Anne Cormac
was born the illegitimate daughter of an Irish lawyer in County Cork, Ireland
on March 8, 1700. Anne's mother was reportedly a maid in the Cormac
house. Mr. Cormac fled the subsequent scandal with the maid and Anne and
found refuge in the Carolinas. At sixteen, Anne was married to James
Bonny and disowned by her father. James Bonny was a pirate before
he took Anne to New Providence and became stoolpigeon to Governor Woodes
Rogers, betraying many of his fellow pirates.
Anne
tired of her husband and quickly caught the eye of John Rackham (a.k.a.
Calico Jack). Rackham was in New Providence with the intent of receiving
a pardon, but soon he tired of law-abiding life and returned to the sea
with Anne Bonny in a stolen sloop, the William.
A few years
after the beginning of her pirate career, Anne Bonny found out that she
was pregnant. Rackham insisted that the baby be left with a Cuban
family to be raised, and Anne agreed. The two lovers sailed on to
the Carolinas, where the governor was known to be friendly to pirates.
In the Carolinas, they picked up a new young crewmember. Rackham
was jealous of the time Bonny spent with this new man, but he was soon
reassured when it was revealed that the new man was actually a woman, Mary
Read. Bonny and Read fought together in men's clothing alongside
Rackham and the rest of the crew.
Reportedly, Anne became pregnant again and Rackham steered the ship back toward Cuba. On the way, near the western tip of Jamaica, Captain Barnet, a pirate hunter, surprised them. The crew cut the anchor rope and tried to escape, but they were overcome and Barnet and his crew boarded the ship. Read and Bonny were the only ones to put up any resistance; the men were drunk from the celebration of a successful looting. The women were defeated and the whole crew was taken to Port Royal to stand trial. |
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