Despite the fact that males predominated the piracy industry, several women have had success in it. They were renowned for their ferocity, cunning, and harsh approach to dealing with their foes. They instilled terror even in strong empires. The top 10 female pirates in history are listed below.
10 of the Most Famous Female Pirates in History
1. Ching Shih
Ching Shih, a Chinese pirate who ruled the waterways of the Chinese Sea in the early 19th century, was sometimes referred to be the most terrifying lady pirate in history. She was once a prostitute who married the gang’s leader, Zheng Yi, after being taken prisoner by pirates in 1801.
After her husband passed away, she assumed command of the Red Flag Fleet and launched attacks against Chinese and British ships. Her fleet increased significantly from its initial size. In 1810, the Chinese government reached a détente with her. She ran a brothel for the remaining years till her death in 1844.
2. Anne Bonny
In the annals of female pirates, Anne Bonny is a name that should not be overlooked. She married James Bonny, a small-scale pirate, in 1718 and travelled to the Bahamas after being born the daughter of an Irish barrister. There, she split from her husband after falling in love with notorious pirate John “Calico Jack” Rackham.
She joined Calico Jack’s crew after they were married. She ruled the Caribbean Seas and captured several ships in collaboration with Mary Read, another notorious female pirate. In 1720, English soldiers seized Rackham and his crew, who were then killed. Due to their pregnancies, Anne and Mary were spared from the death penalty. We don’t know what happened to them after that.
3. Mary Read
Mary Read, who was the daughter of a sea captain, was Anne Bonny’s close friend. She was well-known for her ability to pass herself off as a man, and she spent her formative years living as her deceased half-brother Mark. She enlisted in the British Army and later married a Belgian soldier. She left for the Caribbean to become a sailor after his passing.
There, she was taken prisoner by pirates, who then made her a member of their crew. Later, she became friends with Anne Bonny and joined the crew of Calico Jack. Few individuals were aware that she was a woman. In 1720, Jack and the crew were taken prisoner by English soldiers. Although Read and Bonny managed to avoid being put to death, Read passed away from a fever the following year in custody.
4. Jeanne de Clisson
She was Olivier III de Clisson’s wife and the mother of five children; she was referred to as the Lioness of Brittany. After her husband was put to death for treachery, she turned into a pirate to get revenge on the French King Philip VI. She marketed every piece of real estate and invested in three battleships.
The English Channel was terrorised by Jeanne and her crew, who exclusively captured French ships and massacred the majority of their crew. In 1356, she stopped being a pirate. Later, she wed Sir Walter Bentley, an English lieutenant.
5. Sayyida al-Hurra
Sayyida al-Hurra was the monarch of the Moroccan city of Tetouan and a notorious Turkish pirate who sided with Barbarossa. Sayyida al-Hurra is actually a title for a noblewoman, and nobody knows what her genuine name is. She ruled the western portion of the Mediterranean Sea from 1515 until 1542.
She allegedly turned became a pirate in order to get revenge on the Christian tyrants. She then wed the Moroccan monarch, but her son-in-law finally overthrew her. History has erased what is left of her life.
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6. Rachel Wall
Rachel Wall, sometimes known as Rachel Schmidt, was born in 1760 and is regarded as the first American woman to become a pirate. She married George Wall, and together with a couple of her pals, they began the pirate trade. They used Isle of Shoals as a base, took many vessels as prize, and murdered about 25 men.
Rachel returned to Boston and worked as a servant and sporadic thief after her husband and crew perished in a maritime catastrophe. As the last woman to be hung in Massachusetts, she was there during a heist when she was apprehended and executed in 1789.
7. Jacquotte Delahaye
Jaqcuotte Delahaye, a pirate who was born in Haiti, lived in the 17th century. After her mother passed after giving birth to him, she decided to become a pirate to care for her mentally challenged brother. She once pretended to die in order to get away from the authorities and went by a guy.
A few years later, Jaqcuotte resumed active piracy, gaining the moniker “Back From the Dead Red,” and together with Anne Dieu-le-Veut, another well-known female pirate, ruled the Caribbean Sea. She lost her life while defending an island she had taken.
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8. Grace O’Malley
Grace O’Malley, also known as “Granuaile” and by many other names, was born in Ireland into a family of pirates. In the 1560s, she seized control of the family tradition and organised many attacks around Ireland’s coastline.
She caused problems for the British and Spanish ships, and in 1574, British forces took her. After spending over 18 months in prison, Grace started pirating again. She suffered another setback, but after making a direct plea to Queen Elizabeth I, she was able to reclaim her fleet. 1603 saw her passing.
9. Queen Teuta of Illyria
Teuta, a pirate queen of Illyria who lived in the third century BC, is one of the earliest recorded female pirates in history. She attacked Roman and Greek ships in order to establish her dominance over the Adriatic Sea as the leader of the Ardiaei tribe.
Roman envoys were dispatched to mediate, but Tetua assassinated one of them during the conference, sparking a conflict between the two kingdoms. Tetua was defeated by the conflict, which raged from 229 to 227 BC. She was given the opportunity to reign Illyria but was not given another chance to sail.
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10. Sadie the Goat
She was a 19th-century American river pirate who went by the name Sadie Farrel. She spent her formative years prowling the streets of New York as a mugger, earning the moniker Goat for her propensity to headbutt victims.
Sadie left New York after fighting her adversary Gallus Mag and losing an ear, and she later started a new gang of thieves that evolved into pirates. They roamed the Hudson River, robbing manors and farms, and frequently kidnapping individuals for ransom. Later, she negotiated a ceasefire with Mag and flew back to New York.
FAQs:
1.Who is the most well-known pirate woman?
One of the most well-known female pirates in history is Anne Bonny, and another is Mary Read. They were active in the early eighteenth century, which was the Golden Age of Piracy.
2.How do you refer to female pirates?
It’s common to refer to lady pirates as “pirates” or “female pirates.” Being gender-neutral, the term “pirate” can be used to refer to both male and female persons who commit acts of piracy.
3.In the past, were there any female pirates?
Yes, there have always been female pirates. Women did engage in piracy, albeit they were less common than their male counterparts, especially during the Golden Age of Piracy in the 17th and 18th centuries.
4.Were there many female pirates?
In the past, there weren’t as many female pirates as there were male pirates. There were remarkable occasions, nevertheless, where women took an active role in piracy. Despite their small numbers, their tales have captured the imaginations of both historical and modern readers.