John “Calico Jack” Rackham
Anne Bonny and Mary Read spent most of their privateer days working together, but there was also a third part of their pirating team throughout their rein of crimes. John “Calico Jack” Rackham. John Rackham was nicknamed Calico Jack because all of his clothing was made from calico cotton.(Zepke, 2005, p. 53) Calico Jack was a second generation pirate. He was the commander of the ship Anne bonny and Mary Read sailed upon. They were a fearsome threesome and traveled to North Carolina often. Anne Bonny and Calico Jack were romantically involved, but Anne was married to James Bonny. Jack tried to get James Bonny to grant Anne a divorce, but stated he would never give up Anne. In fact he fired back with charges of adulterous behavior and Bonny was sentenced to a flogging. Flogging at the time was a sentence that only applied to women who committed adultery. Anne Bonny and Calico Jack hurried and formed a crew, selected a ship and ran from Anne’s sentence. Escaping with her life and there freedom for the time being.
The End of an Era
After they had escaped the flogging, Calico decided it was becoming too dangerous to be a pirate in the seas of the Indies. He headed to North Carolina for refuge with his crew of Bonny, Read and one other unnamed pirate. It was well known North Carolina Governor Eden was very accepting of pirates. He was especially tolerant if he received some of their bounty. During their final battle Calico and the unknown pirate hid in the hold of the ship. The men left Bonny and Read to fight the battle alone. The women proved to be braver and more loyal than their male counter parts. The crew was all captured by the militia. They were all found guilty, but unlike the pregnant women, Calico was hung on November 17, 1720 at Point Royal, Jamaica. Anne Bonny was carrying Calico Jack baby when she was imprisoned. (Zepke, 2005, p. 57)
Anne Bonny and Mary Read spent most of their privateer days working together, but there was also a third part of their pirating team throughout their rein of crimes. John “Calico Jack” Rackham. John Rackham was nicknamed Calico Jack because all of his clothing was made from calico cotton.(Zepke, 2005, p. 53) Calico Jack was a second generation pirate. He was the commander of the ship Anne bonny and Mary Read sailed upon. They were a fearsome threesome and traveled to North Carolina often. Anne Bonny and Calico Jack were romantically involved, but Anne was married to James Bonny. Jack tried to get James Bonny to grant Anne a divorce, but stated he would never give up Anne. In fact he fired back with charges of adulterous behavior and Bonny was sentenced to a flogging. Flogging at the time was a sentence that only applied to women who committed adultery. Anne Bonny and Calico Jack hurried and formed a crew, selected a ship and ran from Anne’s sentence. Escaping with her life and there freedom for the time being.
The End of an Era
After they had escaped the flogging, Calico decided it was becoming too dangerous to be a pirate in the seas of the Indies. He headed to North Carolina for refuge with his crew of Bonny, Read and one other unnamed pirate. It was well known North Carolina Governor Eden was very accepting of pirates. He was especially tolerant if he received some of their bounty. During their final battle Calico and the unknown pirate hid in the hold of the ship. The men left Bonny and Read to fight the battle alone. The women proved to be braver and more loyal than their male counter parts. The crew was all captured by the militia. They were all found guilty, but unlike the pregnant women, Calico was hung on November 17, 1720 at Point Royal, Jamaica. Anne Bonny was carrying Calico Jack baby when she was imprisoned. (Zepke, 2005, p. 57)