We’ve had some amazing holidays exploring the Caribbean with our children. Playing in the sand on friendly tropical islands but did you know that only a few hundred years ago the Caribbean was a dangerous and lawless part of the world? The West Indies was a place where women were discouraged from travelling to and the seas were ruled by ruthless bandits and swash-buckling Buccaneers.

When we climbed Blackbeard’s Tower in St Thomas with our toddler, we learnt that amongst the hundreds of fearsome male pirates like Blackbeard and Calico Jack were some kickass female pirates. Let us introduce you to 6 of the fearest and most infamous she-pirates out there from all over the world.

6 Fierce and Fearless Famous Women Pirates from Around the World

Grace O’Malley

Grace O’Malley was the daughter of an Irish sea captain. Grace grew up on the West Coast of Ireland. She wanted to be a seafarer like her father but in the 1530s, girls were not welcome aboard ships and her parents banned her from sailing.

Grace was not the kind of girl who took no for an answer. So instead she cut off her long red hair, began dressing like a man and got married at 16.

When Grace’s father died, she took over his fleet of ships. She began trading with countries across Europe -with some less-than-ethical plundering and pillaging on the side. Legend has it that Grace battled a band of Turkish pirates the day after she had given birth!

During the 16th century, the seas around the British Isles were extremely dangerous. The English were constantly attacking Ireland and taking Irish land and property. Grace refused to give into the English even when they sent an army to capture her. To try and weaken her resolve, the English army kidnapped her son. Rather than give in Grace demanded a meeting with Queen Elizabeth the First, the ruler of England. The Queen was so taken by Grace and her courage and determination that she not only released Grace’s son but she also decreed that Grace was allowed to continue trading and sailing without any bother from the English navy.

Source: Rad Women Worldwide by Kate Schatz

Anne Bonny

Anne Bonny was a fearsome Irish-American 18th century pirate who left her husband for the legendary pirate, John Rackham aka Calico Jack. In 1720, she joined Calico Jack and his crew when they commandeered a ship Nassau Harbour on New Providence. The pirates then travelled around the shores of Jamaica pillaging and plundering merchant ships. It is claimed that Anne was violent and often fought sailors whilst disguised as a man.

In November 1720, the pirate ship was captured at Negril Point in Jamaica. According to the story, Anne Bonny and her female companion Mary Read (see below) tried to fight off the soldiers but the rest of the crew were too drunk to fight back. The entire crew was arrested and sentenced to death. Both Mary Read and Anne Bonny were found guilty but when it was discovered that they were both pregnant their executions were halted. Anne Bonny gave birth in prison and eventually was released and returned to the USA.

Would you like to go to Jamaica to find out more about female pirates? Check out our Jamaica with kids family travel guide and find out how to independently visit the island.

Mary Read

Mary Read was an English pirate who sailed the seas of the Caribbean at the same time as Anne Bonny.

In 1720 she joined Anne Bonny and Calico Jack aboard a commandeered pirate ship. At this stage, she dressed and acted like a man. However, the story goes that Calico Jack got jealous that Anne Bonny was becoming so close to this new ‘male’ pirate. In an effort to try and quell Calico’s Jack’s jealous rages, Read admitted to him that she was a woman.

Like Anne Bonny, Mary Reid was sentenced to death in Jamaica later that year when their pirate ship was captured. When it was discovered that she was pregnant, her death penalty was commuted. Unlike Anne, she didn’t survive and died in prison the following year.

The Caribbean is an amazingly family-friendly travel destination. Take a peek at our British Virgin Island of Tortola and US Virgin Islands posts to inspire your next trip.

Teuta of Illyria – the Pirate Queen of the Balkans

Over two thousand years ago, Teuta of Illyria ruled over the Ardiaei Tribe in what is today Albania and Montenegro. The surrounding tribes were aggressive and warmongering so Queen Teuta encouraged piracy as a means of showing the strength of the Ardiaei people as well as gaining riches.

She was a great enemy of the mighty Roman Empire regularly plundering their ships and capturing their ports including Dyrrachium and Phoenice. When the Romans confronted Queen Teuta, she declared that piracy was a lawful way of trade. Her refusal to end the pirate attacks led to a two-year war between Rome and Illyria. In the end, the Illyrian armies surrendered and she lost her throne. Little is known about the rest of her life.

Interested in family travel around the Balkan region, check out our posts on Macedonia with a toddler and Montenegro with kids. 

Ching Shih

Ching Shih was perhaps the most successful female pirate in history. In the early 19th century she led over 300 Chinese junks with a crew of up to 40,000 sailors between them. She ordered her sailors to terrorize merchant ships and vessels across the South China Sea and beyond. Even raging battle against the huge Navies of the British Empire and the mighty Qing Dynasty.

Ching Shih was a powerful leader and a great strategist. Anyone who dared to disobey her was beheaded. In an unusual twist of events,  Ching Shih married her adopted son and settled down in Macau where she ran a brothel and a gambling house. Despite her notorious and violent past, she died a free woman of natural causes in old age.

Jacquotte Delahaye “Back from the Dead Red”

No one knows for sure if Jacquotte Delaney really existed.  According to legend she was born in Haiti with flaming red hair. Her mother and father died when she was young. She became a pirate to provide for herself and her younger brother. They say that at one point Jacquotte was leading a crew of hundreds of pirates plundering and pillaging around the Caribbean.

The story goes that she faked her own death to escape the people who were pursuing her.  Afterwards, she dressed like a man for many years before she was discovered. They say that it was her bright red hair that gave her away. She then became known as Back from the Dead Red. A pretty cool pirate name! It is claimed that Jacquotte founded a small independent island in the Caribbean were pirates could live freely and that she died in a gun battle trying to protect it.

Source: Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls

If you enjoyed this post on female pirates please share it! You may also be interested in our posts on Magnificent Women: Monuments, Museums and Murals and Women’s History: FREE online learning resources

What is a female pirate called?

It’s difficult to know what female pirates were called. Many disguised themselves as men to be able to fit into pirate crews undetected. Female pirates were a minority – and openingly female pirates – even rarer. In today’s popular culture you can find references to girl pirates, women pirates, she-pirates and so on. I chose she-pirate in the title because I think it sounds fun.  I very much doubt it was a historical phrase.

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