6 destinies of British women #1: Mary Read, Pirate of the Caribbean<

LePetitJournal.com invites you to (re)discover six British women who have made history. Artists, scientists, spies or even pirates, all knew how to push the walls of their respective eras.

Today, discover the fabulous epic of Mary Jane Read, one of the most famous female pirates in history. Between looting in the Caribbean seas, heroic battles and wet dungeons, the young Englishwoman shook the British navy accompanied by her piracy sister, Anne Bonny.

A female pirate disguised as a man since childhood

Mary Jane Read was born in 1690 in the county of Devon. She grew up in England, an orphan of her father, a sea captain who disappeared at sea. To continue to receive her in-laws' pension, Mary's mother disguised her daughter as a boy from an early age. Until the age of 13, Mary therefore lived constrained in the skin of another, her male alter-ego.

Far from dreaming of a life as a classic young woman of the time, Mary quickly enlisted in the English navy by once again donning her boy's costume, which opened the doors to this exclusively male environment. Under the pseudonym of Willy Read, she traded her native country where a soporific destiny already written awaited her for a trip to the West Indies. But once afloat, the ship where she was was stormed by pirates who came to look for new recruits.

The fiery-tempered Englishwoman would then have been seduced by the codes of piracy, which seemed fair and democratic to her: the seized loot was equitably shared, the votes had equal value, and life there was more thrilling and freer than on the continent. Only downside: women were not allowed. Thus, Mary faded a little more behind Willy, and joined the undercover piracy.

Enlisted among the villains of the depths, she sailed incognito among them as far as the Bahamas. Driven by an unquenchable thirst for adventure and a stinging desire for freedom, Mary Read found satisfaction in this dangerous life as a privateer. More courageous and determined than most men, she had no trouble concealing her true identity, even becoming a pirate respected by her peers.

If you don't know how to use a waffle maker and like waffles I want to fight you

— DUI Daddy 🇵🇦🇯🇲 Wed Sep 04 21:03:23 +0000 2019

Mary Read and Anne Bonny: two corsairs who refuse the corset

In 1719, Mary crossed paths with Jack Rackham, who was just looking to recruit for his ship. Well known and despised by the British army, Jack Rackham was reputed to be an outstanding pirate, surgical, looting everything in his path: spices, tobacco, fish, treasures... The hated Jack was in love with an Irishwoman, the sulphurous Anne Bonny, a satiated man-eater who had enlisted in piracy disguised as a man, like Mary. The two women had in common a visceral refusal to conform to what was expected of a woman in their time. The only difference: Anne enjoyed, since her meeting with Jack, the privileged status of wife of the captain and therefore no longer had to hide her femininity, unlike Mary Read, who had never revealed her true identity to its crews.

Mary Read was therefore added to the crew of Le Revenge, the ship of Jack Rackham and his companion. Very quickly attracted by Mary (or rather by Willy), Anne Bonny tried to seduce her, but she discovered soon enough the iodized attributes which betrayed the identity of the clandestine. At that moment, the whole crew discovered the true identity of Mary, the impostor, the other female pirate. However, the sailors saw no harm in this, having already witnessed the temerity and resourcefulness of Mary, who had earned her place among them.

The two illegitimate British children then became a legendary pirate duo. Fearless, surly and outstanding fighters, the two friends sowed terror in the warm waters of the Caribbean for several years, chaining looting and amassing loot with the complicity of the great Jack Rackham. The two buccaneers single-handedly debunked the archaic legends of old sea dogs, wanting women to bring bad luck and sow discord on ships. Anne and Mary were nothing but boldness and savagery, flourishing in the rough life on the waves.

Alone in battle against an entire crew

But one day in October 1720, Le Revenge was stopped by the English navy off the Caribbean. Drunk dead, the pirates were unable to defend themselves against this assault and did not put up any resistance. Flabbergasted and full of contempt in the face of this cowardly behavior, Mary and Anne took up arms and were then alone to fight the entire crew.

They killed two of them and wounded others. For more than an hour, the two corsairs resisted and fought body and soul for their honor, their freedom and their ship. But, despite their heroic courage and despite the energy deployed, the two sea wolves did not manage to emerge victorious from this unthinkable battle.

Eventually, the drunken crew was flown back to the Bahamas and sentenced to the gallows. Mary and Anne, pregnant, were narrowly pardoned by the English crown. Mary Read died in the cell shortly afterwards, and Anne Bonny was supposedly rescued by her father, who cast anchor in place of his daughter in the life of a woman of her time, with husband and children.

To not miss any news from London, subscribe to our newsletter in two clicks!