Anne Bonny - Pirate Queen

No one knows how they met, perhaps chance meetings in local taverns. The lusty pirate captain and the spitfire redhead were like magnets drawn together. He courted her with extravagant gifts from his stash of booty and even offered to buy her from James. James refused the generous - and quite common for those days - offer and complained to Governor Rodgers that Rackam had seduced his wife. Rodgers summarily ordered Anne to return to James, or face whipping as an adulteress. Anne, never one to buckle under to authority, typically refused and asked Calico Jack to take her away with him. Rackam of course agreed.

In their first act of piracy, Anne and Calico Jack conceived a daring plan to secure a sloop for their use. Picking out a suitable shi, Anne charmed a group of sailors to get aboard and counted the number of sailors on board and when the watch changed. She then slipped away, no doubt leaving a number of disappointed sailors aboard. Later at night, Calico Jack, some of his old crewmen and Anne - wearing men's clothes and carrying sword and pistol - stole aboard their quarry. Anne crept upon two men standing watch and - showing them her weapons - threatened to blow their brains out if they gave a warning. The two startled men agreed. As the majority of the crew as well as the Captain were ashore enjoying themselves, the theft of the sloop was easy. Rackam's crew quietly slipped the moorings and silently slid out to sea.

Over the next several months Anne and Calico Jack took a number of prizes and raided some shore installations. During all this time Anne dressed and acted as a man, even taking part in combat. Anne and Rackam apparently wanted to keep Anne's identity a secret from their crew, either because of the superstition of having a woman on board ship or out of fear of the jealousy of the men. Either way, Anne's true sex remained a secret - until the capture of a Dutch merchantman. Rackam needed hands for his ship, so he recruited several sailors from the crew of the Dutch ship. One of these new recruits was a handsome, blue-eyed, blond-haired young man. Anne, never one to keep her passions in check, soon took a liking to the young sailor.

To Be Continued -

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