While piracy was predominantly a male occupation, a minority of pirates were women.[1] On many ships, women (as well as young boys) were prohibited by the ship's contract, which all crew members were required to sign.[2] :303

Because of the resistance to allowing women on board, many female pirates did not identify themselves as such. Anne Bonny, for example, dressed and acted as a man while on Captain Calico Jack's ship.[2]:285 She and Mary Read, another female pirate, are often identified as being unique in this regard.

This article contains a list of female pirates who are recognized by historians, listed in the time period they were active.

Early pirates [ edit ]

Name Life Years Active Culture Comments Queen Teuta of Illyria 232-228 BC Illyrian Was active in the Adriatic Sea

Viking Age and medieval pirates [ edit ]

16th-century pirates [ edit ]

17th-century pirates [ edit ]

Name Life Years Active Culture Comments Elizabetha Patrickson 1634 English Jacquotte Delahaye 1650s-1660s French Haitian Caribbean pirate. Most likely a fictional character. Also known as "Back from the Dead Red" due to her red hair and return to piracy after faking her own death and hiding dressed as a man for several years. Christina Anna Skytte 1643-1677 1650s-1660s Swedish She actively participated in the secret piracy conducted by her brother and spouse in the Baltic sea. Anne Dieu-le-Veut A.K.A. Marie-Anne and Marianne 1661-1710 1690s-1704 French Caribbean pirate and later based in Mississippi after Tortuga was closed down. Dieu-Le-Veut was a nickname meaning "God wills it" and given to her as it seemed anything she wanted God gave her. Married to a pirate, Anne challenged pirate Laurens de Graaf to a duel after he killed her husband in 1683. He refused and she became his common law wife, fighting by his side and sharing command.

Female interaction with pirates in the 18th century [ edit ]

Business interactions [ edit ]

During the Golden Age of Piracy, many men had to leave home to find employment or set sail for economic reasons.[2]:283 This left women with the responsibilities of taking on traditionally male roles and filling the jobs that were left behind. The need for women to fill these roles led them to be granted rights that had historically been exclusive to men. Women were allowed to trade, own ships, and work as retailers. Often they were innkeepers or ran alehouses. In some seaside towns, laws were even written to allow widows to keep their husbands' responsibilities and property. This was important to local economies, as alehouses and other such establishments were centers of commerce, where pirates would congregate and trade with each other and with the people onshore.

As heads of these establishments, women had a considerable amount of freedom in business. They boarded and fed pirates, bought illegally pirated goods, acted as pawnbrokers for pirates, and even gave out loans - something many men, let alone women, viewed with great caution in that time period.[2]:284 At times, female business owners would even hide their clients when authorities came looking to arrest them for piracy.

Marriage [ edit ]

Some women chose to marry pirates. These men were often very wealthy, but their wives tended not to gain wealth as a result of their marriages, as it was difficult for pirates to send home wages and booty earned overseas. These women's houses and establishments were often used as safe havens for pirates, who were considered enemies of all nations.[2] :289–290

Piracy [ edit ]

Women sometimes became pirates themselves, though they tended to have to disguise themselves as men in order to do so. Pirates did not allow women onto their ships very often. Many women of the time were unable to perform the physically demanding tasks required of the crew. Additionally, women were often regarded as bad luck among pirates[citation needed]. It was feared that the male members of the crew would argue and fight over the women. On many ships, women (as well as young boys) were prohibited by the ship's contract, which all crew members were required to sign.[2] :303

Because of the resistance to allowing women on board, many female pirates did not identify themselves as such. Anne Bonny, for example, dressed and acted as a man while on Captain Calico Jack's ship.[2]:285 She and Mary Read, another female pirate, are often identified as being unique in this regard. However, many women dressed as men during the Golden Age of Piracy, in an effort to take advantage of the many rights, privileges, and freedoms that were exclusive to men.

18th-century pirates [ edit ]

19th-century pirates [ edit ]

Name Life Years Active Culture Comments Ching Shih 1775-1844 1801-1810 Chinese She was a prostitute who married a pirate and rose to prominence after his death. Regarded as one of the most powerful pirates in human history, she commanded her husband's fleet after his death. While the fleet she inherited was already large, she further increased the number of ships and crew. At its height, her fleet was composed of more than 1,500 ships and 80,000 sailors. She controlled much of the waters of the South China Sea. After years of piracy during which British, Chinese and Portuguese navies could not defeat her, China offered her peace in 1810 and she was able to retire and married the second in command.[12] Charlotte Badger and Catherine Hagerty 1806 English Widely considered to be the first Australian female pirate. The ship Venus, due to a shortage of man-power, took on convicts including Badger and Hagerty as crew while in Australia. After docking at Port Dalrymple, Tasmania, the Captain went ashore and the crew seized the ship, sailing for New Zealand. Hagerty along with two other convicts, a woman named Charlotte Edgar and a child were put ashore at the Bay of Islands with a supply of stores. Hagerty died shortly thereafter. The two men were arrested for piracy and Edgar remained to become one of the first settlers in New Zealand. Badger was never seen again.[13] Margaret Croke (Margaret Jordan) 1809 Canadian Following a dispute with investors over his schooner The Three Sisters, Edward Jordan was on his way to Halifax to sort it out. Wrongly assuming his family was being sent to debtors' prison, he killed two crewman then threw the Captain overboard before commandeering the vessel with the help of the remaining crewman. The marooned Captain survived and testified against Jordan claiming Margaret, who was aboard with her son and three young daughters, was also involved. Margaret admitted hitting the Captain after he had hit her husband during an argument in her cabin before he decided to commandeer the vessel; the other crew member testified she was actually in fear for her life from her violent husband and had attempted to escape. Edward was hanged for piracy and murder, Margaret was discharged[14] Johanna Hård 1789-1851 1823 Swedish Sweden's last pirate; in 1823, recently widowed Hård, a farm owner on Vrångö Island, was arrested along with her farmhand Anders Andersson, farmer Christen Andersson, and one of Christen's farmhands Carl Börjesson and boatman Johan Andersson Flatås of Göteborg for piracy after the Danish ship Frau Mette was found beached and plundered with a murdered crew. Evidence was presented that the five had followed the Frau Mette on Flatås fishing vessel the Styrsö and requested water. After boarding her they killed the crew. Johan Andersson Flatås, Anders Andersson, and Christen Andersson were sentenced to death and beheaded. Carl Börjesson was imprisoned in Karlstens fortress where he died 1853. The evidence against Johanna Hård was insufficient and she was released and subsequently disappeared.[15][16][17] Sadie the Goat 1869 American Possibly fictional. Operated around the state of New York as a member of the Charlton Street Gang. Named for her habit of headbutting her victims before taking their money.

20th-century pirates [ edit ]

Name Life Years Active Culture Comments Lo Hon-cho alias Hon-cho Lo 1920s Chinese Took command of 64 ships after her husband’s death in 1921. Youthful and reported to be pretty, she gained the reputation of being the most ruthless of all China's pirates. Lo Hon-cho's fleet attacked villages and fishing fleets in the seas around Beihai taking young women as prisoners and later selling them into slavery. In 1922 a Chinese warship intercepted the fleet destroying 40 vessels. Despite escaping, Lo Hon-cho was later handed to authorities by the remaining pirates in exchange for clemency.[18] Lai Sho Sz’en alias Lai Choi San 1922-1939 Chinese Operated in the South China Sea. Commanded 12 ships. P’en Ch’ih Ch’iko[19] 1936 Chinese Ki Ming Chinese Possibly an alias for P’en Ch’ih Ch’iko[20] Huang P’ei-mei 1937-1950s Chinese Led 50,000 pirates.[21] Cheng Chui Ping (nicknamed "Sister Ping") 1970s-1990s Chinese Operated in the South China Sea smuggling thousands of Chinese immigrants to the U.S. and Europe. Was convicted in the U.S. and sentenced to 35 years in prison. Died in 2014.

In fiction [ edit ]

While most fictional and dramatic depictions of pirates have been male, some notable female pirates have been depicted.

Animation [ edit ]

Comics [ edit ]

Dragon Lady depicted in Milton Caniff's comic series Terry and the Pirates was inspired by Lai Choi San

was inspired by Lai Choi San Janme Dark from Aoike Yasuko's Sons of Eve manga series.

manga series. Blackboots from Mary Hanson-Roberts' graphic novel Here Comes A Candle .

. Marquise Spinneret Mindfang from the webcomic Homestuck.

Film and television [ edit ]

Literature [ edit ]

Missee Lee (1941), about a Chinese female pirate. The book, part of a series of children's books, is set in 1930s China. (dustjacket is shown) Arthur Ransome 's novel(1941), about a Chinese female pirate. The book, part of a series of children's books, is set in 1930s China. (dustjacket is shown)

Theatre [ edit ]

Video games [ edit ]

Multiple media and other depictions [ edit ]

Multiple fictional depictions of Anne Bonny and Mary Read.

Elena Dugan (Lady Galbraith) in The Seas of Fionnghuala.

See also [ edit ]

References [ edit ]

Further reading [ edit ]