Mary Read

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Mary Read
c. 1690 - 1721

Mary Read
Type: Pirate
Place of birth: London, England
Place of death: Jamaican prison
Base of Operations: Caribbean

Mary Read (c.1690 – 1721) was an English pirate.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Mary Read was born in Devon, England in the late 17th century, to the widow of a sea captain. Mary's mother began to disguise Mary as a boy after the death of Mary's older brother (the legitimate child in the family). This was done in order to continue to receive financial support from his paternal grandmother. The grandmother was apparently fooled, and Read and her mother lived on the inheritance into her teenage years. Still dressed as a boy, Read then found work as a footboy but became bored with the position and instead found employment aboard a ship.

When the crew was abusive toward her she jumped ship and joined the British military. Read proved herself through battle and fell in love with a fellow sailor. She and the sailor married and used his military commission as a funding source to open an inn named "The Three Horseshoes".

For the first time in her life Read lived life as a woman. Upon her husband's death Read again returned to military service disguised as a man, using her husband's clothes. Read discovered she had lost interest in the military, so she quit and boarded a ship bound for the West Indies.

[edit] Capture by pirates, and becoming a pirate

While at sea, Read's ship was attacked and captured by the notorious pirate "Calico" Jack Rackham and his companion, the female pirate Anne Bonny.

Still dressed as a man, Read was soon recruited to Rackham's crew where she became familiar with Bonny. She and Bonny became close companions. On one occasion Bonny walked in on Read undressing and thus accidentally discovered her secret. Charles Johnson in A General History of the Pyrates indicates that at first their companionship was of a romantic nature.[1] Bonny swore not to reveal that Read was really a woman. Read's true gender did not remain hidden for long. Rackham became suspicious of Bonny's close relationship with the new sailor and demanded an explanation, whereupon Read confessed that she was actually a woman, and proved this fact to him by revealing her breasts. Rackham allowed her to stay on as a member of his crew.[1][2]

[edit] Battles

Read fell in love with one of the pirates, who one day challenged an older, more experienced pirate to a duel, set for the next day. Read, knowing that her lover stood no chance against him, started a quarrel with the older man and challenged him to a duel that would take place before the pending duel with her lover.

During the subsequent duel the older man stumbled during a thrust. Read reportedly ripped her shirt open, revealing her gender. The pirate hesitated and in that moment of his hesitation, she quickly grabbed his cutlass and killed him. Incidentally, her lover showed up on time for his duel.

[edit] Capture and imprisonment

In October 1720, the troops of pirate hunter Captain Barnet took them by surprise, and captured Rackham and his crew on behalf of the governor of Jamaica. Rackham and the majority of his crew were drunk, and didn't put up much resistance, many being passed out in the ship's hold. Read and Bonny did resist, but were outgunned.

Rackham and his crew were sentenced to hang for acts of piracy, but Read and Bonny both "pleaded their bellies" (claimed to be pregnant) and received a stay of execution. According to the latest History Channel documentary, airing July 9, 2006, it is now believed that both women were in fact pregnant. Read was believed to have been pregnant by either Rackham or an unknown member of Rackham's crew. Bonny was believed to have been pregnant by either Rackham or Doctor Michael Radcliff, a former victim of one of their raids who Bonny saved from death.

Read died in prison in early 1721, either by fever or during childbirth. Bonny disappeared from the historical record, possibly having been bought out of prison by her wealthy and prominent father.

[edit] References in pop culture

  • Mary Read and Anne Bonnie are prominently featured in the Off-Broadway play A Pirate's Lullaby.
  • Read and Bonnie are main characters in the webcomic Sea Monsters by Gwendolyn Meer.
  • Read and Bonnie are featured in the 11th movie of the Detective Conan anime series, Detective Conan: Jolly Roger in the Deep Azure.
  • Bonnie and Read are featured in Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean ride.
  • The 2002 board game Pirate's Cove, published by Days of Wonder, contains the six legendary pirate cards one of which is Anne Bonnie and Mary Read.
  • The singer Duncan McFarlane has written a song called 'Mary Read' which recounts her life.
  • The Italian band Secret Sphere has a song, "Under the Flag of Mary Read" on their album A Time Never Come

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b A General History of the Pyrates, by Captain Charles Johnson.
  2. ^ Biography at Pirates Info.

[edit] External links

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