October '05 - Mary Read

Mary Read is another famour - or, infamous, as it's better to say - pirate-woman, who left her name inscribed in the history of piracy along with names such as Calico Jack Rackham and Anne Bonny. One more woman who preferred a man's life, who was fierce and fearless enough to face many dangers, and the woman who didn't want anything more than she wanted to lead a life out, in the ocean.

She was born in London, England, to a woman who already had a legitimate son and a husband. When the man and the son died, mother disguised Mary as a boy and was fooling around her husband's parents, so that they would pay her money, believing she was raising their grandson, but not an illegitimate daughter.

When she was thirteen, she was working as a foot boy for a wealthy French woman. Though, she soon was tired of this dull life and enlisted in the army, still disguised as a man. She enlisted only in a foot regiment, but later joined a horse regiment. However, she fell in love with a soldier, confessed to him that she was a woman, and they ran away together, to get married. They opened an inn, called "Three Horseshoes" near the Castle Breda.

Maybe everything could have gone well, she would have continued her happy family-life, and she would lead this life as a woman... But her husband died not much after the marriage. Once again, disguised as a man, she tried enlisting in the army, but her real gender was found out, and she had to escape and sail on a ship in the West Indies. But the ship was attacked by Calico Jack Rackham, and Mary, still pretending to be a man, was taken aboard, as a captive.
A legend says that Anne Bonny paid attention to the handsome 'sailor' and decided to have an affair with 'him', and, of course, Mary's disguise was discovered. She proved herself to be capable of fighting not worse then men, and even better than some of them, so she was allowed to stay aboad Calico Jack's ship.

There are several more curious legends and tales about Mary Read, one of them telling how she fell in love with one handsome, newly captured sailor, who was quite hot-tempered and got in a conflict with an older, tougher, more experienced pirate, and had a duel set. Mary didn't want to lose another love of hers, and incidentally quarelled with that very pirate, setting him another duel that had to take place before the duel of the pirate and her sailor. She thought she'd have more chance.
And so was it. During the duel, she cheated - ripped open her shirt, shocking everyone who was watching, and giving her opponent quite a start - he dawdled, and she hastily swung a cutlass, slashing it across his throat, making him die a painful and slow death.

The next morning Mary and her sailor were 'wed' by their fellow pirates, 'cause, of course, there was no priest aboard.

In 1720, early November, Calico Jack's ship was attacked by the Navy, when the crew were least expecting it, getting drunk after a particularly lucky raid. The crew was tried at St. Lago de la Vega in Jamaica, everyone was given a death-sentence - an appointment with the gallows. But Mary Read and her friend Anne Bonny managed to slip out of it, either being really pregnant, or faking it. Instead of being hung, they were imprisoned.

And while Anne Bonny survived and escaped the jail somehow... Mary Read met her death there, in a cell, behind the bars.
It was not the death she'd love to have, being as fierce and reckless as she was... Not in the face of danger, not out in the ocean, not in the fight...

source picture: keynoter.com