Anne Bonny: Irish-American Pirate

http://www.thepirateking.com/bios/bonny_anne.htm

Anne Bonny is one of the few female pirates noted in history and she's known for being strong and independent, even as strong as the male pirates as stated on The Way of the Pirates website. She was born around the 1700s, according to several sources such as the Encyclopedia Britannica, her exact birth date is unknown. But, it is estimated she lived during the early 18th century. She is typically associated with another woman pirate, Mary Read, her partner in crime. Anne Bonny and Mary Read are described by Karen Abbott from Smithsonian.com as being "as renowned for their ruthlessness as for their gender" and she says that these women destroyed the myth that "a woman's presence on shipboard invited bad luck."

Bonny was born and raised in Kinsale, County Cork, Ireland according to most historians as the Way of the Pirates website states. The Encyclopedia Britannica explains that Bonny is said to be "the illegitimate daughter of Irish lawyer William Cormac and of a maid working in his household." It also says that upon the discovery of his affair, he and his wife divorced and Bonny was under the custody of her father. Her father and the maid moved to the United States, but at the age of 16, Bonny fell in love with the pirate, James Bonny, and she married him against her father's disapproval l as The Way of the Pirates explains. James Bonny struggled to support the two and he became an informant for the government, but as The Way of the Pirates states, Anne Bonny had become close with many of the pirates and it was her way of life now; she eventually fell for "Calico Jack" Jack Rackham, a captain pirate.

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As a pirate, Anne was a dominating force. As mentioned earlier, it was thought that women aboard a pirate ship was bad luck, so Calico Jack was ahead of his time in inviting her to join them. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, Bonny didn't hide that she was a woman from the pirates, but when they pillaged, she would dress as a man, similar to the Fau Mulan story. Anne was a powerful pirate as she had to take care of herself early on in life after losing her mother to illness. She was able to hold her own with the male pirates and was a major influence in their success. They terrorized the Caribbean and Anne became a force to be reckon with, one of the crew's most powerful pirates. However, their luck eventually ran out. The Encyclopedia Britannica says that when Calico Jack's pirate crew was finally caught, the men were tried and hung. However, Anne and her pal, Mary Read, were found to be pregnant and saved. 

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As detailed on The Irish Story website, until the late 1600s, Ireland was suffering from the aftermath of a famine and many of its citizens were poor. So, Anne Bonny is representative of the culture and values at the time because she was pillaging for money and food with other pirates as many Irish people were struggling to make ends meet at the time. Anne was strong and independent because in tough times, you can really only depend on yourself and need to count on yourself to make it. So, Anne is a representation of Irish values and survival modes for her time period. The fact that she was a female pirate, even when it was so unheard of for women to be aboard pirate voyages, demonstrates her strength and determination to fend for herself, like many Irish people had to do at that time because of economic circumstances. 

Anne Bonny is a character that still can resonate with individuals today. She is a strong and independent woman who was able to fight with the boys; this is certainly valued by women today. Anne Bonny left her husband for the man she truly loved, despite society's outlook on it. This is inspiring because it is often hard to leave a person we are in a relationship for a variety of factors. Although Anne Bonny was convicted of crimes, she is a character that many women can still connect to because she overcame many obstacles in her life to be a fierce leader in Calico Jack's pirate crew.

Sources:

Abbott, Karen. "If There's a Man Among Ye: The Tale of Pirate Queens Anne Bonny and Mary Read." Smithsonian.com Accessed October 29, 2017.

Dorney, John. "War and Famine in Ireland, 1580-1700." The Irish Story. http://www.theirishstory.com/2012/01/03/war-and-famine-in-ireland-1580-1700/. Accessed on October 29, 2017.

"Famous Pirate: Anne Bonny." The Way of the Pirates. http://www.thewayofthepirates.com/famous-pirates/anne-bonny/ Accessed October 30, 2017

Pallardy, Richard. "Anne Bonny: Irish American Pirate." Encyclopedia Britannica, 2015. Accessed October 30, 2017.