The Female Who Disguised Herself As A Pirate
Mary Read will be ultimately remembered for two things : As a woman who disguised herself as man ( Mark Read ), and for her career as fearsome pirate. Mary Read and Anne Bonny were two famous female pirates from the 18th Century, and amongst the few woman known to have been convicted of piracy at the height of the ‘Golden age of Piracy’ that roughly spanned 1650 to the 1720’s
The unknown female pirate that disguised herself as a male pirate
Who Was the Female Pirate – Mary Read The ‘Swashbuckling’ Pirate
As Mary Read’s history is pretty vague and complicated, Solarglide are going to break it down as best we can – as Mary Read deserves her place in history. Mary, joined the British Military as a result of her husband passing away, she then boarded a Dutch ship bound for the Caribbean and fought alongside the Dutch in the ‘War of the Spanish Succession’. While on duty, she met a flemish soldier and eventually married. They both opened an Inn within the Netherlands, where they remained until her husbands death.
Mary Read then returned to wearing mens clothing, and after another stint with the military, boarded a ship for the West Indies. Almost at the reach of it’s destination, Mary’s ship was captured by “Calico Rackham Jack”
“Calico Jack” & The “Jolly Roger”
Who was “Calico Rackham Jack” I her you say . . . “Calico Jack” was an English pirate famous for two reasons : his design of the famous Jolly Roger flag ( a skull and crossed swords) and having two female pirates onboard his ship.
It was at this time, Mary Read met Anne Bonny who was another female pirate disguised as man. It was at this moment “Calico Jack” threatened Mary Read and forced her to explain her closely guarded secret. Rackham’s ship was eventually captured by Jonathon Barnet off the west coast of Jamaica. Read was eventually charged with piracy and sentenced. She received a temporary stay of execution by claiming she was pregnant. Mary Read later died of a fever, whilst still serving her sentence.
By “The Blind Mariner”
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