Anne Bonny @ MindSay

Because I've temporarily swiped his flag (my new header) I thought I should at least dedicate a post to the man who flew it over his pirating vessel for four years.

By the way, I seriously could do a history of Jolly Roger flags...

Anyway...


John Rackham (or "Calico Jack" because of his preference of calico breeches and shirts) was a short time English pirate in the early 1700's. In 1718 John was only a quartermaster aboard The Treasure, a ship that belong to Charles Vane. While at sea they came across a French warship and the captain opted to flee rather than board the ship and fight. Most of the crew disagreed with his decision and declared mutiny. They left Vane on a beach and made Rackham the new captain. That same day he managed to capture a number of small vessels.

In New Providence Calico Jack met Anne Bonny in a tavern where they began a hot and heavy love affair. Anne's husband attempted to end their liaison with the intervention of the governor. The pair were unable to separate and Anne ran away to see with him. It is rumored she had a child with Jack before they left but not proven true. She was smuggled aboard dressed as a cabin boy (so the crew would take little notice of her) and they continued their love affair as Anne established herself as a bad-ass pirate. Her identity remained a secret for quite some time.

Calico Jack and his crew raided and merchant ship in the West Indies. They killed most of the crew and had a young man cornered. Because of his fierce determination, the captain asked if he would rather join the crew or be skewered on a cutlass. He agreed and soon became the most feared pirate aboard. Unfortunately, Anne's wanton nature caused her to actively pursue sexual liaisons with other crew members, eventually setting her sights on the most feared on the new-comer. Jack saw them always together and became very jealous. One day he decided to confront the man. He asked what was between him and Anne, and he swore it was nothing. Jack didn't believe him. So to prove nothing was between him and Anne, he decided to give Jack his true identity, which happened to be not a he at all, but Mary Read.

Unfortunately it appears that pirate Calico Jack did not take well to Anne's flirtatious nature and his command and authority appeared to slide. Seeking solace in innumerable bottles of rum, Anne and Mary assumed the real leadership roles aboard the ship as women since they no longer had to hide their true sex with the pretense of masculinity.

The ignoble end to the exploits of Calico Jack occurred when the ship was eventually cornered by a King's vessel captained by Barnet, subjected to a hail of cannon fire, Calico Jack Rackham and his crew were easily captured. The moment of battle occurred at a very opportune time as most of the crew including Calico Jack were languishing in the hold the worse for wear from an alcoholic binge. Only Anne Bonny and Mary Read attempted to resist the attack, the rest of the crew were below decks in the depths of a drunken stupor.

Transported in irons to Jamaica for trial, pirate Calico Jack and his crew were tried on November 16, 1720, before Sir Nicholas Laws. Despite repenting his Pirate acts as he had successfully done previously, pirate Calico Jack Rackham was not spared and was hanged at Gallows Point, Port Royal later that same year.