“She was of a fierce and courageous Temper, wherefore, when she lay under Condemnation, several Stories were reported of her, much to her disadvantage, …” Captain Johnson, A General History of the Pyrates, 1724
Ann Bonny, her first name sometimes spelt Anne, was one of the two notorious female pirates who sailed with Jack Rackham. Much has been written, but no so much is really known about her life. It is unclear where she really came from. It is often claimed she was born in Ireland, but there is no evidence of this, although it can be assumed she was born sometime in the late 1690s. No primary source, including her own trial transcript, makes mention of her age or nation of origin. No records of an Ann Bonny being born in the late 17th century have been found in the list of baptisms of Ireland. Bonny is not noted as having been an inhabitant of Nassau before pirates arrived in 1713.…