Drink up me ‘earties, yo ho. But can ye tell if that scallywag be a he or a she? A pirate who could pillage and plunder with the best, could rifle and loot, kidnap and hijack. With all the pirately talents beheld by this one, the greatest talent of all may have been keeping the secret of their own gender. Mary Read, one of the most infamous female pirates began dressing as a male at an early age. She was an English daughter, her mother was widowed by a sea captain, she had a brother but he passed away. In order to still receive the money that Mary’s paternal grandmother gave to her brother, Mary’s mother dressed her as a boy to deceive the aged grandmother. Mary became fond of dressing as male and continued to do so. She became known as Mark Read and lived as a teenage boy, a footboy, a British soldier, a privateer and a pirate! There were many more opportunities for those who were male. While in the military and during her time in the war, Mary fell in love with a Flemish soldier and revealed her true gender. They married, she left the military and for the first time in many years she started dressing as a female. For a very short time, until his death, they owned an inn named “The Three Horseshoes”. Mary returned to military life after his death and headed to the West Indies. A painting by Ambroise-Louis Garneray (1783–1857) depicting the robbing of a ship Dressing as a male once again, her ship reached the Caribbean and was taken by pirates. She was forced to join them and after a short time of being with them she took the King’s pardon c. 1718-1719 and became a privateer. Shortly thereafter, she joined the mutiny and met pirate captain John “Calico Jack” Rackham and his companion Anne Bonny. During this time it is estimated that there were at least 2,000 pirates operating off the North American coast and that the isolated shallow sounds of North Carolina were very attractive to pirates. Mary and Anne quickly became friends. Anne thought Mary to be a man and was attracted to him. Upon discovering this, Mary revealed her true gender. Calico Jack grew jealous of their closeness, knowing only that this person was Mark and not Mary, to ease tensions they soon revealed her true gender to him as well. Mary Read reveals her true gender to Calico Jack to calm his jealousy over time spent with his beloved Anne Bonny. Mary could hold her own and was a very good fighter. She once picked a fight which ended in a duel that she won, because she had caught wind that the man she was involved with had been challenged to a duel that she knew he could not win. She made sure to fight with him first before the fight with her betrothed was to take place and killed her opponent, thus saving the life of her love interest. The Jolly Roger flag During the “Golden Age of Piracy” Mary Read and Anne Bonny had reputations as “fierce hell cats” who had violent tempers, were ruthless and were bloodthirsty. And old Calico Jack? Well, he was a well-known pirate for his love of colorful cotton clothing and for flying the skull and cross bones Jolly Roger Flag, but he’s primarily known because he had two infamous pirate women on his crew. Their pirating lifestyle came to a halt in October 1720 when anchored off Point Negril Jamaica. The crew had celebrated hard and were in a drunken state when a British Navy Sloop surprised them. Would you believe that the drunken male pirates scurried below deck, leaving Mary and Anne to defend their ship? The women were eventually overwhelmed, the crew captured and taken to Jamaica to stand trial. Captain Jack and the male crew members were sentenced to hang. Calico Jack was allowed to see his lover Anne before his execution. Instead of loving words, she scolded, “Had you fought like a man, you need not have been hang’d like a dog.” The women were tried one week after their captain’s death and were found guilty. When asked by the judge if they had anything to say, the women replied, “Mi’lord, we plead our bellies.” Upon examination, both were pregnant and British law forbade killing an unborn child. Their sentences were temporarily stayed. It is said that Mary Read died of a violent fever in the Spanish Town prison in 1721, before the birth of her child. But did she? Some say she feigned death and was able to be sneaked out under a shroud. If you’d like to learn more about the pirates of North Carolina, be sure to visit the Museum of the Albemarle’s Maritime Era exhibit. Liza Franco is a blogger and photographer, linking stories with photos to give the reader a complete vision. Her work includes, lifestyle, commercial, fine art, portraiture photography and photo restoration. See more of her work at Liza Franco Photography & Graphic Design.
Drink up me ‘earties, yo ho. But can ye tell if that scallywag be a he or a she? A pirate who could pillage and plunder with the best, could rifle and loot, kidnap and highjack. With all the pirately talents beheld by this one, the greatest talent of all may have been keeping the secret of their own gender.
