Not all pirates were men. In fact, two infamous women pirates were in operation during the Golden Age of Piracy. Anne Bonny was one of them. She had a hard life as the daughter of an Irish attorney and his maid. She dressed as a boy and took over duties as housekeeper when her mother died. Her fiery temper led her to beat a young man whom she felt was making inappropriate advances on her. She was later turned out of her home when she married a young soldier.
Anne met captain �Calico Jack� Rackham in New Providence. The two went to sea, and Anne had a child in Cuba. It is not know what became of that child. The crew of the ship knew that Anne was female, but they did not care, or at least they never acted on that knowledge.
Anne was later captured by Captain Barnett, but when the court learned that she was pregnant, she was reprieved until childbirth. It was then that Anne disappeared. She was never hanged.
Another famous female pirate was Mary Read. Mary was the illegitimate child of her mother, and in order to hide this fact she was dressed as a boy and impersonated her deceased brother. This disguise suited Mary well enough, and she kept it up for the greater part of her life. She went to sea and served as a �foot -boy� on board a navy man-0f-war. She was promoted, and it was then that she married one of her messmates. The two opened a tavern called the �Three Horseshoes�. After the death of her husband, however, she gave up the tavern and rejoined the military. Mary was shipped out as a sailor, and when her vessel was captured by pirates, she was quick to join their ranks.
Mary later joined a privateer and took part in mutiny of the vessel. This put her under command of Calico Jack Rackham. She met Anne and became Anne�s love interest, but upon revealing her true gender, the two fought side by side as close friends.
