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Anne Bonny (1700–1782, exact dates uncertain) was an Irish pirate and privateer who fought under the command of "Calico Jack" Rackham between 1718 and 1720. Together with fellow female pirate Mary Read, she was one of Rackham's more formidable pirates, fighting, cursing, and drinking with the best of them. She was captured along with the rest of Rackham's crew in 1720 and sentenced to death, although her sentence was commuted because she was pregnant. She has been the inspiration for countless stories, books, movies, songs, and other works.

Fast Facts: Anne Bonny

Known For :For two years she was a pirate under Jack Rackham, and as a rare female pirate, she was the subject of many stories and songs and was the inspiration for generations of young women

Born: About 1700 near Cork, Ireland

Piracy Career: 1718–1720, when she was captured and sentenced to hang

Died: Date and place unknown

Spouse(s): James Bonny

Early Years

Most of what is known about Anne Bonny's early life comes from Captain Charles Johnson's "A General History of the Pyrates" which dates to 1724. Johnson (most, but not all, historians believe that Johnson was actually Daniel Defoe, author of Robinson Crusoe) provides some details of Bonny's early life but did not list his sources and his information has proven impossible to verify. According to Johnson, Bonny was born near Cork, Ireland probably sometime around 1700, the result of an affair between a married English lawyer and his maid. The unnamed lawyer was eventually forced to bring Anne and her mother to America to escape the gossip.

A Life of Piracy

Anne proved to be an excellent pirate. She dressed like a man, while she fought, drank, and swore like one too. Captured sailors reported that after their vessels were taken by the pirates, it was the two women—Bonny and Mary Read, the latter who had joined the crew by then—who urged their crewmates on to greater acts of bloodshed and violence. Some of these sailors testified against her at her trial.

According to legend, Bonny (dressed as a man) felt a strong attraction to Mary Read (who was also dressed as a man) and revealed herself as a woman in hopes of seducing Read. Read then confessed that she was a woman, too. The reality may have been that Bonny and Read most likely met in Nassau as they were preparing to ship out with Rackham. They were very close, perhaps even lovers. They would wear women's clothes on board but change into men's clothes when a fight was in store.