the day before he was executed; but, instead of condoling with him on account of his sad fate, she only observed, that she was sorry to see him there, but if he had fought like a man he needed not have been hanged like a dog.

   Being with child, she remained in prison until her recovery, was reprieved from time to time, and though we cannot communicate to our readers any particulars of her future life, or the manner of her death, yet it is certain that she was not executed.