Originally posted on Instagram 3rd July 2022

It’s true that piracy was more often than not a man’s world. But there were more female pirates than you might think or have heard of – 38 in fact!

Or, rather, there are 38 female pirates recognised by historians. However, it is acknowledged that a small number of these may indeed be fictional.

Early women pirates tended to be of Viking origin; during the Golden Age, many were English and Irish. Pirates were also from Sweden, Brittany, Morocco, France, and China. There has only ever been one confirmed female pirate from America – Rachel Wall – and the first woman pirate to be recognised was Queen Teuta of Illyria.

So why don’t we hear about them as often as male pirates?

Well, first and foremost, they were a clear minority. Women were actually often undesirable on pirate ships – they were thought to bring bad luck to the crew. Anyone who reads a story of a female pirate can probably conclude that this is a load of rubbish, but it was a legitimate fear at the time.

Because of this, women who wanted to join pirate ships would often dress as men. Not all did, and some eventually revealed their identities. But enough did to beg the question – how many still go unknown, even now?

If there’s a man among ye, ye’ll come up and fight like the man ye are to be!

Mary Read (supposedly) upon her last stand with Anne Bonny, 1720

See also:

• Blog post: Pirates: Six Biographies
• Blog post: Jeanne de Clisson