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All information taken from Wikipedia
Anne Bonny (possibly 1697 – possibly April 1782) was an Irish pirate operating in the Caribbean, and one of the most famous female pirates of all time. The little that is known of her life comes largely from Captain Charles Johnson's A General History of the Pyrates.
Early Life
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 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". Although captured alongside Rackham and Read in October 1720, what happened to Bonny next is unknown. Some claim she died in prison, while others say she escaped or was released. Her time and place of death is also a mystery, although some historians trace it to South Carolina in 1782.
Bonny's birthdate is speculated to be around 1700. She was said to be born in Old Head of Kinsale, in County Cork, Ireland. She was the daughter of servant woman Mary Brennan and Brennan's employer, lawyer William Cormac. Official records and contemporary letters dealing with her life are scarce, and most modern knowledge stems from Charles Johnson's A General History of the Pyrates (a collection of pirate biographies, the first edition accurate, the second much embellished)
Bonny's father William Cormac first moved to London to get away from his wife's family, and he began dressing his daughter 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 Province of Carolina, taking along his former serving girl, the mother of Bonny. Bonny's father abandoned the original "Mc" prefix of their family name to blend more easily into the Charles Town citizenry. At first, the family had a rough start in their new home, but Cormac's knowledge of law and ability to buy and sell goods soon financed a townhouse and eventually a plantation just out of town. Bonny's mother died when she was 12. Her father attempted to establish himself as an attorney but did not do well. Eventually, he joined the more profitable merchant business and accumulated a substantial 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.
Rackham's partner
While in the Bahamas, Bonny began mingling with pirates in the local taverns. She met John "Calico Jack" Rackham, and Rackham became her lover. Rackham offered Bonny's husband, James Bonny, money in exchange for her with the purpose of divorce, but her husband refused. Anne and Rackham escaped the island together, and Bonny became a member of Rackham's crew. She disguised herself as a man on the ship, and only Rackham and eventually Mary Read were privy to her true sex. When it became clear that Anne was with child, Rackham landed her on the island of Cuba, and there she had a son. Many different theories state that he was left with his family or simply abandoned. Bonny rejoined Rackham and continued the pirate life, having divorced her husband and married Rackham while at sea. Bonny, Rackham, and Read stole the ship William, then at anchor in Nassau harbour, 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.
