Anne Bonny
Pirate · Caribbean · active 1720 · associated with John “Calico Jack” Rackham and Mary Read
At a Glance
Born: uncertain
Birthplace: traditionally said to be near Cork, Ireland
Active: 1720
Region: Caribbean / Bahamas / Jamaica
Known associates: John “Calico Jack” Rackham, Mary Read
Occupation: Pirate
Fate: Unknown after 1720
What We Actually Know
Anne Bonny emerges most clearly from the historical record in 1720, when she sailed with the pirate John Rackham and Mary Read in the Caribbean. Much of the familiar story of Bonny’s earlier life comes from A General History of the Pyrates, published in 1724 under the name Captain Charles Johnson. The book provides a detailed account of her origins and life before piracy, but those details should be distinguished from events supported by surviving contemporary records.
The Historical Record
In 1720, Anne Bonny was a member of the pirate company commanded by John Rackham. The surviving trial record identifies her as “Ann Bonny, alias Bonn” and places her aboard Rackham’s sloop with Mary Read. The charges against the two women describe a series of attacks during September and October 1720, including the taking of fishing boats near Harbour Island. After Rackham’s company was captured, Bonny and Read were brought before the Court of Admiralty at St. Jago de la Vega, Jamaica, on November 28, 1720. Both were convicted of piracy and sentenced to death. After sentencing, each told the court that she was pregnant, and their executions were stayed. The surviving trial account does not record Anne Bonny’s ultimate fate.
In the 1720 Trial Record
“They were very active on Board, and willing to do any Thing; That Ann Bonny… handed Gun-powder to the Men.”
— Testimony of John Besneck and Peter Cornelian, The Tryals of Captain John Rackam and other Pirates (Jamaica, 1721)
The Story We’re Told
The earliest detailed account of Anne Bonny’s childhood appears in A General History of the Pyrates, published in 1724. According to that account, Anne was born near Cork, Ireland, the illegitimate daughter of an attorney and a woman who had worked as a servant in his household. Her father eventually left Ireland with Anne and her mother and settled in Carolina, where he reportedly became a successful merchant and plantation owner. As Anne grew older, the account describes her as strong-willed and says she married a poor seafaring man against her father’s wishes. These details form the foundation of the Anne Bonny story repeated in later biographies, but surviving contemporary records have not independently established much of this early-life narrative.
Carolina to Providence
According to A General History of the Pyrates, Anne married a young seafaring man without her father’s consent. Her father, angered by the marriage, reportedly turned her out of his house. Anne and her husband then sailed for the island of New Providence in the Bahamas, a place deeply connected with the pirate world of the early eighteenth century. It was there, the account says, that Anne became acquainted with the pirate John Rackam, better known today as “Calico Jack.” As with the account of Anne’s childhood, these events come primarily from the 1724 narrative and should not be treated as independently established fact.
Sources
PRIMARY SOURCES
The Tryals of Captain John Rackam, and Other Pirates. Jamaica: Robert Baldwin, 1721. Includes the trials of Mary Read and Anne Bonny, alias Bonn.
EARLY PRINTED ACCOUNTS
Johnson, Captain Charles. A General History of the Pyrates. London, 1724. See “The Life of Anne Bonny.”