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Who Is Anne Bonny?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nEven if they\u2019re women, pirates aren\u2019t known as upstanding citizens. So it\u2019s no surprise that there are no definite records of their existence. Historians believe Anne was born in the late 1690s<\/a> in Ireland. <\/p>\n\n\n\nReports reveal that Anne was the illegitimate daughter of lawyer William Cormac and house servant Mary Brennan. While Cormac\u2019s wife got sick and had to be cared for in her mother\u2019s house, Cormac and Brennan started an affair. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The infidelity was later discovered and Cormac separated from his wife. He then started living with Brennan and Anne as a family. Cormac presented Anne as his legitimate daughter but society didn\u2019t readily accept her. Cormac lost clients because of the affair. He then took his illegitimate family to Charles Towne (now Charleston), South Carolina. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unfortunately, Anne\u2019s mother died when her daughter was barely in her teens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Romantic Liaisons<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nIt was customary for fathers to give away their daughters\u2019 hand in marriage. In the olden days, fathers were also responsible for choosing their daughters\u2019 husbands, not just giving their blessing for the engagement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cormac betrothed Anne to a man from South Carolina when she was of age. But Anne was anything but conventional and she said no. She was considered a good catch because Cormac had properties. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead, Anne married a small-time sailor and pirate named James Bonny<\/a> (John Bonny in some records) sometime between 1714 and 1718. James thought he would have control over Cormac\u2019s estate but Anne had been disowned. Cormac didn\u2019t approve of a small-time pirate marrying his daughter, illegitimate or not. <\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Bonnys moved to Nassau on New Providence Island in the Bahamas. The area is known as a sanctuary for English pirates and was often called the Republic of Pirates<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\nHowever, the adventure Anne thought she\u2019d have with James didn\u2019t materialize. James had become an informant for Woodes Rogers<\/a>, a privateer and sea captain who became the first governor of the Bahamas. <\/p>\n\n\n\nAnne didn\u2019t like the fact that James became a snitch for his fellow pirates and she hated Rogers with a passion. It was then that Anne found comfort in John \u201cCalico Jack\u201d Rackham, one of the most famous pirates during the Golden Age of Piracy<\/a> (1620-1726). He was also credited for creating the common pirate flag that consisted of a skull and crossbones on a black cloth. <\/p>\n\n\n\nAnne and Rackham became lovers. In 1720, the informant\u2019s wife became Calico Jack\u2019s lover and a pirate in her own right. Rackham offered to pay James to divorce Anne, a practice that was quite common at that time. But James refused. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
That didn\u2019t stop Anne from having adventures with Rackham and his crew on the stolen sloop called William. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Adventures of Anne Bonny, the Pirate<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nIt was unusual for Anne to be on the ship as it was considered bad luck to have women onboard. It didn\u2019t help that Anne joined not long after Rackham\u2019s piracy ended. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was a common superstition around that time that the sea gods would get angry<\/a> when a woman was onboard a boat. The gods would cause violent storms and strong winds to spite vessels that carried women. <\/p>\n\n\n\nFor those who are more logically inclined, the presence of a woman<\/a> in an all-male boat would be a distraction. It could also be dangerous for the lone woman.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\nBut Rackham wasn\u2019t worried about Anne because the crew heard stories of Anne beating an attempted rapist so badly that he ended up in the hospital. Rackham thought Anne could hold her own with the crew. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reports reveal that Anne was the illegitimate daughter of lawyer William Cormac and house servant Mary Brennan. While Cormac\u2019s wife got sick and had to be cared for in her mother\u2019s house, Cormac and Brennan started an affair. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The infidelity was later discovered and Cormac separated from his wife. He then started living with Brennan and Anne as a family. Cormac presented Anne as his legitimate daughter but society didn\u2019t readily accept her. Cormac lost clients because of the affair. He then took his illegitimate family to Charles Towne (now Charleston), South Carolina. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unfortunately, Anne\u2019s mother died when her daughter was barely in her teens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Romantic Liaisons<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nIt was customary for fathers to give away their daughters\u2019 hand in marriage. In the olden days, fathers were also responsible for choosing their daughters\u2019 husbands, not just giving their blessing for the engagement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cormac betrothed Anne to a man from South Carolina when she was of age. But Anne was anything but conventional and she said no. She was considered a good catch because Cormac had properties. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead, Anne married a small-time sailor and pirate named James Bonny<\/a> (John Bonny in some records) sometime between 1714 and 1718. James thought he would have control over Cormac\u2019s estate but Anne had been disowned. Cormac didn\u2019t approve of a small-time pirate marrying his daughter, illegitimate or not. <\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Bonnys moved to Nassau on New Providence Island in the Bahamas. The area is known as a sanctuary for English pirates and was often called the Republic of Pirates<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\nHowever, the adventure Anne thought she\u2019d have with James didn\u2019t materialize. James had become an informant for Woodes Rogers<\/a>, a privateer and sea captain who became the first governor of the Bahamas. <\/p>\n\n\n\nAnne didn\u2019t like the fact that James became a snitch for his fellow pirates and she hated Rogers with a passion. It was then that Anne found comfort in John \u201cCalico Jack\u201d Rackham, one of the most famous pirates during the Golden Age of Piracy<\/a> (1620-1726). He was also credited for creating the common pirate flag that consisted of a skull and crossbones on a black cloth. <\/p>\n\n\n\nAnne and Rackham became lovers. In 1720, the informant\u2019s wife became Calico Jack\u2019s lover and a pirate in her own right. Rackham offered to pay James to divorce Anne, a practice that was quite common at that time. But James refused. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
That didn\u2019t stop Anne from having adventures with Rackham and his crew on the stolen sloop called William. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Adventures of Anne Bonny, the Pirate<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nIt was unusual for Anne to be on the ship as it was considered bad luck to have women onboard. It didn\u2019t help that Anne joined not long after Rackham\u2019s piracy ended. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was a common superstition around that time that the sea gods would get angry<\/a> when a woman was onboard a boat. The gods would cause violent storms and strong winds to spite vessels that carried women. <\/p>\n\n\n\nFor those who are more logically inclined, the presence of a woman<\/a> in an all-male boat would be a distraction. It could also be dangerous for the lone woman.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\nBut Rackham wasn\u2019t worried about Anne because the crew heard stories of Anne beating an attempted rapist so badly that he ended up in the hospital. Rackham thought Anne could hold her own with the crew. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Bonnys moved to Nassau on New Providence Island in the Bahamas. The area is known as a sanctuary for English pirates and was often called the Republic of Pirates<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, the adventure Anne thought she\u2019d have with James didn\u2019t materialize. James had become an informant for Woodes Rogers<\/a>, a privateer and sea captain who became the first governor of the Bahamas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Anne didn\u2019t like the fact that James became a snitch for his fellow pirates and she hated Rogers with a passion. It was then that Anne found comfort in John \u201cCalico Jack\u201d Rackham, one of the most famous pirates during the Golden Age of Piracy<\/a> (1620-1726). He was also credited for creating the common pirate flag that consisted of a skull and crossbones on a black cloth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Anne and Rackham became lovers. In 1720, the informant\u2019s wife became Calico Jack\u2019s lover and a pirate in her own right. Rackham offered to pay James to divorce Anne, a practice that was quite common at that time. But James refused. <\/p>\n\n\n\n That didn\u2019t stop Anne from having adventures with Rackham and his crew on the stolen sloop called William. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It was unusual for Anne to be on the ship as it was considered bad luck to have women onboard. It didn\u2019t help that Anne joined not long after Rackham\u2019s piracy ended. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It was a common superstition around that time that the sea gods would get angry<\/a> when a woman was onboard a boat. The gods would cause violent storms and strong winds to spite vessels that carried women. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For those who are more logically inclined, the presence of a woman<\/a> in an all-male boat would be a distraction. It could also be dangerous for the lone woman.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n But Rackham wasn\u2019t worried about Anne because the crew heard stories of Anne beating an attempted rapist so badly that he ended up in the hospital. Rackham thought Anne could hold her own with the crew. <\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Adventures of Anne Bonny, the Pirate<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.historydefined.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/General_History_of_the_Pyrates_-_Ann_Bonny_and_Mary_Read_coloured.jpg\")