Women at sea

One of the interesting things about doing research on pirates is that there's some information about women pirates. History is typically a man's game. Women usually factor in when they're doing unusual things for their era - usually what men did. So pirate women and warrior queens are everywhere. Not only were women on pirate ships, they were also on board 17th, 18th, and 19th century vessels of the British Royal Navy.

Women disguised as men were part of the crew on some pirate ships. Some were sent home if they were found out. Others were killed.

Articles of Agreement that pirates swore an oath to uphold often included a ban on women aboard their ships. After all, “women were weak, feckless, hysterical beings who distracted men and brought bad luck to ships, calling forth supernatural winds that sank vessels and drowned men.” (Cordingly, Women Sailors and Sailors’ Women) [Cindy Vallar]

Women headed out to sea for all sorts of reasons. Some left to make money, to escape arranged marriages, to avoid prostitution, and others went to be with their husbands or lovers. The most famous women pirates are Anne Bonny and Mary Read, but there are a few others (some perhaps being more legendary than real): Charlotte de Berry who reportedly started off in the Royal Navy before turning pirate, and Mary Harley (or Harvey) and Mary Crickett (or Crichett). Both Marys may very well have been one and the same. We know about the female pirates who were caught. The lucky and clever ones were never found out, and as a result have been lost to history.

Women in the Royal Navy were a little different from their pirate counterparts. Naval officers were more likely to be married than ordinary seamen, and sometimes their wives went to sea with them. Some sailors reportedly had wives in more than one part. Some officers even brought their mistresses with them. Historians are uncertain about how many women were on board naval vessels because they were never officially part of the crew, but by the early 19th century there were a few women on most naval vessels. Sir John Menres reported in 1666 that the ships were "pestered with women" and that there were "as many petticoats as breeches" aboard. By 1792 women were disguising themselves as men to follow their husbands and lovers at sea.

Resources

• Vallar, Cindy. Women and the Jolly Roger. 2004
• Rodger, N.A.M. The Command of the Ocean: A Naval History of Britain, 1649-1815. Norton, 2006.

Photo courtesy of SXC