Black Sails of the "Lady of the Seas" Anne Bonnie: The Adventures of the Famous Pirate

There are women who love adventure and freedom more than home comfort. The life of the legendary robber Anne Bonnie is like an adventure novel. What is truth in it and what is fiction cannot be distinguished. Moreover, we know about it from the book "The General History of Pirates" by Captain Charles Johnson, published in 1724. Many scholars have suggested that the author’s name is a pseudonym for Daniel Defoe, the author of Robinson Crusoe.

The famous pirate and privateer was born in a small town near Cork in Ireland, most likely in 1700 as a result of a romance between a married English lawyer and his maid.

Frightened by gossip and the scandal with his legal wife, the lawyer was forced to take little Ann and her mother to America. My father settled in Charleston and at first worked as a lawyer, and then went into trade.

Johnson reports that young Anne was energetic and tough. The girl not only could, but also loved to fight. Once she strongly beat the young man for forcing him to lie against her will.

Father’s affairs went well and the family dreamed that Ann would marry successfully, have children, everything would be like in the best families. But instead, at the age of 16, a hooligan jumped out to marry against the will of her father for a beggar sailor named James Bonnie. Father deprived her of his inheritance and drove both out of the house.

The newlyweds left for New Providence, where the husband Ann earned piracy. Around 1718 or 1719, in one of the pubs, she saw the legendary pirate Jack Rackham (approx. - they also use the spelling Rackham), which was recently transferred to the crew of a pirate ship from the ruthless captain Charles Wayne. Anne fell in love with him and became pregnant. Then, having given birth to a child in Cuba, she resumed a pirate life, but already as a friend of Rackham.

The girl became a great pirate. She dressed like a man, fought, drank, won a bet - in short, in no way inferior to men.
Jack and Ann assembled a team and on the ship "William" robbed merchant ships in the bay of Nassau. A little later they were joined by another brave corsair Mark Reed. As it turned out later, a lady was also hiding under this name. Her name was Mary.

The sailors from the captured ships later reported that it was two women - Anne Bonnie and Mary Reid - who called on their crew members for active massacre and robbery. Some of these sailors testified against them in court. By October 1720, Jack Rackham, Anne Bonnie, Mary Reid, and their crew controlled almost the entire Caribbean.

In desperation, Governor Woods Rogers hired other pirates and adventurers to hunt for them and capture the ship for a serious reward. The heavily armed sloop, owned by Captain Jonathan Barnett, caught up with Rackham's ship and struck at the moment when the ship was in full swing. A few cannon shots resolved the matter. Even when the ship was boarded, the brave pirates continued to fight, reproaching drunken comrades for cowardice.

The trial of Rackham and his friends caused a sensation. Jack and other male pirates were quickly convicted: on November 17, 1720 he was hanged with four other comrades at Gallous Point in Port Royal.

On the eve of his execution, Anne was allowed to see him. In parting, she told him: "It pains me to see you here, you fought like a man and should not hang like a dog."

The ladies were also found guilty on November 28 and sentenced to hang. But at the last moment they announced that they were pregnant. That turned out to be true. The execution was postponed. Six months later, Mary died in prison. What happened to Ann Bonnie is unknown.

The book about robbers was first published in 1724. It all ends with the fact that the woman received a reprieve. As the author noted, we are certain that she was not executed. So what happened to Ann Bonnie? Historians have expressed several versions of her subsequent fate. But most are inclined to the fact that she reconciled with her rich father, returned to Charleston, entered into a new marriage, gave birth to several children and lived a decent life up to 80 years.

Watch the video: Black Sails OST - Theme from Black Sails (April 2024).