I therefore ordered the said Soanes to cruise five days to the East part of that Island between the latitude of sixteen and eighteen who is now returned but as I understand went only a little to the South East of that Island and so came down again not without some reflections on his being sent to cruise etc. Refers to enclosure, whereby he peremptorily resolves to leave this station, by which I shall be left without a man of war and if any pirates are or should continue among these Islands, it will not only prevent my going from Island to Island as H.M. service will require me, but very dangerous to the ships trading to and from these Islands.”
As a result of this and similar complaints from other governors, King George I issued the following proclamation in the summer of 1717:
“Whereas we have received information, that several persons, subjects of great Britain, have, since the twenty fourth day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand, seven hundred and fifteen, committed diverse piracies and robberies upon the high seas in the West Indies, or adjoining to our plantations, which have, and may occasion, great damage to the merchants of Great Britain and others, trading into those parts; and though we have appointed such a force as we judge sufficient for suppressing the said piracies: yet the more effectually to put an end to the same, we have thought fit, by and with the advice of our privy council, to issue this our royal proclamation; and we do hereby promise and declare, that in case any of the said pirates shall, on or before the fifth day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand, seven hundred and eighteen, surrender him or themselves to one of our principal secretaries of state in Great Britain or Ireland, or to any governor or deputy governor of any of our plantations or dominions beyond the seas, every such pirate and pirates, so surrendering him or themselves, as aforesaid, shall have our gracious pardon of and for such his or their piracy or piracies, by him or them.”
George I
Among those who took advantage of the king’s offer of clemency was James Bonny, who promised to give up his pirating ways and walk a straight and narrow path. In return, the Crown and its representatives agreed not to prosecute him for any past crimes he was known or discovered to be associated with. This was common practice among many pirates at that time, especially the small time ones like Bonny.
Bonny, however, took it one step further. In the summer of 1718, he offered his services to the new governor, Woodes Rogers, as an informant. It is hard to say why he chose to do this, but the most likely answer, of course, is money. Bonny had never enjoyed hard work very much, and now that he had a wife to support, he had to find some way to earn a living.
On the other hand, there may have been another, more pressing reason why he wanted to get into the new governor’s good graces. Anne was pregnant, and James had reason to believe that the birth of his first grandchild might soften old William Cormac’s heart toward the young couple. In order to precipitate this, James needed to show that he had changed and was ready to be a responsible husband and father. He may have hoped that, by becoming a friend of the governor, he could persuade him to put in a good word for him with his father-in-law.
Chapter 4: Mary Read Becomes a Pirate
Upon heading west, it wouldn’t take long for Mary to determine her new line of work. On her voyage across the Atlantic, her ship was captured by an unknown pirate ship sometime before they reached their island destination. Because Mary was the only English speaking sailor aboard that particular ship, the captain of the ship, thinking she was a man, offered her the opportunity to join his crew and become a pirate herself. Seeing the plunder that the men were taking for themselves, and the ease with which they took the ship, Mary took him up on this offer.
Mary likely traveled to the West Indies just as piracy was becoming rampant there, and it seems for the next few years she lived the life of a pirate. However, by the time she had gotten acclimated to it, Britain had become tired of dealing with pirate rogues. The amount of trade with the Americas was increasing every day, and the threat of piracy made it difficult for merchants to be sure of a return on their investment. Most of all, stolen treasure was non-taxable treasure, and the British government was tired of losing money to a band of renegades.
When the first clemency offer was made by the Crown, the pirate crew with whom Mary had been serving decided to surrender themselves and try living within the law for a change. For her part, Mary went to work back on shore, though it is unclear whether she did so as a man or woman. However, before long a new sailing opportunity presented itself. The following January, the king issued another proclamation that caught the attention of many of those sailing the West Indies: the big money was no longer in being a pirate, but now in hunting them.
“And we do hereby strictly charge and command all our admirals, captains, and other officers at sea, and all our governors and commanders of any forts, castles, or other places in our plantations, and all other our officers civil and military, to seize and take such of the pirates who shall refuse or neglect to surrender themselves accordingly. And we do hereby further declare, that in case any person or persons, on or after the sixth day of September, one thousand, seven hundred and eighteen, shall discover or seize, or cause or procure to be discovered or seized, any one or more of the said pirates, so neglecting or refusing to surrender themselves, as aforesaid, so as they may be brought to justice, and convicted of the said offense, such person or persons, so making such discovery or seizure, or causing or procuring such discovery or seizure to be made, shall have and receive as a reward for the same, viz. For every commander of any pirate-ship or vessel, the sum of one hundred pounds; for every lieutenant, master, boatswain, carpenter, and gunner, the sum of forty pounds; for every inferior officer the sum of thirty pounds; and for every private man the sum of twenty pounds. And if any person or persons, belonging to, and being part of the crew of any such pirate ship or vessel, shall, on or after the said sixth day of September, one thousand, seven hundred and eighteen, seize and deliver, or cause to be seized or delivered, any commander or commanders of such pirate ship or vessel, so as that he or they be brought to justice, and convicted of the said offence, such person or persons, as a reward for the same, shall receive for every such commander the sum of two hundred pounds; which said sums the lord treasurer, or the commissioners of our Treasury for the time being, are hereby required and directed To pay accordingly.”
Word soon reached the New World that Captain Woodes Rogers, then Governor of Providence Island in the West Indies, was putting together a crew to fight the Spanish, and also possibly hunt down and capture pirates. For a time, Mary Read the former pirate became Mary Read the privateer hunting other pirates, presumably just like Anne’s husband James Bonny.
However, Mary was not the only former pirate in the crew, and, growing weary of working under someone else’s orders, the men soon began to plan a mutiny. Mary decided to join them and once more found herself engaging in piracy. Mary would later insist that she had never intended to be a pirate but had simply fell into the life by accident, and that she only turned to the life after she was captured and forced to serve aboard a pirate ship. She further claimed that it was always her intention to abandon piracy as soon as she could. While all of that may have been possible, those statements were made during her trial, when she was fighting for her life. Naturally, her trial was hardly the time to say that she had always wanted to be a pirate and could hardly wait to go back to it.
Despite the attempts of Rogers and other privateers, there was not enough success in 1718 to satisfy the Crown. Near the end of that year, on December 21, 1718, King George I issued yet another proclamation, this time reviewing his past offers of pardons and reiterating the bounty on the heads of the remaining pirates:
“Whereas we did think fit, by and with the advice of our privy council, to issue our royal proclamation, bearing date the fifth day of September, one thousand, seven hundred and seventeen, in the fourth year of our reign, therein taking notice, that we had received information, that severa
l persons, subjects of Great Britain, had, since the four and twentieth day of June, in the year of our lord one thousand, seven hundred and fifteen, committed divers piracies and robberies upon the high seas in the West Indies, or adjoining to our plantations, which had and might occasion great damage to the merchants of Great Britain, and others, trading into those parts: and we did thereby promise and declare, that in case any the said pirates should, on or before the fifth day of September, one thousand, seven hundred and eighteen, surrender him or themselves in manner as therein is directed, every such pirate and pirates, so surrendering him or themselves, as aforesaid, should have our gracious pardon of and for such his or their piracy or piracies, by him or them committed before the fifth day of January then next ensuing: and whereas several of the said pirates, not having had timely notice of our said proclamation, may not have surrendered themselves within the time therein appointed, and by reason thereof are incapable of receiving the benefit of our royal mercy and clemency intended thereby: and though we have appointed such a force, as we judge sufficient for suppressing the said piracies, yet the more effectually to put an end to the same, we have thought fit, by and with the advice of our privy-council, to issue this our royal proclamation; and we do hereby promise and declare, that in case any the said pirates shall, on or before the first day of July, in the year of our lord one thousand, seven hundred and nineteen, surrender him or themselves to one of our principal secretaries of state in Great Britain or Ireland, or to any governor or deputy- governor of any of our plantations or dominions beyond the seas, every such pirate and pirates, so surrendering him or themselves, as aforesaid, shall have our gracious pardon of and for such his or their piracy or piracies, by him or them committed before such time as they shall have received notice of this our royal proclamation; which pardon or pardons we have authorized and commanded our respective governors to grant accordingly. And we do hereby strictly charge and command all our admirals, captains, and other officers at sea, and all our governors and commanders of any forts, castles, or other places in our plantations, and all others our officers civil and military, to seize and take such of the pirates, who shall refuse or neglect to surrender themselves accordingly. And we do hereby further declare, that in case any person or persons, on or after the first day of July, one thousand, seven hundred and nineteen, shall discover or seize, or cause or procure to be discovered or seized, any one or more of the said pirates, so neglecting or refusing to surrender themselves, as aforesaid, so as they may be brought to justice, and convicted of the said offence, such person or persons, so making such discovery or seizure, or causing or procuring such discovery or seizure to be made, shall have and receive as a reward for the same, (viz.) for every commander of any pirate-ship or vessel the sum of one hundred pounds; for every lieutenant, master, boatswain, carpenter, and gunner, the sum of forty pounds; for every inferior officer the sum of thirty pounds; and for every private man, the sum of twenty pounds; and if any person or persons, belonging to, and being part of the crew of any such pirate-ship or vessel, shall, on or after the said first day of July, one thousand, seven hundred and nineteen, seize and deliver, or cause to be seized and delivered, any commander or commanders of such pirate-ship or vessel, so as that he or they be brought to justice, and convicted of the said offence, such person or persons, as a reward for the same, shall receive for every such commander the sum of two hundred pounds; which said sums the lord treasurer, or the commissioners of our treasury for the time being, are hereby required and directed to pay accordingly.
Given at our court at St. James s, the twenty-first day of
December 1718. In the fifth year of our reign.
God save the king.”
Over the next few months, Read continued to serve aboard a pirate ship, and it is unclear what might have become of her if not for a legendary encounter with another pirate ship.
Chapter 5: Calico Jack
Her husband may have had plans for reuniting the family, but this was not what Anne had in mind for her future. Though she was pregnant, she was still young and pretty, and she soon became bored with her life as the wife of a poor seaman. She found herself missing the social life that her father’s home provided, but she was also too proud, so she went to the local pub for companionship instead.
Among the men she met at the pub was a Frenchman named Pierre, a gay man who was very popular with the ladies of the community and ran a small salon where they could meet and mingle without unwanted attention from men. While talking with Pierre at his establishment, Anne confessed that she was not happy in her marriage and felt she had made a poor decision. She also confided him something else to him: she had met Captain Jack Rackham. Known popularly as “Calico Jack,” he was a small time pirate who had previously been part of Charles Vane’s crew until leading a mutiny that left Vane adrift and made Calico Jack the captain of the pirate crew. Unlike Bonny, Calico Jack was still hoping to strike it big and had chosen to reject the clemency offer.
Little is known about Calico Jack’s looks or his demeanor, but there was something about him that attracted young Anne. However, there was the delicate matter of her child and her husband. With Pierre’s help, she found a place to live until she had her child, but as soon as she recovered from the birth, she left the boy with his father and took off to meet Rackham. Legend has it that Anne donned men’s clothes for the second time in her life when she sailed away with Calico Jack on his ship, the Revenge, toward a new life and adventure, but there is still some debate as to whether she actually disguised her identity on the pirate ship.
18th century woodcut depicting Calico Jack
In the early months of 1719, Anne, Calico Jack, and the rest of the crew sailed around the islands of the Bahamas, doing some minor pilfering and harassing local vessels, but after a few months Anne found herself pregnant again. When she shared the news with Rackham, he was not particularly pleased, since he enjoyed having her for a mistress but had no interest in being a father. Since she was not exactly the maternal type either, the two made a plan to deal with their unwanted pregnancy. When Anne became so big that her condition would render her unfit for piracy, Calico Jack took her to Cuba and arranged for her to stay with some friends of his until the child was born. Those friends then took their son from her and placed him for adoption, and it seems Anne and Calico Jack never saw their son again.
Once she had recovered from childbirth, Anne returned to the Revenge and her life as a pirate. By this time she had been divorced by her husband, who obviously cited abandonment for the grounds. It’s believed that Calico Jack offered to buy Anne in a "divorce by purchase," but she disallowed that arrangement herself. Either way, once she was divorced from Bonny, this left her free to marry Rackham, though there is no evidence that the two were ever legally wed. She did, however, remain at sea with him for the rest of his life.
Coincidentally, it was at about this time that the King issued a bounty for those who refused to turn themselves in, offering money to anyone who captured or killed a pirate and brought back proof. The largest bounty was placed on Blackbeard’s head, but a sizable bounty was also placed on the head of anybody else commanding a pirate ship. As a result of this bounty, hunting pirates suddenly became more lucrative than being one. For a while, Rackham and his crew tried their hands at privateering, hunting down their former fellow comrades and turning them in for ransom. However, this work did not last long, and they soon found themselves back at their old work, attacking ships and stealing their treasure.
During one of these voyages in 1719, Rackham came upon a moderately sized ship crewed by a bunch of men from the West Indies. After commandeering the ship, Calico Jack offered to let members of that boat join his crew, including an Englishman who he introduced to Anne. From the start Anne was fascinated by this new member of their crew, drawn to his delicately high pitched voice and clean shaven appearance. Whereas most of the men wore beards or at least mustaches, this new man always kept his face clean shaven. As time
went on, Anne found herself going out of her way to speak to him or work near him, and before long the two had become close friends.
For a time, Mary continued to keep her identity as a woman a secret from Anne, but as Anne continued to make sexual advances towards her, things were clearly complicated. Sensitive to the problems of being the new love of the captain’s mistress, Mary chose to confide her true sex to Anne. According to historical rumors, Anne did not lose her romantic interest in Mary when she found out she was a woman, and it is maintained by some that the two became lovers themselves, though initially keeping Mary’s gender and their relationship a secret from Rackham.
Eventually, Calico Jack noticed his romantic rival, who he still thought was a man. As Johnson noted, “[T]his Intimacy so disturb’d Captain Rackam, who was the Lover and Gallant of Anne Bonny, that he grew furiously jealous, so that he told Anne Bonny, he would cut her new Lover’s Throat…” After he had threatened to execute his rival, Anne, concerned about Mary’s safety, decided to admit to Calico Jack that the other pirate was actually a woman. In a manner best left to the imagination, Rackham confirmed that this was true, and welcomed Mary to his crew and later, some say, his bed. As Johnson put it, “Captain Rackam, (as he was enjoined,) kept the Thing a Secret from all the Ship’s Company, yet, notwithstanding all her Cunning and Reserve, Love found her out in this Disguise, and hinder’d her from forgetting her Sex.”
History’s Famous Women Pirates: Grace O’Malley, Anne Bonny and Mary Read Page 5
