The further back in (women’s) history you go, the more frustrating the search for evidence — or, at least, that’s what I often find. What I had originally planned for this week would not be worth the time spent on it, so plans have had to change; instead, here are a few mini-bios, because, honestly, it was too hard to choose a single replacement.

Queen Teuta of Illyria

Regarded by historians as the first female pirate, Queen Teuta reigned the Ardiaei tribe in Illyria (located around modern-day Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia) from around 231 BC to 228/227 BC. 

Piracy was very common in the ancient period — it was more of a fact of life than anything, probably more so than during the ‘Golden Age’ of piracy (c. 1650s-1730s). Alexander the Great took a harsh line on piracy and he spent part of his rule stamping it out, but after his death, it once again climbed to a peak, taking advantage of the conflicts that followed.

Illyria was a breeding ground for piracy; the citizens and even the governments saw it as a perfectly legal profession. Teuta in particular was of the rights of her people to be pirates, which is perhaps why her title as the ‘Pirate Queen of Antiquity’ is a bit misleading — Teuta herself wasn’t actually a pirate, but she strongly supported them and she had control of incredibly powerful navies.

Illyrian pirates were known for looting merchant vessels. Rome had several important trade routes in the Mediterranean, and so were keen to remove the threat to their goods. They initially tried a diplomatic line, but, predictably, met with hard resistance from Teuta — and that’s putting it mildly. What she actually did, was take such great offence that she ordered the Roman ambassadors’ ships to be seized, held one man captive, and killed the other.

This event forced Rome to declare war, and despite their strength, Illyria was no match. The ‘Pirate Queen’ surrendered and, rather than opting for the humiliation of continuing her rule under Rome (as was offered), she chose to abdicate.

According to legend, Teuta never recovered from the grief of losing Illyria, and so she took her own life by throwing herself off a cliff.

Princess Sela

There’s not much to be found about Sela, but what there is proves her to be, in short, an absolute icon. A Viking princess, Sela hated her brother, Koller, and so when he was crowned King of Norway, she decided to become a pirate.

Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus describes Sela as a ‘skilled warrior and experienced in rowing’, and she proved this well during her approximately twenty years at sea (sources suggest she was active from around 400-420 AD). Her career was brutal; through her many attacks in the North Atlantic, she gained quite the reputation, and an even greater treasure hoard.

Sela eventually crossed paths with Koller’s rival, Horwendill, the former King of Jutland who had given up the throne to become a pirate. The rivals went to war and Horwendill killed Koller, only to find himself struggling against Sela for control of the kingdom. Horwendill won, and Sela joined her brother.

The Red Lady

Possibly named Veronica, the Red Lady is a mystery. She was active around 1528-1534, and can perhaps be called one of the most cunning pirates — her true identity was never revealed. She used disguise to be brought on board ships, usually posing as an entertainer, and acted the innocent woman until the crew either made advances on her or left her alone.

Then, she would take off her disguise, under which she had concealed her weapons, and would massacre everyone on board, to then sail off with their ship.

Horrific as it is, it’s pretty badass.

Sayyida al Hurra

Meaning ‘noble lady who is free and independent; the woman sovereign who bows to no superior authority’, Sayyida al Hurra well lived up to her name (though it was not her real one). She was one of the most important women in the Islamic West, and she was the last person to legitimately hold the title ‘al Hurra’ (used to refer to a woman who exercised great power).

Sayyida came from the Kingdom of Granada, from which she and many other Muslims were forcibly expelled by the Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella. Her family resettled in Morocco, and Sayyida never forgot the insult of being forced out of her home.

She presided over the city of Tétouan as a clever and able ruler. Like many other Muslims who had been expelled from Spain, she used piracy to gain her revenge on the Christians, and allied herself to Barbarossa of Algiers, Turkish pirate captain. He controlled the eastern Mediterranean while she controlled the west; Sayyida wreaked havoc on the Spanish and Portuguese, and eventually became the undisputed pirate leader in the area. 

Her successful pirate career brought many riches to her and her realm; in 1540, she was a key part of a raid on Gibraltar, which allowed the pirates to fill their ships with stolen goods and slaves.

Sayyida al Hurra was eventually deposed after a thirty year rule.

Rachel Wall

There have been very few American pirates, let alone female ones; Rachel Wall, operating in 1781-82, was probably the first. She was born in the province of Pennsylvania and left home at sixteen to be near the sea. She married a fisherman named George Wall and the couple became acquainted with others like them, who desired a life at sea.

Rachel initially worked as a maid while her husband was away, but he eventually ‘enticed’ her to join him, and they turned pirate in 1781. Their methods were very successful — they would search out areas of bad weather, then disguise the ship (the Essex) to look as though it had been severely damaged in the storm. Rachel would stand on the deck and call for help, and when a ship docked, the other pirates would emerge to raid it and kill the crew.

Their success allowed them to raid twelve ships and steal over $6000 dollars plus goods, but it didn’t last. In more than a touch of irony, George Wall made a navigational error and the ship was so badly damaged that many of the crew, including George, died. Rachel survived and returned to work as a maid.

Unfortunately, she continued her life of piracy, albeit (and slightly contradictorily) on land. She engaged in petty crime and highway robbery and was eventually captured, at which point she admitted to being a pirate. She was hanged in 1789, aged 29, becoming the last woman to meet this fate in Massachusetts.

Ching Shih

Despite her career at sea only lasting nine years, Ching Shih (also Zheng Yi Sao) has gone down in history as the most successful female pirate, and possibly the most successful pirate full stop. She was so successful, in fact, that all attempts to capture her ended in failure, and the government eventually allowed her to retire peacefully.

She married famous pirate Zheng Yi (Cheng I), who had united every major Chinese pirate organisation into the Red Flag Fleet, and upon his death in an accident at the age of 39, Ching Shih stepped up to the plate. The Red Flag flourished under her control, and she eventually commanded over 1500 ships and 80,000 sailors. The South China Sea was hers, and she made certain that it stayed that way.

Cheng Shih was ruthless not only to victims — many of which were murdered or sold into slavery; we need to be careful about celebrating her actions, or, in fact, any of a pirate — but also to her crew. The Red Flag was run with an iron fist and executions were not uncommon if her rules were disobeyed. Those rules included all treasure being presented to her for inspection before it was shared out, she was the only one who had the final say, and the rape of female captives was prohibited.

That last rule being said, attractive female captives were often forced into marriage with members of the crew (provided the crew member could support them). Those who were deemed ugly were either ransomed off or set free.

Eventually, the Chinese government realised that, even with the help of the British and Portuguese navies, they’d have a tough job capturing her. Fortunately for them (not so much for the pirates), Ching Shih’s grip on power began to falter by around 1810 and she suffered a defeat to the Portuguese at the Battle of the Tiger’s Mouth.

In an amazing stroke, Ching Shih was allowed to retire and keep all her stolen goods. She was given a full pardon and allowed back into China, where she spent the rest of her life operating a gambling den.

Sources:

• https://albania360.com/only-in-albania/illyrian-queen-teuta-one-of-the-9-most-famous-pirates-in-the-world/
• https://www.warhistoryonline.com/ancient-history/ancient-piracy-teuta-illyrian-pirate-queen.html?edg-c=1
• http://www.annebonnypirate.com/famous-female-pirates/ching-shih/
• https://westridgespyglass.org/2216/op-ed/the-backstory-3-female-pirates-who-swashbuckled-their-way-into-history/
• http://www.thewayofthepirates.com/famous-pirates/ching-shih/
• http://www.annebonnypirate.com/famous-female-pirates/rachel-wall/
• https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/rachel-wall-new-englands-only-lady-pirate/
• https://amazingwomeninhistory.com/sayyida-al-hurra-islamic-pirate-queen/
• http://www.thewayofthepirates.com/famous-pirates/sayyida-al-hurra/