Pirates: Mary Read

Issued 1970
Mary Read

Female pirates had at least one advantage over their male brethren. Captured by the Royal Navy, Mary Read and her compatriot Anne Bonney "pled their bellies" to save themselves from the hangman's noose. It was against English law to kill an unborn child, so the pregnant women were spared. Mary died in jail—possibly from complications during childbirth. Anne, however, disappears from the historical record after 1720. It is possible that she was pardoned thanks to the deft legal skills of her father and resumed a less-exciting life on land.