Anne Bonny

At a Glance

• Born: 1700
• Died: 1782
• Active period: 1700-1782

An Irish-American woman pirate born to a wealthy family and disowned when she married a small-time pirate, James Bonny, at 16. Anne left James for the pirate John “Calico Jack” Rackham and posed as a man to join his crew. Anne never commanded a ship but is famous for being one of few female pirates. She and Mary Read both “pleaded the belly” (feigned pregnancy) to escape execution. She may have been rescued by her father and remarried, living as a respectable woman to an old age.