Lady Pirates: "She was of a Fierce Temper"

The life of Anne Bonny, famous lady pirate who disappeared into a misty past after living through a sensational trial and giving birth in jail, has been hashed and rehashed. But it never hurts to hear from a contemporary source, no matter how familiar the story. Here, then is Captain Johnson aka Daniel Defoe's short but engaging description of Mistress Bonny from his A General History of the Pyrates:

She was of a fierce and courageous Temper, wherefore, when she lay under Condemnation, several Stories were reported of her much to her Disadvantage, as that she had kill'd an English Servant-Maid once in her Passion with a Case-Knife, while she look'd after her Father's House; but upon further Enquiry, I found this Story to be groundless: It was certain she was so robust, that once, when a young Fellow would have him with her, against her Will, she beat him so, that he lay ill of it a considerable Time.

While she lived with her Father, she was look'd upon as one that would be a good Fortune, wherefore it was thought her Father excepted a good Match for her; but she spoil'd all, for without his Consent, she marries a young Fellow, who belong'd to the Sea, and was not worth a Groat; which provoked her Father to such a Degree, that her turn'd her out of Doors, upon which the young Fellow, who married her, finding himself disappointed in his Expectation, shipped himself and Wife, for the Island of Providence, expecting Employment there.

Here she became acquainted with Rackam the Pyrate, who making Courtship to her, soon found Means of withdrawing her Affections from her Husband, so that she consented to elope from him, and go to Sea with Rackam in Men's Cloaths: She was as good as her Word, and after she had been at Sea some Time, she proved with Child, and beginning to grow big, Rackam landed her on the Island of Cuba; and recommending her there to some Friends of his, they took Care of her, till she was brought to Bed: When she was up and well again, he sent for her to bear him Company.

The King's Proclamation being out, for pardoning of Pyrates, he took the Benefit of it, and surrender'd; afterwards being sent upon the privateer Account, he return'd to his old Trade, as has been already hinted in the Story of Mary Read. In all the Expeditions, Anne Bonny bore him Company, and when any Business was to be done in their Way, no Body was more forward or courageous than she, and particularly when they were taken; she and Mary Read, with one more, were all the Persons that durst keep the Deck, as has been before hinted.

Her Father was known to a great many Gentlemen Planters of Jamaica, who dealt with him, and among whom he had a good Reputation; and some of them, who had been in Carolina, remember'd to have seen her in his House; wherefore they were inclined to shew her Favour, but the Action of leaving her Husband was an ugly Circumstance against her. The Day that Rackam was executed, by special Favour, he was admitted to see her; but all the Comfort she gave him, was, that she was sorry to see him there, but if he had fought like a Man, he need not have been hang'd like a Dog.

She was continued in Prison, to the Time of her lying in, and afterwards reprieved from Time to Time; but what is become of her since, we cannot tell; only this we know, that she was not executed.

Header: Pirates Abroad by Don Maitz

Lady Pirates: The Intriguers' Accomplice

Today's lady may not have actually been a pirate, but she certainly assisted one of the most famous lady pirates of all time - Anne Bonny - into her infamous career.

Mrs. Anne Fulworth is not much talked of in the literature of pirates. In fact, only two chroniclers of the freebooting profession mention her: Philip Gosse in The Pirate's Who's Who and even more briefly, Captain Johnson aka Daniel Defoe in his A General History of the Pyrates.

It probably goes without saying that we know next to nothing of Mrs. Fulworth's background. She steps onto history's stage in the second decade of the 18th century. It is then, probably around 1715, that she is serving as escort to the very young Anne Bonny who is fleeing her home and family to elope with her seaman beau.

Mrs. Fulworth and Miss Bonny arrive at New Providence where Anne and her new husband, according to Johnson "a pardoned pirate, a likely young fellow and of a sober life," are not destined to grow old together. Young Anne meets the notorious Calico Jack Rackham, sparks fly and Gosse tells us that "when Captain Rackam and Anne Bonny were intriguing to run away from the latter's husband... Mrs. Fulworth offered sympathy and advice to the lovers.

Gosse goes on to say that the "intrigue" of the two lovers did not get past the local authorities:

The scandal being brought to the ears of Governor Woodes Rogers by a pirate called Richard Turnley, he sent for the two ladies, "and examining them both upon it, and finding they could not deny it, he threaten'd, if they proceeded further in it, to commit them both to Prison, and order them to be whipp'd, and that Rackam himself, should be their Executioner."

This little bit of melodrama is probably more apocryphal than true, but it does stand out as a juicy tidbit from the already salacious story of the rich girl turned pirate.

There is a very high likelihood, however, that the shadowy Mrs. Fulworth - if she truly existed - stood by Anne once she made the fateful decision to leave her "likely young fellow" of a husband and bunk in with Calico Jack. Most historians agree that Anne became pregnant by her pirate lover at some point and was left by land during her confinement. The stories of Rackham's small harem of women on the island of Nevis not withstanding, it is more probable that the gravid Anne was left in the capable hands of motherly Mrs. Fulworth. It is certainly not unreasonable to imagine that the same woman served as midwife when Anne's time came, and perhaps even looked after the baby girl born of Anne and Jack's unseemly if passionate union.

What became of Anne Bonny, Mrs. Fulworth and the unnamed babe is one of the greatest mysteries handed down to us by the Golden Age of Piracy. Of course, fiction can fill in the blanks but the real story will probably never be known.

Header: The New Baby by John Rettig via American Gallery

Lady Pirates: La Conquistadora

When Hernan Cortes came to the New World he honestly had only one thing in mind: wealth. Obviously there was the lip service about conquering new lands for Spain and converting heathen souls to the salvation of the Church. But any time you make your recruits pay to join you, there can be no question that right up front your talking about an investment you expect to pay off big. And for Cortes it certainly did.

Hidden among the men in armor on horseback that Cortes led to new shores were a handful of Spanish women. In her book Warrior Women, historian Robin Cross sets the ratio exactly at 550 men to 12 women. These women were, for the most part, wives and sisters of the soldiers; again according to Cross, 8 were white and 4 were black. Only a few names of and stories about these women who plundered the Aztec kingdom shoulder to shoulder with their men have come down to us. Arguably the most information we have is about one Maria de Estrada.

Maria's origins are as shadowy as any buccaneers. Most sources agree that she was born in Seville and that, by the time of the Cortes expedition in 1519, she was married to a soldier named Pedro Sanchez Farfan. Spanish historian Luisa Campuzano claims that Maria's brother was among Columbus' crew on his first voyage to the New World. It was this brother, according to Campuzano, that brought Maria with him when he chose to settle there. Their ship was wrecked off Cuba and Maria was, for a time, a castaway. Campuzano is the only historian that I can find who makes this claim, so whether or  not this was actually the case seems to remain a point for further research.

It does appear certain that Maria was tough and perfectly capable as a horsewoman and with a variety of weapons. When Cortes informed the women in his army that they would be laundresses and cooks, Maria at first went along with the program. As the army marched inland, however, and the hardships began to grow, she is said to have led a protest against such gender bias.

When the army set up camp at Tlaxcala in 1520, Cortes informed the ladies that they would not be accompanying their men on the march to the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan. Infuriated, Maria and her cohort Beatriz Bermudez approached Cortes directly. According to Cross, they were even more direct in their demands:

Castillian wives, rather than abandon their husbands in danger, would die with them.

Cortes allowed the women to join the march but continued stubbornly in assigning them the worst of the domestic duties to keep them in line. Cortes' initial successes, thanks in large part to his Aztec translator and mistress, Malinalli Tenepal known as Dona Marina, began to crumble quickly, however, and things went down hill for everyone.

When the Aztec army attacked the Spanish forces inside the walls of Tenochtitlan, Maria and Beatriz dawned armor, shouldered shields and took up arms to join the fight. The battle would rage on and off for a week, with particularly bloody fighting on what would come to be known to the Spanish as the Noche Triste, or sad night. Maria was in the middle of the fray, holding back Aztec warriors as the Spanish wounded tried to exit the city via a floating bridge. Even the Aztecs were impressed with Maria's courage, dubbing her the "great lady" when the battle was over.

Having evidently gotten a taste for hand-to-hand combat, Maria could thereafter not be held back even by Cortes. She rode at the front of the cavalry at the decisive Battle of Otumba where hundreds of Aztecs lost their lives. The victory gave Maria a reputation for her superior ability with a lance. Her counterpart, Beatriz Bermudez, joined the fighting on horseback as well. According to Cross she also chided the less aggressive men, telling them in no uncertain terms that she would "kill every man who attempts" to desert.

At the Battle of Morelos in 1522, Maria volunteered to lead a charge against the remaining Aztec forces. Cortes agreed, and she descended into battle screaming "Santiago (St. James), destroy them!" Her blood lust terrified many of her foes, who threw themselves bodily into a ravine rather than face her lance.

Like her male counterparts, Maria's entire goal was wealth and her valor - at least in the eyes of her commanding officers - was worth the reward. Cortes granted her specifically the newly colonized towns of Telala and Hueyapan. It probably goes without saying that all of the native peoples who had once occupied these lands became slaves to the "great lady." Those who did not die outright of unfamiliar infections brought by the Spanish were condemned to a living death toiling either on the land or under it in Hueyapan's silver mines.

Maria's husband was also given similar holdings and it appears that the couple remained married until Pedro Farfan's death. This event occurred in 1530, according to historian Robert Himmerich y Valencia. He also notes in his The Encomenderos of New Spain that Maria remarried shortly thereafter, but that neither marriage produced children that lived to adulthood.

Maria de Estrada seems to have ended her days in New Spain, never returning to her homeland in Seville. How and where she died is not recorded by any of the writers who mention her. The last unfortunate bit of information about her notes only that her second husband fell into a dispute over her lands with not only her first husband's relatives, but his own as well.

The draw of yet more wealth outweighed all ties of love and family and Maria, for the most part, was unfortunately left to the margins of history. Another lady who fought and plundered alongside more famous men is far less well known than she probably should be.

Header: Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, another New World lady from Spain, whom you can read about at F**k Yeah, History Crushes!