Anne Bonny ( 1702 – 1743)
Died at age 41
Back Story-
Anne Bonny was an Irish pirate who operated in the West Indies. During the early 18th century, she became an associate of Edward Kenway, and later assisted him closely. Initially a young barmaid at the Old Avery tavern in Nassau, Anne quickly became acquainted with individuals such as "Calico" Jack Rackham and Mary Read, the latter initially posing as James Kidd.
Launching her own career as a pirate, she, along with Mary and Rackham, raised a small crew and escaped the island in August 1720, intending to execute a series of swift robberies before retiring with enough gold to live off.
The illegitimate daughter of an Irish lawyer and his housemaid, Anne was barely in her teens when her family emigrated from Cork to South Carolina, where her father settled as a plantation owner. After marrying a low-class sailor called James Bonny, she decided to set off on an adventure to the West Indies.
Eventually, Anne fell for Rackham's roguish charms and entered into a relationship with him. Around the same time, she became acquainted with James Kidd, whom she quickly discovered to be Mary Read, a woman in disguise. Their close friendship soon aggravated Rackham, who, unaware of Mary's true gender, believed she was flirting with his partner. To avoid pointless conflict, Mary let him in on her secret as well. At their wit's end, Anne and Rackham decided to escape Nassau with Mary, raising a small crew and sailing off in a stolen schooner, the William, on 22 August 1720.
The trio planned to execute a number of quick robberies, before settling down somewhere to live off the gold they had stolen. However, after a few months of successful pirating and pillaging, they were set upon by the authorities. Only Anne, Mary and an unknown young man were fit to resist their attackers, while Rackham and the rest of the crew lay below deck, passed out from a heavy night of drinking.
Although the trio fought fiercely, they were outnumbered and eventually overcome, the young man dying in battle. The entire crew was subsequently arrested and imprisoned in Port Royal, Jamaica, where they awaited the judge's verdict. Rackham was tried and convicted of piracy, and subsequently hanged on 18 November.
At their trial ten days later, Anne and Mary too were condemned to be hanged for their crimes, though the two women managed to delay their punishment by revealing that they were pregnant. As British law prevented women "quick with child" from being executed, the pair was thrown back in jail, where they would stay until their terms were up. Roughly four months later, Mary gave birth to her child, which was immediately taken from her, while Anne herself was close to going into labor.
