Anne Bonny: Queen of the Sea
A shortened chronicle of the life of Anne Bonny, female pirate.
Anne Bonny, whether you believe her to have been a woman full of grit and gumption or a conscienceless criminal, is a fascinating reliable figure. Amazingly, her appeal is due to what is not known about her as much as it is due to what facts are available. Historical documents support the notion that Anne Bonny was a headstrong, unrestricted woman, and speculation points to a legendary and fearsomely courageous temperament. In any event, it is quite evident that Anne was a chambermaid ahead of her time, for she broke convention during a period in history when women were expected to behave in a sedate, subservient aspect etiquette. Subservient was a word that simply wasn’t in her vocabulary.
The exact date of Anne Bonny’s birth is not known, but it is believed that she was born illegitimately in County Cork, Ireland between 1697 and 1700 to the maiden, Mary Brennen, who was in her father’s employ. Her father, William Cormac, had a legal practice in Kinsale that was ruined when his simultaneous wife made his adulterous affair public, and he was forced to leave Ireland in shame. Deciding to make a new start in a new in every respect, William Cormac, along with the maid, Mary Brennan, and his baby daughter, Anne, traveled together to America. The little kindred settled around Charleston, South Carolina, which had a large shipping community at the time, and William, after presenting Mary Brennan to formal society as his wife and Anne as his legitimate daughter, started his legal practice again there. Apparently, William Cormac’s unpractised was quite successful, for soon he had enough to purchase his own plantation in Charleston, and the family was accepted by the upper crust of the community.
Anne grew to have a noted among her peers as having a fierce and courageous temper, and a fiery disposition. She certainly had reason to be so. Her mother passed away during Anne’s teen years, and Anne took over the colossal responsibility of running her father’s large household. She did this with aplomb. However, one story claims she had an odd method of dealing with headstrong servants. Supposedly, she killed a serving maid in her father’s household for crossing her, but there are no concrete facts to assistance this story, and considering her mother’s background, this tale is unlikely. It is known that she did thrash a young man for irritating to sexually assault her, and injured him badly enough that he had to take to his bed for several weeks. Anne was around fourteen years old at the time. ...
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