11. Mary Read
Born in 1690, Mary Read is one of only two women who have ever been convicted of piracy. Mary spent much of her early life disguised as a man and joined the British military as Mark Read. She took to the sea during what many historians called the “golden age” of piracy from the beginning to mid 18th century.
But her military life was about to change. When the naval ship she was on was captured by pirates in the West Indies, Mary Read was forced to join them. Although she was not a willing participant at first, she found that she enjoyed a pirate’s life.
Mary Read would partner up with another female pirate Annie Bonny, earning a reputation for being ruthless and “very profligate, cursing and swearing much, and very ready and willing to do anything on board.” The women and their crewmates commandeered a 12-ton sloop, causing the governor of the Bahamas to declare the hijackers “enemies to the crown of Great Britain,” with Read and Bonny specifically named.
Both women were eventually captured, tried, and convicted. Since they were both pregnant at the time, their executions were postponed. Read died in prison on April 1721 after reportedly developing a fever.
