Origins & Early Life

Anne Bonny (likely died December 1733) was an Irish pirate who served under John Rackham. Amongst the few recorded female pirates in the Golden Age of Piracy, she has become one of the most recognized pirates of the era, as well as the history of piracy in general. Much of Bonny's background is unknown. The first biography of Bonny comes from Captain Charles Johnson's 1724 book A General History of the Pyrates.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

According to Johnson, Bonny was born in Ireland, the illegitimate daughter of an attorney and his servant. Bonny and her father later moved to Carolina, where she married a sailor. Although Johnson's version of events has become popular over the centuries, there is little evidence to support it. At an unknown date, Bonny travelled to the Bahamas where she became acquainted with the pirate John Rackham. In August 1720, Bonny joined Rackham's crew, alongside another female pirate, Mary Read.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

Together they stole the sloop William owned by John Ham from Nassau on 22 August 1720. Rackham and his crew carried out a number of attacks on merchant ships in the West Indies until they were captured by former privateer Jonathan Barnet following a brief naval engagement on 22 October 1720...

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

• Abbé Prévost — Contemporary (Born in 1697) (1697): French novelist, best known for the highly popular romance, Manon Lescaut.
• Canaletto — Contemporary (Born in 1697) (1697): Master Vedutista: Celebrated painter of Venetian and Roman cityscapes.
• Francesco Redi — Contemporary (Died in 1697) (1697): Pioneering biologist who refuted spontaneous generation and founded experimental biology.
• Augustus II the Strong — Contemporary (Died in 1733) (1733): Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, known for his strong physique and patronage of the arts.
• Bernard Mandeville — Contemporary (Died in 1733) (1733): Anglo-Dutch philosopher, satirist, and physician known for 'The Fable of the Bees'.
• François Couperin — Contemporary (Died in 1733) (1733): Master of the French Baroque style, renowned for his exquisite keyboard works.
• Joseph Priestley — Historical peer (Born in 1733) (1733): Polymath chemist, Unitarian theologian, and pioneer of modern gas science.
• Cao Xueqin — Historical peer (Born in 1724) (1724): Master of Qing Dynasty literature, famed for Dream of the Red Chamber.
• Chaim Yosef David Azulai — Historical peer (Born in 1724) (1724): Prominent 18th-century Sephardi rabbinical scholar and bibliophile.
• Charles Edward Stuart — Historical peer (Born in 1720) (1720): The Young Pretender, claimant to the British thrones, leader of the Jacobite Rising of 1745.
• 1697 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1697
• 1733 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1733