Women in Piracy
- marionjabot
- 27 févr. 2018
- 6 min de lecture
Tales of the sea are often narrated as metaphors of men taking over women. The sea and undiscovered islands are portrayed as women whom the sailors conquer, women are only depicted as mermaids, as a temptation. Women at sea used to be considered bad luck, and were mostly straight out contractually forbidden to join sailing or pirating crews. To have the mother sea dominated by women would have upset this sacred relationship and overthrown the balance of powers.
That is not to say those female sailors did not exist. Whether it was in piracy or legitimate fleets, many women dressed up as men to maintain the illusion, and often also died in disguise. The tales of female pirates which have made it to us account the stories of women who either got caught or simply were powerful and successful enough to disclose their identity safely.
The famous British pirate women and friends Anne Bonny and Mary Read were of the latter, although they both started off their sailing careers disguised as men. Anne Bonny was the illegitimate child of a wealthy lawyer and his maid. When the infidelity was disclosed, the father, maid and child fled, dressing up little Anne as a boy to pass her off as a family relative. Anne later fell in love with a sailor, left her father’s house and wealth, and joined her lover on the seas dressed as a man.
Mary was also born out of wedlock, however she was not as privileged as Anne was. Mary was the child of a prostitute, and her mother dressed her as a boy to keep receiving financial support from the family of her deceased husband whom she had a boy with. Mary later kept dressing as a boy and joined the army of Flanders, following a soldier she fell in love with. She revealed her identity to the rest of the soldiers by ripping her shirt off and showing her breasts…this move became her signature for the rest of her sailing career.
The two women met when the ship of pirate Calico Jack Rackman, whom Anne Bonny was working for, captured the Dutch boat Mary was on. The women revealed their true identities to each other, and they soon became friends (and lovers?).
Anne and Mary were renowned pirates, and even ended up outlasting all men on Calico Jack’s crew. The British government, which was particularly after pirate ships at that time (as pirates were disrupting slave trades…), eventually captured Calico’s ship in Jamaica in 1720. All men on the boat were still knocked out from the previous night of heavy drinking. Unable to fight, all pirates hid – apart from Bonny and Read, who in a last desperate effort, tried to save their ship. The legend goes that Mary screamed: “If there’s a man among ye, ye’ll come up and fight like the man ye are to be!” When no one responded, she killed one of her comrades.
Mary and Anne’s executions were delayed as they were found to be “quick with child.” In other words, if their bravery was not enough to save them from being captured, their womanhood ultimately saved them from being hanged like the rest of the crew. Calico did not escape the punishment and was hanged by the English, to set an example. Before he was sentenced, Anne gently reminded him that had he fought like a man, he needn’t be hanged like a dog.
While the trial of Calico’s crew has been documented, it is unclear what happened to Anne and Mary afterwards. One theory goes that Mary died in prison before even the birth of her child, while Anne was freed by her wealthy father. Personally, I prefer to believe in the story claiming that both women sneaked out of prison and moved to Louisiana, where they happily raised their children together.
One pirate woman whom we know for sure has escaped any punishments is Cheng I Sao. With an estimated 2 000 ships and 80 000 sailors at the peak of her piracy career, this renowned pirate woman had the South Chinese seas so much under control at the beginning of the 19th Century that she was in a position of power to bargain a comfortable retirement deal with the Chinese government.
Cheng I Sao had a modest start; it is most likely that she was working as a prostitute in a floating brothel when she caught Cheng I’s eye. Cheng I, already a successful pirate then, decided to marry the prostitute – she accepted only on the condition that he would give her half of his fleet and joint command of the ships. She must have been persuasive, as he accepted her conditions. She then became Cheng I Sao (wife of Cheng I). Together, the couple increased their fleet and created key alliances enabling them to create a pirate monopoly. Cheng I Sao had an active commanding role and was running one of her husband’s six fleets. They were brutal in their attacks, sending boats on fire towards their enemies, and diligent in their superstitious rituals, never launching an attack before having sprinkled themselves with garlic water and drinking a mixture of wine and gunpowder first.
However, only six years after their marriage, Cheng I died. Cheng I Sao took over her late husband’s fleet with the help of Chang Pao, second in command (who then became her lover, and is rumoured to also have been her husband’s lover). It is believed that she did not really leave the rest of the crew a choice, and naturally became the self-proclaimed new commander of the fleet. She quickly imposed herself as a very successful pirate and built the largest fleet in history.
Her methods were organised and efficient. She structured her criminal activities on a business model claiming taxes from coastal cities in exchange for protection (read: protection from Cheng I Sao herself, as by paying taxes the cities would not get attacked). All crews had to keep written records of their plunders. About 20% could be kept by the pirates who conducted the attack, the rest went to a common fund for repairs, health care etc. A lot of money also went back to the villagers, indirectly, as Cheng I Sao employed a large network of spies and craftsmen to keep her business going.
But do not be fooled – she was still a violent pirate and her assaults often ended up in bloody massacres and pillages. Even within the piracy confederation, the rules were strict and disrespecting them would mostly mean death. Anyone disobeying command, raping female captives, or giving command on his own would be beheaded. Pirates who went ashore without permission would have their ears slit. Cheng I Sao is however most known for her rules concerning female captives. Those who were considered ugly would be sent back unharmed to their families (in exchange for ransom if they were wealthy). Beautiful captives on the other hand were either auctioned off amongst the crew, or could be bought by a pirate. In the latter case, the pirate and the captive would be considered married. If the pirate was not loyal to his new wife, he would be executed.
Cheng I Sao’s piracy business had become so successful that the Chinese government saw no way of defeating her! Half of the governmental fleet was destroyed just in the year of 1808. With the help of England and Portugal, China tried to trap Cheng I Sao in a bay to capture her. This did not exactly turn out as planned – not only did the infamous pirate woman win after a 8 days long fight – she also managed to steal 63 of the government’s ships and convinced most of the sailors to join her fleet.
The government was left with no other choice than to start negotiating amnesty, deal which Cheng I Sao recognised as a good opportunity to leave the piracy business; she accepted. In 1810, she showed up unexpected at the Governor General’s place, unarmed, only accompanied by a delegation of women and children. In exchange for peace, Cheng I Sao got an exceptional deal. She was allowed to keep many ships and a large part of her fortune. Most pirates were secured pardon and a lot of them were allowed to transition into legality and to join the Chinese navy. The legend goes that she retired on the countryside where she opened a gambling house and died at the old age of 69.
What led most pirates to the life of outlaws was the promise of a better life and the freedom from societal rules. It is easy to imagine how women, more than anyone else, would find this freedom from gender-dictated roles appealing. Women in piracy had in common the desire to take their own lives into control and to escape being the property of fathers, brothers, husbands.
Sources
Main source: Pirate Women, by Laura Sook Duncombe
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