Mary Read (1685 – 28 April 1721), also known as Mark Read, was an English
pirate
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
. She and
Anne Bonny
Anne Bonny (8 March 1697 – disappeared April 1721), sometimes Anne Bonney, was an Irish pirate operating in the Caribbean, and one of the few female pirates in recorded history. What little that is known of her life comes largely from Capta ...
were two famous
female pirates from the 18th century, and among the few women known to have been convicted of piracy at the height of the "
Golden Age of Piracy
The Golden Age of Piracy is a common designation for the period between the 1650s and the 1730s, when maritime piracy was a significant factor in the histories of the Caribbean, the United Kingdom, the Indian Ocean, North America, and West Africa ...
".
Read was born in England in 1685. She began dressing as a boy at a young age, at first at her mother's urging in order to receive inheritance money and then as a teenager in order to join the British military. She then married and upon her husband's death moved to the
West Indies
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...
around 1715. In 1720 she met
Jack Rackham
John Rackham (26 December 168218 November 1720), commonly known as Calico Jack, was an English pirate captain operating in the Bahamas and in Cuba during the early 18th century. His nickname was derived from the calico clothing that he wore, whil ...
and joined his crew, dressing as a man alongside Anne Bonny. Her time as a pirate was successful but short lived, as she, Bonny and Rackham were arrested in November 1720. Rackham was executed, but Read and Bonny both claimed to be pregnant and received delayed sentences. Read died of a fever in April 1721.
Early life
Mary Read was born in the
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England (, ) was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from 12 July 927, when it emerged from various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain.
On 1 ...
in 1685. Her mother had married a sailor and had a son. After her husband disappeared at sea, Mary's mother became pregnant after an extramarital love affair. Read's mother attempted to hide the pregnancy by going to live with friends in the country. Shortly thereafter, her son died, and she gave birth to Mary. This son that she conceived to her missing husband at sea was seen as an accident. The mother of Mary Read was seen with respect by her neighbors and close family and hence this is why she took this leave of absence because of her shame linked with the pregnancy and this son she gave birth to.
In financial distress, her mother decided to disguise Mary as her dead son, in order to receive monetary support from her late husband's mother. The grandmother was apparently fooled, and mother and daughter lived on the inheritance into Mary's teen years. Dressed as a boy, Read found work as a
foot-boy, and, then, employment on a ship.
She later joined the
British military
The British Armed Forces, also known as His Majesty's Armed Forces, are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, su ...
, which was after around age 13 and Read found herself joining the crew of a British Man of War. She later quit this and moved into ''Flanders'' where she carried Arms in a Regiment of Foot as a cadet and served bravely but could receive commission from her role because they were typically bought and sold she moved onto a Regiment of Horse. Which was allied with Dutch forces against the French (this could have been during the
Nine Years War
The Nine Years' War (1688–1697), often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg, was a conflict between France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarch ...
or during the
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...
). Read, in male disguise, proved herself through battle, but fell in love with a Flemish soldier. When they married, she used their military commission and gifts from intrigued brethren in arms to acquire an inn named "De drie hoefijzers" ("The Three Horseshoes") near
Breda Castle
Breda Castle is a castle in the city of Breda, in the Netherlands.
History
In the 12th century, a fortress was located at Breda. The city of Breda came into existence near the fortress. In 1353, the Duke of Brabant sold Breda to Jan II of Pola ...
in The Netherlands.
Upon her husband's early death, Read resumed male dress and military service in the Netherlands. With peace, there was no room for advancement, so she quit and boarded a ship bound for the
West Indies
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...
. This ship that she boarded for the West Indies happened to be boarded by a pirate ship and her being disguised as a British male helped her and they took her on board with the crew which was British.
Becoming a pirate
Read's ship was taken by pirates, whom she willingly joined. She accepted the
King's pardon c. 1718–1719, then took a commission to
privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...
, but joined the crew in mutiny. In 1720 she joined pirate John "
Calico Jack
John Rackham (26 December 168218 November 1720), commonly known as Calico Jack, was an English pirate captain operating in the Bahamas and in Cuba during the early 18th century. His nickname was derived from the calico clothing that he wore, whi ...
" Rackham and his companion,
Anne Bonny
Anne Bonny (8 March 1697 – disappeared April 1721), sometimes Anne Bonney, was an Irish pirate operating in the Caribbean, and one of the few female pirates in recorded history. What little that is known of her life comes largely from Capta ...
, who both believed her to be a man. On 22 August 1720, the three stole an armed
sloop
A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...
named ''William'' from port in
Nassau
Nassau may refer to:
Places Bahamas
*Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence
Canada
*Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792
*Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...
.
Scholars are uncertain how female pirates like Read and Bonny concealed their sex in a male-dominated environment.
Some scholars, however, have theorized that the wearing of breeches by female pirates may have been either a method of hiding their identity or simply as practical clothing that solidified their working place on board the ship among the other seamen.
When Bonny told Read that she was a woman because she was attracted to her, Read revealed that she too was a woman. To abate the jealousy of her lover, Rackham, who suspected romantic involvement between the two, Bonny told him that Read was a woman. Speculation over the relationship between Bonny and Read led to images depicting the two in battle together.
A victim of the pirates, Dorothy Thomas, left a description of Read and Bonny: They "wore men's jackets, and long trousers, and handkerchiefs tied about their heads: and ... each of them had a machete and pistol in their hands and they cursed and swore at the men to murder her
orothy Thomas" Thomas also recorded that she knew that they were women, "from the largeness of their breasts."
Capture and imprisonment
On 15 November 1720, pirate hunter Captain
Jonathan Barnet
Jonathan Barnet (1677/78 – 1745)"Jonathan Barnet", ''Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery'' https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/person/view/2146662203 Retrieved 1 January 2022. was an English privateer in the Caribbean, best known fo ...
took Rackham's crew by surprise, while they hosted a rum party with another crew of Englishmen at
Negril Point
South Negril Point is the westernmost point of mainland Jamaica.UK Directorate of Overseas Surveys 1:50,000 map of Jamaica sheet B, 1958. It is located a little south of the resort town of Negril
Negril is a small (pop. 6,900) but widely dis ...
off the west coast of the
Colony of Jamaica
The Crown Colony of Jamaica and Dependencies was a British colony from 1655, when it was captured by the English Protectorate from the Spanish Empire. Jamaica became a British colony from 1707 and a Crown colony in 1866. The Colony was pri ...
. After a volley of fire disabled the pirate vessel, Rackham's crew and their "guests" fled to the hold, leaving only the women and one other to fight Barnet's boarding party
(it is also possible that Rackham and his crew were too drunk to fight). Allegedly, Read angrily shot into the hold, killing one, and wounding others, when the men would not come up and fight with them. Barnet's crew eventually overcame the women. Rackham surrendered, requesting "
quarter A quarter is one-fourth, , 25% or 0.25.
Quarter or quarters may refer to:
Places
* Quarter (urban subdivision), a section or area, usually of a town
Placenames
* Quarter, South Lanarkshire, a settlement in Scotland
* Le Quartier, a settlement ...
".
Rackham and his crew were arrested and brought to trial in what is now
Spanish Town, Jamaica
Spanish Town ( jam, label=Jamaican Creole, Panish Tong) is the capital and the largest town in the parish of St. Catherine in the historic county of Middlesex, Jamaica. It was the Spanish and British capital of Jamaica from 1534 until 1872. Th ...
, where they were sentenced to hang for acts of piracy, as were Read and Bonny. However, the women claimed they were both "quick with child" (known as "
pleading the belly
Pleading the belly was a process available at English common law, which permitted a woman in the later stages of pregnancy to receive a reprieve of her death sentence until after she bore her child. The plea was available at least as early as 138 ...
"), and received temporary
stays of execution.
Mary Read declared in front of the court that she had never committed Adultery and Fornication with any man of sorts on the ship. She commended the court before her but was ultimately tried after distinguishing the nature of her crimes. One of the pieces of evidence that was included with her crimes was that she was with Rackham and that they fell into discourse when he took read as a young man.
Read died of a violent fever while in prison. Her 28 April 1721 burial is in the records of St. Catherine's church in Jamaica.
There is no record of the burial of her baby, suggesting that she may have died while pregnant.
Modern Interpretations of Mary Read
Read's stories in many ways draw upon modern concepts such as the independent plebeian woman in the eighteenth century which can include new concepts such as the idea of the cross dressing woman warrior and the female criminal. This all builds into the idea of her being seen as a transatlantic subject.
Cross Dressing Woman Warrior
Mary Read disguising herself as a man and becoming a pirate in order to pillage and plunder is one thing that can be related to the concept of the cross dressing woman warrior. Anne Bonny also used this disguise to carry on affairs with the men on the ship and this also facilitates this idea of the cross dressing woman.
[Klein , Ula Lukszo. “Busty Buccaneers and Sapphic Swashbucklers on the High Seas .” ''Transatlantic Women Travelers, 1688-1843'', Bucknell University , Lewisburg , PA , 2021. ]
Female Criminal
The concept of the female criminal is evident in Mary Read because she was cunning and intuitive and used this to swindle many of the crew members and it is said in the ''General History of the…Pyrates'' that she had a “fierce and courageous temper”. This concept is also evident in her life because it is also said in this work that she had a large amount of ambiguity and tenacity in terms of her motivations for piracy.
Transatlantic Subject
Mary Read being seen as a transatlantic subject draws on the laboring class values, women warrior archetypes, as well as concepts of pirate freedoms. It is clear that Bonny has many options in terms of her mobility and independence. Read also embodies the idea of the transatlantic subject because of the disparate expressions of the impulse to escape imperious British rule which can also show her shrewdness, practicality, resolveness.
Role in Male Dominated Society
One last concept that can be interpreted with Mary Read is the idea of how they interacted in what is a predominantly male dominated society. It is known from the little information on the interactions of Mary Read that she supposedly is said to have been at some points better than their male counterparts in being a pirate. They were at times better than them at things such as fighting, drinking, working and this is also what helped Read get away with being a male pirate for so long.
In popular culture
*A
fictionalized version of Mary Read appears in the 2013
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
''
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag'' and is voiced by Olivia Morgan. She poses as James Kidd, the illegitimate son of Captain
William Kidd
William Kidd, also known as Captain William Kidd or simply Captain Kidd ( – 23 May 1701), was a Scottish sea captain who was commissioned as a privateer and had experience as a pirate. He was tried and executed in London in 1701 for murder a ...
, and is a member of the Assassin Order.
*The 2006
TV film
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
''
True Caribbean Pirates
''True Caribbean Pirates'' is a documentary which aired on History (U.S. TV channel), The History Channel in 2006.
The documentary tells about pirates of the Caribbean such as Blackbeard, Henry Morgan, Anne Bonny and Black Bart Roberts. Larger th ...
'' featured Mary Read portrayed by
Kimberly Adair.
*The 1961 Italian film ''
Le avventure di Mary Read'' told the story of Mary Read, who was portrayed by
Lisa Gastoni
Lisa Gastoni (born 28 July 1935) is an Italian film actress. Gastoni was named "Best Italian Actress of the Year, 1966" as she received both the Nastro D'Argento Award and the Golden Globe Award from Italy's Foreign Press Association.}
Biograp ...
.
* Mary Read is also portrayed in the ''
Detective Conan
''Case Closed'', also known as , is a Japanese detective fiction, detective manga series written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama. It has been serialized in Shogakukan's Shōnen manga, ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' ...
'' animated film ''
Jolly Roger in the Deep Azure'' along with Anne Bonny.
* Mary Read is a
playable character
A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...
in ''
Fate/Grand Order
is a free-to-play Japanese mobile game, developed by Lasengle (formerly Delightworks) using Unity, and published by Aniplex, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan. The game is based on Type-Moon's ''Fate/stay night'' franchise, and ...
'' as a Rider-class and an Archer-class Servant along with Anne Bonny; they are voiced by
Ayako Kawasumi
is a Japanese voice actress and singer. She is affectionately referred to by her fellow voice actors and fans as "", "","" and "". She is a skilled pianist as she has played the piano since childhood.
She performed "...To You", the opening theme ...
(Bonny) and
Ai Nonaka
is a Japanese voice actress and singer. She works for Aoni Production and was formerly a member of the voice actor unit Drops, which included fellow voice actor Akemi Kanda, Tomoko Kaneda, Mariko Kōda, and Ryōko Shiraishi. In high school in Fu ...
(Read).
* Read (
Cara Roberts) introduces herself to Anne Bonny under the name of Mark Read in the final episode of ''
Black Sails''.
* Mary Read is featured in the song "The Ballad of Mary Read and Anne Bonny" by the Baja Brigade.
* Mary Read is featured in the song "Under the Flag of Mary Read" by Italian metal band
Secret Sphere
Secret Sphere is an Italian symphonic power metal band from Alessandria, formed by guitarist Aldo Lonobile in July 1997.
History
Early Years (1997–2011)
Guitarist Aldo Lonobile formed Secret Sphere in July 1997. Early on, the band was ...
.
* Mary Read and Anne Bonny are featured in the song "Five Guns West" by Adam and the Ants.
* Mary Read and Anne Bonny are featured in the novel ''The Unbinding of Mary Reade'' by
Miriam McNamara.
* Mary Read appears with Anne Bonny as the primary protagonist in the ''Well-Behaved Women'' series of books.
*Read appears with Bonny and Rackham in the Audible serial podcast ''Hell Cats'', by Carina Rodney.
* Mary Read and Anne Bonny appear in the lyrics of the song “5 Guns West” by Adam and the Ants, on their 3rd album Prince Charming (released in November 1981)
*Mary Read appears as a companion in the video game Time Princess.
Sculpture
* A wood sculpture, believed to be from the 18th century, of Mary Read is fixed to the front elevation of the 18th-century ''The Earle Arms'' public house in
Heydon, Norfolk
Heydon is a village and civil parish in Norfolk, England.
It is located north of the market town of Reepham. The village can be accessed by the public only from the south, resulting in the only road, called The Street, effectively being a cul- ...
.
* In 2020 a statue of Read and Bonny was unveiled at
Execution Dock
Execution Dock was a place in the River Thames near the shoreline at Wapping, London, that was used for more than 400 years to execute pirates, smugglers and mutineers who had been sentenced to death by Admiralty courts. The "dock" consisted of ...
in
Wapping
Wapping () is a district in East London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Wapping's position, on the north bank of the River Thames, has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains through its riverside public houses and steps, ...
, London. It is planned to eventually bring the statue to
Burgh Island
Burgh Island is a tidal island on the coast of South Devon in England near the small seaside village of Bigbury-on-Sea. There are several buildings on the island, the largest being the Art Deco Burgh Island Hotel. The other buildings are three ...
in south
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
.
See also
*
Women in piracy
Although the majority of pirates in history have been men, there are around a hundred known examples of female pirates, about forty of whom were active in the Golden Age of Piracy. Some women have been pirate captains and some have commanded enti ...
*
John Bear
References
External links
*
General History of the Pyrates*
Return to Pirate Island', Simon, Ed, JSTOR Daily, August 4, 2021 with several references
{{DEFAULTSORT:Read, Mary
1685 births
1721 deaths
18th-century English people
17th-century English women
17th-century English people
18th-century English women
18th-century pirates
Female duellists
Female-to-male cross-dressers
Sailors from London
Prisoners who died in British detention
English prisoners sentenced to death
English people who died in prison custody
Prisoners who died in Jamaican detention
British pirates
Female wartime cross-dressers
Women in the British military
Date of birth unknown
British female pirates
Female
Female (Venus symbol, symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ovum, ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the Sperm, male gamete during sexual reproduction.
A female has larger gamet ...
English duellists
Pardoned pirates