I was inspired to tackle this set of material because of the flood of sapphic “pirate romances,” many of which are reworkings of the myth (and I use “myth” advisedly) of Anne Bonny and Mary Read, while others spin off from the Hollywood version of the broader myths of the Golden Age of Piracy derived from the anonymously authored General History of the Pirates. As often happens, I was curious to know the original primary source materials that set these myths in motion. Moreover, I was curious to try to determine what parts of that source material might have any basis in fact.
It is, perhaps, a misnomer to refer to the stories about Anne Bonny and Mary Read in the General History as a “primary” source, as it is generally assessed by historians to be highly fictionalized. The documents closest to direct witness accounts have far less detail and no mention at all of the lives of Bonny and Read prior to their being declared pirates and their subsequent capture and trial. But as the General History is the sole source of the assertion that the two women had a sapphic encounter, it’s necessary to place it in context, both among the contemporary and near-contemporary documents, and among the tropes and motifs concerning passing women in military and naval occupations.
In putting together this discussion, I’m deeply indebted to the work of Jillian Molenaar, who blogs about the ways in which stories about Jack Rackham, Anne Bonny, and Mary Read have evolved and been adapted in popular culture. She did the legwork of tracking down and documenting references to the activities, arrest, and trial of these three that were recorded before the waters were muddied by mythologization. You can find her website at https://jillianmolenaar.home.blog/.
That mythologized version of Bonney and Read’s biographies first appears in the 1724 publication A General History of the Pyrates: from their first rise and settlement in the Island of Providence, to the present time. With the remarkable actions and adventures of the two female pyrates Mary Read and Anne Bonny ... To which is added. A short abstract of the statute and civil law, in relation to pyracy, hereafter shortened to General History. [Note: “The Island of Providence” is New Providence Island in the Bahamas. The text I’ve used is the second edition, available from archive.org at https://archive.org/details/generalhistoryof00defo, accessed 2025/07/09] The book’s authorship is given as Captain Charles Johnson but this is generally considered to be a pseudonym. One theory attributes authorship to novelist Daniel Defoe, although there are other completing theories. I’ll refer to the author as “Johnson” but it should always be understood to involve scare-quotes.
I haven’t found a specific publication date for the first edition of the General History but the second (expanded) edition was published on 5/14/1724. As the first edition cites the same publication year, and as England was still using the Julian calendar at the time, with the year beginning on March 25, then the first edition could have been published no earlier than March. Given the volume of additional material included in the second edition, it might make sense to allow for the maximum time between the editions and consider March 1724 the most likely date.
The General History, despite its superficial format as a collection of biographies, is an inventive literary work rather than a reliable historic record, which is problematic, given that it more or less singlehandedly created the popular image of the “golden age of piracy” that continues to dominate popular culture today. The publication covers 35 individuals, three of whom are considered to be entirely invented. Bonney and Read are the only women included in the list.
If I’m interpreting the information correctly, the material in Volume 1 of the second edition is the original work, while Volume 2 of the second edition contains the new material added when the work was reprinted later the same year. The book was enormously popular, and was reprinted multiple times with further expansions of the material in the next several years.
Before considering the version of Bonny and Read’s stories in the General History, let’s examine earlier documentary material, to have a sense of what Johnson—and we’ll use that name for the author for convenience—might have been working from. The majority of this material is sourced from Jillian Molenaar’s website, which includes photocopies of the original documents and transcripts of their contents. I’ll primarily be including the material referencing Read or Bonney, but also occasionally material that only references Rackham.
An important aspect of understanding these records is the significant lag-time in communication. Information traveled to newspapers in London and American cities such as Philadelphia and Boston at the speed of sailing ships and, as we’ll see, was often reported in the context of noting recently arrived vessels which we may assume were the source of the news, whether printed or verbal. Based on the dates of the events and newspaper articles, it appears that it took about six weeks for news to make it to New England, and four months to reach London. For this reason, the following will be organized by the date of the events being reported, not the date of the published report.
September 4, 1720
An item in The Boston Gazette dated October 17, 1720 reports:
“New-Providence, Sept. 4th. Several Pirates are on the Coast of the Bahamas, among which is one Rackum who Run away with a Sloop of 6 Guns, and took with him 12 Men, and Two Women….”
[Note: See the discussion of crew members below for various conflicts in the numbers.]
September 5, 1720
A second item The Boston Gazette also dated October 17, 1720 describes the official response:
“Whereas: John Rackum, George Featherstone, John Davis, Andrew Gibson, John Howell, Noah Patrick–&c. and two Women, by Name, Ann Fulford alias Bonny, & Mary Read, did on the 22d of August last combine together to enter on board, take, steal and run-away with out of this Road of Providence, a Certain Sloop call’d the William, Burthen about 12 Tons, mounted with 4 great Guns and 2 Swivel ones, also Amunition, Sails, Rigging, Anchor, Cables, and a Canoe, owned by and belonging to Capt. John Ham, and with the said Sloop did proceed to commit Robery and Piracy upon the Boat and Effects of James Gohier Esq; on the South side of this Island, also upon Capt. Isaac’s Master of a Sloop riding at Berry-Islands in his Way from South-Carolina to this Port: Wherefore these are to Publish and make Known to all Persons Whatsoever, that the said John Rackum and his said Company are hereby proclaimed Pirates and Enemies to the Crown of Great-Brittain, and are to be so treated and Deem’d by all his Majesty’s Subjects. Given at Nassau, this 5th of September, 1720. Sign’d Woodes Rogers.”
[Note: From the very first, it’s clear that the presence of the women was considered newsworthy. While only a partial list of the male crew is given, the two women are specifically named and called out. This isn’t surprising, but it provides context for there being significant public hunger for more information about them.]
October 31, 1720
On October 31, 1720 the Journals of the Assembly of Jamaica recorded:
“Last night I received the agreeable news, that captain Barnet had taken Rackam the pirate, and eighteen of his crew, and had put them ashore at the leeward part of the island, from whence they are coming up by land under a strong guard.”
The context of transmission of news like this is illustrated by an item in The American Weekly Mercury (a Philadelphia paper [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Bradford]) dated December 8, 1720 which first lists the arriving ships and captains from various ports, then notes that news had arrived from Jamaica about the capture of Rackham and his crew “which consisted of 26 Men and two Women, who were all carried into Jamaica.” At the time news of the capture was published in Philadelphia, the trials and executions had already taken place.
Multiple other news items mention the taking of Rackham and his crew and their fate without noting the presence of women (either in general or by name). One item in The Daily Post (location unknown) dated January 13, 1721 lists “a Pyrate Sloop, commanded by one Rackham of Jamaica, having on board 14 Men.” An item in The London Journal dated January 14, 1721 is more gender-neutral listing “fourteen Hands on board.”
[Note: As can be seen in these items, the size of Rackham’s crew was reported in extremely variable terms. See the discussion below about the crew size.]
November 16, 1720
An official pamphlet published in 1721 gives details of the piracy trials and their results. As is typical for the era, it has an exceedingly long title, which I’ll condense to The Tryals of Captain John Rackham, and other Pirates ... As Also, the Tryals of Mary Read and Anne Bonny, alias Bonn ... Also, a True Copy of the Act of Parliament made for the more effectual suppression of Piracy. [Note: Once again, Bonny and Read are called out specifically, reflecting the public interest in their inclusion.] While Rackham’s trial is given prominence in the title, a whole sequence of piracy trials are recorded in this document, reflecting unrelated crews. The last trial date included is the subsequent March 22. The publication itself doesn’t have a more specific date than the year, but the copy held by the National Library of Jamaica and preserved at archive.org (https://archive.org/details/the-tryals-of-captain-john-rackham) has a series of handwritten notes at the end, which I read (with difficulty) as the following:
“Jamaica. The Tryals of several Pyrates at Jamaica in Nov. {??} 1720. Received with {dir} Nicholas La{w’ letter} of 12th June 1721”
“Rec’d August 14th. Read Ditto 17th 1721”
“Q.4.”
At any rate, this narrows the publication date down to sometime between March 22 and June 12, 1721. So let’s split the difference and say “May.”
The first part of the report is headed “November the 16th, 1720” and is a formal report of court proceedings. It lists the individuals present at the Court of Admiralty, has the text of a royal commission with respect to suppressing piracy, and then moves on to the trial of nine defendants, including “John Rackam” but not including either Anne Bonney or Mary Read. Rackham and seven others were described as being from “the island of Providence in America” while the remaining man was from Philadelphia. [Note: “The island of Providence in America” is, as above, New Providence, Bahamas. Obviously at this date “America” was not yet a reference to the United States of America, but simply a reference to the New World in general.] There follow detailed accounts of specific attacks on other ships made by the crew. The defendants all pled Not Guilty, after which witnesses were deposed who gave detailed eye-witness accounts of the attacks and identified the defendants as having taken part. All nine were judged guilty and sentenced to be hanged.
November 17, 1720
The record continues with a new dateline for the trial of two additional men with a single charge (from the list in the previous Rackham trial) made against them. (Presumably this is the reason for trying them separately: that they were only involved in one charge.) They pled Not Guilty, witnesses were deposed, the defendants were judged guilty and sentenced to hang.
November 18, 1720
The record continues under this date to record the execution of five men, including Rackham, and then on the following day (November 19) the other four men from the first trial, and on “Monday following” (Nov. 21) the execution of the two men from the second trial. (The “day of the week” calculator at https://aulis.org/Calendar/Day_of_the_Week.html using the “Old Style” calculator applying to dates before 1752, gives November 19, 1720 as a Saturday, therefore the “Monday following” would be the 21st. I suppose it makes sense to skip doing executions on a Sunday.)
Note: As the initial capture reports indicated that 12 men and 2 women were taken, but the trial only involved 11 men, one possible conclusion is that one of the men (Andrew Gibson) died prior to trial, but none of the documents I reviewed has any mention of this.
November 22, 1720
The periodical The Post Boy (published in London, England) reported on March 28, 1721, the results of the initial trials listing 11 men (including Jack Rackham) as having been convicted of piracy and hanged. The trial results had a dateline of November 22 [1720] from San Iago de la Vega in Jamaica. There is no mention in this item of Bonney or Read. This is far too soon for receipt in London of the published trial record, but if we assume that the news started to travel after Rackham’s sentencing and before the Bonney/Read trial, we can narrowly estimate a news travel time of about four months. Multiple news reports of the trial and executions in various publications at this time list only Rackham by name, or may add the names of some other men.
November 28, 1720
Returning to the trial report, there is a new section datelined November 28, 1720 for the trial of “Mary Read” and “Ann Bonny, alias Bonn.” Once again, the commissioners are named, the defendants are listed, and then the charges are listed. In this case, I’ll provide a complete transcript of the charges.
“I. That they, the said Mary Read, and Ann Bonny, alias Bonn, and each of them, on the first Day of September, in the Seventh Year of the Reign of Our said Lord the King, that now is, upon the High Sea, in a certain Sloop of an unknown Name, being; did feloniously and wickedly, consult, and agree together, and to and with, John Rackam, George Fetherston, Richard Corner, John Davies, John Howell, Patrick Carty, Thomas Earl, and Noah Harwood, to rob, plunder, and take, all such Persons, as well Subjects of Our said Lord the King, that now is, as others, in Peace and Amity with His said Majesty, which they should meet with on the high Sea; and in Execution of their said Evil Designs, afterwards (to wit) on the Third Day of September, in the Year last mentioned, with Force and Arms, Etc. upon the high Sea, in a certain Place, distant about Two Leagues from Harbour-Island in America, and within the Jurisdiction of this Court, did piratically, feloniously, and in a hostile manner, attack, engage, and take, Seven certain Fishing-Boats, then being, Boats of certain Persons, Subjects of our said now Lord the King, (to the Register aforesaid unknown) and then and there, Piratically, and Feloniously, did make an Assault, in and upon, certain Fishermen, Subjects of our said Lord the King, (whose Names to the Register aforesaid are unknown) in the same Fishing-Boats, in the peace of God, and of our said now Lord the King, then and there being, and then and there, Piratically, and Feloniosly [sic], did put the aforesaid Fishermen, in the said Fishing-Boats then being, in Corporal Fear of their Lives; and then and there, piratically and feloniously, did steal, take, and carry away, the Fish, and Fishing-Tackle, of the value of Ten pounds, of Current Money of Jamaica, the Goods and Chattels of the aforesaid Fishermen, then and there upon the high Sea aforesaid, in the aforesaid place, about two Leagues distant from Harbour-Island aforesaid, and within the Jurisdiction aforesaid, being found, in the said Fishing-Boats, in the Custody and Possession of the said Fishermen, from the said Fishermen, and from their Custody and Possession, then and there, upon the high Sea aforesaid, in the place aforesaid, distant about two Leagues form Harbour Island aforesaid, and within the Jurisdiction aforesaid.
“II. That afterwards, to wit, The first Day of October, in the Year last mentioned, they, the said Mary Read, and Ann Bonny, alias Bonn, and each of them, in the said Pirate Sloop being, by Force and Arms, etc. Upon the high Sea, in a certain place, distant about three Leagues from the Island of Hispaniola in America; and within the Jurisdiction of this Court, did Piratically, and Feloniously, set upon, Shoot at, and take, two certain Merchant Sloops, then being, Sloops of certain Persons, Subjects of our said Lord the King (to the aforesaid Register unknown) and then and there, Piratically, and Feloniously, did make an Assault, in and upon, one James Dobbin, and certain other Mariners (whose Names to the Register aforesaid are unknown) in the same Merchant Sloops, in the peace of God, and of our said now Sovereign Lord the King, then and there being, and then, and there, Piratically, and Feloniously, did put the aforesaid Mariners, of the same two Merchant Sloops, in the aforesaid two Merchaint Sloops then being, in Corporal fear of their Lives, and then and there afterwards, to wit, The said first Day of October, in the Year last mentioned, upon the high Sea, in the place aforesaid, distant about three Leagues from Hispaniola aforesaid, in America aforesaid, and within the Jurisdiction aforesaid, Priatically and Feloniously, did steal, take, and carry away, the said two Merchant Sloops, and the Apparrel and Tackle of the same Sloops, of the Value of One Thousand Pounds of Current Money of Jamaica.
“III. That they, the said Mary Read, and Anne Bonny, alias Bonn, and each of them, in the said Pirate Sloop being, afterwards (to wit) the Nineteenth Day of October, in the Year last mentioned, with Force and Arms, etc. Upon the high Sea, at a certain place, distant about Five Leagues from Porto-Maria-Bay, in the Island of Jamaica aforesaid, and within the Jurisdiction of this Court, did Piratically, Feloniously, and in a Hostile manner, Shoot at, set upon, and take, a certain Scooner, of an unknown Name, whereof one Thomas Spenlow was Master, then being, a Scooner of certain Persons, Subjects of our said Lord the King (to the Register aforesaid unknown) and then and there, Piratically, Feloniously, and in a Hostile manner, did make an Assault, in and upon the said Thomas Spenlow, and certain other Mariners (whose Names to the Register aforesaid are unknown) in the same Scooner, in the Peace of God, and of our said now Lord the King, then and there being, and then and there Piratically and Feloniously, did put the aforesaid Thomas Spenlow, and other Mariners of the same Scooner, in the Scooner aforesaid, then being, in Corporal Fear of their Lives; and then and there iratically and Feloniously, did steal, take, and carry away, the said Scooner, and the Apparel and Tackle of the same Scooner, of the value of Twenty Pounds of Current Money of Jamaica.
“IV. That they, the said Mary Read, and Ann Bonny, alias Bonn, and each of them, in the aforesaid Pirate Sloop being, afterwards (to wit) the 20th Day of Octob. in the Year last mention’d with Force and Arms, etc. upon the high Sea, at a certain Place, distant, about one League from Dry-Harbour-Bay, in the Island of Jamaica, aforesaid, and within the Jurisdiction of this Court, did Piratically, Feloniously, and in a Hostile manner, set upon, bard, and enter, a certain Merchant Sloop, called the Mary, then being a Sloop of certain Persons (to the Register aforesaid unknown) whereof Thomas Dillon Mariner was Master; and then and there, did make an Assault, in and upon the said Thomas Dillon, and certain other Mariners (whose Names to the Register aforesaid are unknown) in the same Sloop, called the Mary, in the Peace of God, and of our said now Lord the King, then and there being, and then and there, Piratically and Feloniously, did put the aforesaid Thomas Dillon, and other the [sic] Mariners of the same Merchant Sloop, called the Mary, in the said Sloop called the Mary then being, in Corporal Fear of their Lives; and then and there Piratically, and Feloniously, did steal, take, and carry away, the said Sloop Mary, and the Apparel and Tackle of the same Sloop, of the Value of Three hundred Pounds, of Current Money of Jamaica.”
These are identical to the four articles charged against the first group of nine men, indicating that Bonny and Read were present on the ship for the entire period covered by those charges. Article III is the one charged against the two men in the second trial. The details of the articles aren’t identical across the records of the three trials, but the events in question clearly align.
The following witnesses were deposed, giving the transcribed testimony.
“Dorothy Thomas deposed, That she, being in a Canoa [sic] at Sea, with some Stock and Provisions, at the North-side of Jamaica, was taken by a Sloop, commanded by one Captain Rackam (as she afterwards heard;) who took out of the Canoa, most of the Things that were in her: And further said That the Two Women, Prisoners at the Bar, were then on Board the said Sloop, and wore Mens Jackets, and long Trouzers, and Handkerchiefs tied about their Heads; and that each of them had a Machet and Pistol in their Hands, and cursed and swore at the Men, to murther the Deponent; and that they should kill her, to prevent her coming against them; and the Deponent further said, That the Reason of her knowing and believing them to be Women then was, by the largeness of their Breasts.”
“Thomas Spenlow, being sworn, deposed, That when he was taken by Rackam, the two Women, Prisoners at the Bar, were then on Board Rackam’s Sloop.”
“John Besneck, and Peter Cornelian, two Frenchmen, were produced as Witnesses, against the Prisoners at the Bar, and were sworn. Mr. Simon Clarke was sworn Interpreter; Then the said Two Witnesses declared, That the Two Women, Prisoners at the Bar, were on Board Rackam’s Sloop, at the Time that Spenlow’s Scooner, and Dillon’s Sloop, were taken by Rackam; That they were very active on Board, and willing to do any Thing; That Ann Bonny, one of the Prisoners at the Bar, handed Gun-powder to the Men, That when they saw any Vessel, gave Chase, or Attacked, they wore Men’s Cloaths; and, at other Times, they wore Women’s Cloaths; That they did not seem to be kept, or detain’d by Force, but of their own Free-Will and Consent.”
“Thomas Dillon, being sworn, declared, That on or about the Twentieth Day of October last, he was lying at Anchor, with the Sloop Mary and Sarah, whereof he was Master, in Dry-Harbour, in Jamaica; and that a strange Sloop came into the said Harbour, which fired a Gun at the Deponent’s Sloop; whereupon the Deponent and his Men went ashoar, in order to defend themselves, and Sloop; And that after several Shot had been fired at them, by the said Sloop, the Deponent hailed them, and one Fetherston (as the Deponent believ’d) answer’d, That they were English Pirates, and that they need not be afraid, and desired the Deponent to come on Board; whereupon the Deponent went on Board, and found that the said Sloop was commanded by one John Rackam; afterwards the said Rackam, and his Crew, took the Deponent’s Sloop, and her Lading, and carried her with them to Sea; and further said, That the two Women, Prisoners at the Bar, were then on Board Rackam’s Sloop; and that Ann Bonny, one of the Prisoners at the Bar, had a Gun in her Hand, That they were both very profligate, cursing and swearing much, and very ready and willing to do any Thing on Board.”
Comparing these to the witness lists from the previous trials, the first trial deposed Thomas Spenlow, Peter Cornelian and John Besneck, and also James Spatchears who did not testify against Bonney and Read. The second trial also deposed Thomas Spenlow, as well as Mr. Cohen and William Swaile (who did not testify in the other two trials). The content of the witness testimony differs considerably from trial to trial, clearly focusing on the involvement of the specific defendants.
Bonney and Read were judged guilty and sentenced to be hung. After sentencing, both women told the court they were “quick with Child” and asked for a stay of execution. [Note: this was a fairly common tactic as courts were hesitant to execute a pregnant woman.] “Whereupon the Court ordered, that Execution of the said Sentence should be respited, and that an Inspection should be made.” And court was adjourned until December 19th.
News of the trials and their outcomes took some time to be disseminated. An item in The Daily Courant (a London paper, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Daily_Courant) dated September 1, 1721 reports an account received in London from Jamaica “by the fleet newly arrived” of “the Execution at Kingston and Port Royal of nine more Pyrates; also of the Tryal and Condemnation of 11 others, two of which were Women, named Mary Read and Sarah Bonny; the Evidence against whom deposed, that they were both in Mens Habit, and fought desperately, and that they narrowly escaped being murdered by them.” The identical text was reported in The Daily Journal, The Post Boy, and The Weekly Journal or British Gazetteer on September 2, 1721. The London Journal, also on September 2, 1721, used a different phrasing of the same basic information: “the Execution of Nine Pyrates, and of the Tryal and Condemnation of Eleven more, Two of which were Women, named Mary Road and Anne Bonney, against whom ’twas prov’d, that they both of them wore Seamens Habits, were in Arms, fought desperately, and were more unmerciful than any of the Crew.”
Given the similarity of details to those in the published trial records, it is reasonable to conclude that these accounts were based on a copy of that publication, newly received in London. Based on our triangulation of a publication date in May 1721, this matches our previous observation of a travel time of 4 months for news to get to London.
December 19, 1720 and later
Several other hearings are documented in the published trial records between December 19, 1720 and March 22, 1720 that have no direct connection with the Rackham crew. [Note: The British Empire did not adopt the Gregorian Calendar, along with the use of January 1 to start the new year, until 1752. In the 1720s, the new year still started on Annunciation Day (March 25). So although the court record says “March 22, 1720” we should understand it as 1721. The same applies to the next item.] The following does mention Rackham:
January 24, 1720 (read: 1721) during a trial of nine men, a witness indicated that the men had joined up with Rackham and his crew to commit piracy during October 1820 (referencing one of the charges listed in Rackham’s trial). Although there is a long list of men associated with Rackham’s crew in the testimony, neither Read nor Bonney are mentioned. The defendants claimed they had functionally been impressed into Rackham’s crew by force, nevertheless they were found guilty and sentenced to death.
The publication concludes with the text of “An Act made at Westminster in the Kingdom of Great Britain in the Eleventh and Twelfth Years of the Reign of King William III Entituled [sic], An Act for the more effectual Suppression of Piracy.”
This trial record does not follow up on the results of the “inspection” of Bonney and Read regarding their claimed pregnancies. However, the following record has been identified.
April 28, 1721
A line-item in the St. Catherine Baptisms Marriages & Burials, Vol. I: 1669-1764 lists the burial on April 28, 1721 of “Mary Read pirate.” (St. Catherine is a parish in Jamaica.)
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