Mary Read was illegitimately born in England, in the late 17th century, to the widow of a sea captain. Her date of birth is disputed among historians because of a reference to the "Peace of Ryswick" by her contemporary biographer Captain Charles Johnson in A General History of the Pirates. He very well may have made an error, intending to refer to the "Treaty of Utrecht". Whichever it is, her birth was around 1691.
Because she had become pregnant as a result of an affair following the disappearance of her husband, Read's mother attempted to hide the birth of her daughter, Mary. She first began to disguise illegitimately born Mary as a boy after the death of Mary's older, legitimate brother Mark. This was done in order to continue to receive financial support from Read's 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 foot-boy, and later found employment on a ship.[1]
She later joined the British military, allied with Dutch forces against the French (this could have been during the Nine Years War or during the War of the Spanish Succession). Read, in male disguise, proved herself through battle, but she fell in love with a Flemish soldier. When they married, she used their military commission and gifts from intrigued brethren in arms as a funding source to acquire an inn named "De drie hoefijzers" ("The Three Horseshoes") near Breda Castle in The Netherlands.
Upon her husband's early death, Read resumed male dress and military service in Holland. With peace, there was no room for advancement, so she quit and boarded a ship bound for the West Indies.
Read's ship was taken by Pirates, who forced her to join them. She took the King's pardon c. 1718-1719, and took a commission to privateer, until that ended with her joining the crew in mutiny. In 1720 she joined pirate John "Calico Jack" Rackham and his companion, the pirate Anne Bonny, who both believed her to be a man. On 22 August 1720 the three stole an armed sloop named William[2] from port in Nassau.[3][4]
Read's gender was revealed when Bonny told Read that she was a woman, apparently because she was attracted to her. Realising this, Read revealed that she too was a woman. However, Rackham, as Bonny's lover, did not know this and suspected romantic involvement between the two. To abate his jealousy, Bonny told him that Read was also a woman.
Jack Rackham, Anne Bonny and Mary Read were all finally captured. At their trial, both Anne Bonny and Mary Read pleaded that they were pregnant. They were examined and this was found to be true. Jack Rackham was hanged. Anne and Mary received extra months of life, supposedly until their babies were born. But, Mary Read died in prison, perhaps from complications of childbirth, most likely child-bed fever. Anne might have been pardoned by her rich lawyer father. In any case, she was not hanged and did not die in child birth. Anne disappears from history after her imprisonment. .
Jack Rackham, Anne Bonny and Mary Read were all finally captured. At their trial, both Anne Bonny and Mary Read pleaded that they were pregnant. They were examined and this was found to be true. Jack Rackham was hanged. Anne and Mary received extra months of life, supposedly until their babies were born. But, Mary Read died in prison, perhaps from complications of childbirth, most likely child-bed fever. Anne might have been pardoned by her rich lawyer father. In any case, she was not hanged and did not die in child birth. Anne disappears from history after her imprisonment. .
No comments:
Post a Comment