Much has been made of pirate men, but what about women? Throughout history there have been hundreds of famous female pirates who have instilled fear wherever they went. Women who, without needing to wear an eye patch or a wooden leg, sailed the seas of the world generating authentic terror. Already in Supercurious we told you once about the most feared pirates in the history. This time he touches them. Join us to discover the lives of real female pirates. They will surprise you!
Learn the stories of real female pirates
The role of women in the history of humanity has not been easy. Despite contributing to the development of science, the arts, politics, literature and all branches of human knowledge, she was always invisible. And the same happened in the case of activities that fell outside the framework of the law, such as piracy.
The life of famous female pirates was not easy. Most of them belonged to the proletariat. Many, before throwing themselves into the sea, were farmers, servants of lords of power, prostitutes and even former slaves.
But we also find in the list of real female pirates, cases of females of bourgeois origin. Daughters of merchants, nobles, officials or lawyers. Even stories of queens and princesses are known, who ended up being pirates. In short, in an area dominated by men, with figures like Blackbeard or Francis Drake, women also knew how to put their stamp.
The 6 Famous Female Pirates You Should Know
1. Artemis, the corsair queen
The first of the real female pirates that we want to talk to you about is the powerful Artemis. The famous Persian queen, Artemis I of Halicarnassus, went down in history for her fearsome acts of piracy against the Greeks.
The Persian king came to say that he was the best of his captains. Artemis used Greek or Persian banners on her ships according to her interests and she was a brave warrior.
2. Awilda, the Viking pirate
Among real female pirates, Awilda He is a figure of great power. It is believed that he lived in the fifth century. He is one of those who could have a noble origin, and it is that Awilda was a princess, daughter of a Scandinavian king.
Its legend tells that it was so beautiful, that it was locked at the top of a tower guarded by two snakes so that no suitor could approach her. However, when a young Danish prince named Alf finally managed to rescue her from her, she chose to run away from her so as not to have to marry him, becoming a pirate along with her sister.
First He led a ship full of women, but he found himself with some pirates who had no captain and who, given his abilities, decided that Awilda would lead them.
She dedicated herself to boarding ships and coastal towns in Denmark until she was captured, disguised as a man, by the same Alf whom she had rejected and, according to some versions, she ended up marrying him.
3. Jeanne de Clisson, the Breton tigress
We add to our list of the most extraordinary famous female pirates, the famous jeanne de clisson, better known as the Brittany tigress. She was a French noblewoman who she became a corsair to avenge the death of her husband, fighting against Felipe VI himself, King of France.
Her husband had been executed for supporting one of the king’s enemies. Even her head was sent to Nantes and placed on a pike outside the castle of Bouffay.
Jeanne, full of anger, bought three warships, painted them black, dyed their sails red, and flew the characteristic black flag. Thus, he created his own army of pirates that fought against the French and their merchants.
Eventually the French captured his ship and although he managed to escape with his children, one of them starved to death. She took refuge in England and rebuilt her life by remarrying an earl.
4. Grace O’Malley, the Connaught Sea Queen
Another of the real female pirates worth knowing is Grace O’Malley. She was an irish pirate who sailed the waters off the west coast of Ireland in the 16th century and was dedicated to attacking mainly English traders. He established a tax for all the ships that crossed his waters, either in cash or with part of his merchandise, and if they refused they were attacked until their death.
One of her most famous anecdotes was when she divorced her second husband, thanks to the fact that the Irish legal system allowed divorce if it was done within the first year of marriage. O’Malley locked himself in the strategic Rockfleet Castle, so that her husband could not enter, and she leaned from the top of the stairs to shout: “You are fired!”.
Also, This pirate came to meet with Elizabeth I of England to ask for the release of her children, who had been captured, although he refused to curtsey to her because he did not recognize her as Queen of Ireland.
5. Anne Bonny and Mary Read, the Pirates of the Caribbean
Among the female pirates in history, the reckless Anne Bonny deserves a special mention, a true story about pirates. But her friend Mary Readalso earned a place among the most relevant famous female pirates.
Mary Read enlisted in the English army posing as a man. I don’t really know how she ended up as a pirate and in the crew of Rackham’s ship, where she met Anne, who discovered that she was a woman and not a man, as she led the rest to believe, and they became friends.
It is said that on one occasion she argued with one of the pirates on the ship, who challenged her to a duel. They went ashore and when her rival was going to shoot, Mary opened her shirt to show her breasts.
The pirate was so astonished that he was unable to pull the trigger, which Mary took advantage of to shoot him in the head. Thus, his secret was exposed to everyone.
Later, all of Rackman’s crew were captured by Captain Barnet, but both Anne and Mary were only imprisoned for be pregnants, while the rest of the crew was hanged. Mary died of a fever before she could give birth.
6. Ching Shih, from prostitute to queen of the seas
And we close our list of female pirates in history with Ching Shih, the most important female Chinese pirate. Her story is especially dramatic. She was sold by her parents when she was only five years old to a brothel, until Cheng I, a Chinese privateer, fell in love with her and took her away on his ship.
However, Cheng I was killed in action and Ching managed to become captain after the crew could not decide on a successor. Later, fell in love with his adopted sonwhom she had already made her lieutenant, and married him, strengthening her leadership.
One of his great achievements was to establish a pirate code with three simple rules:
- villages that had helped the pirates could not be looted
- it was not allowed to steal the treasures they got
- no crew member could sleep with the women who were captured or found in the villas against their will or they would be punished by death.
Although some authors affirm that he created this measure for his feminist ideals, others maintain that the reason was more practical, since at that time the buying and selling of people was very common, but if the merchandise suffered any deterioration it was devalued.
She became one of the famous female pirates, given the scope of her actions. He came to gather 1,800 ships of various sizes, with more than 70,000 people under his command.until she was defeated by O-po-tae, another pirate, allied with the government, who infiltrated her troops until she got them to surrender.
While her adopted son and husband, Cheung Po Tsai, obtained a position as a government official, Ching Shih died in 1844, running a brothel and gambling house in the city of Canton.
as you will see, the legends of famous female pirates are just amazing, proving that they were just as fierce conquerors of the sea. And if you are interested in knowing a little more about piracy and its legends, do not miss this article in which we tell you about the most incredible real pirate treasures. Until next time!