Anne Bonny, was one of two famous female pirates of the Caribbean. She sailed on the crew of Calico Jack Rackham. And though Anne was Calico's lover, she was still as fearless as any other pirate. She was born in County Cork, daughter of an attorney and his maid. Her father left Ireland in disgrace but found fortune in the Carolinas. There, he amassed a fortune and bought a large plantation. A ne'er-do-well sailor named James Bonny married Anne in an attempt to steal the plantation but Anne's father disowned her instead. James Bonny then took Anne to the Bahamas where he became a lapdog to Woodes Rogers, turning in any sailor he didn't like as a pirate for a handsome reward.
Anne quickly grew to dislike her spineless husband and soon caught the eye of one Calico Jack, a pirate of some renown. The admiration between Anne and Calico was mutual. Calico Jack was a handsome man who knew how to spend money as well as steal it. Anne was a well endowed lass with a fiery spirit and temper that matched that of any man. In any event, Calico offered to buy Anne from James Bonny but Bonny instead took the matter up with Governor Rogers, who said that Anne was to be flogged and returned to her true husband. That night Calico Jack and Anne slipped into the harbor, stole a sloop and began a life of piracy together.
Anne fought in men's clothing, was an expert with pistol and cutlass and considered as dangerous as any male pirate. She was fearless in battle and often was a member of the boarding party. In October of 1720 retribution was close at hand. The Governor of Jamaica, hearing of Calico's presence sent an armed sloop to intervene and capture the Captain and crew. Calico's ship Revenge, was caught by surprise and much to Anne's dismay, the pirates fought like cowards and were taken, in her eyes, far too easily. Anne's words to Jack on the day he was to hang were, "I'm sorry to see ye here, but if ye'd fought like a man ye needn't hang like a dog." Anne pleaded pregnancy, delaying her trial until after the birth. Anne however, received several stays of execution before mysteriously vanishing from official records. It is believed that her father, who had contacts on the island, forgave his daughter for her acts and ransomed her back to the Carolinas where she assumed a new name and a new life.
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