Women in piracy
Name Years Active Culture Comments
Ching Shih 1801-1810 Chinese She was a prostitute who married a pirate and rose to prominence after his death . Regarded as one of the most powerful pirates in human history , she commanded her husband 's fleet after his death . While the fleet she inherited was already large , she further increased the number of ships and crew . At its height , her fleet was composed of more than 1,500 ships and 80,000 sailors . She controlled much of the waters of the South China Sea . After years of piracy during which British , Chinese and Portuguese navies could not defeat her , China offered her peace in 1810 and she was able to retire and married the second in command
Charlotte Badger and Catherine Hagerty 1806 English Widely considered to be the first Australian female pirate . The ship Venus , due to a shortage of man-power , took on convicts including Badger and Hagerty as crew while in Australia . After docking at Port Dalrymple , Tasmania , the Captain went ashore and the crew seized the ship , sailing for New Zealand . Hagerty along with two other convicts , a woman named Charlotte Edgar and a child were put ashore at the Bay of Islands with a supply of stores . Hagerty died shortly thereafter . The two men were arrested for piracy and Edgar remained to become one of the first settlers in New Zealand . Badger was never seen again
Margaret Croke ( Margaret Jordan ) 1809 Canadian Following a dispute with investors over his schooner The Three Sisters , Edward Jordan was on his way to Halifax to sort it out . Wrongly assuming his family was being sent to debtors ' prison , he killed two crewman then threw the Captain overboard before commandeering the vessel with the help of the remaining crewman . The marooned Captain survived and testified against Jordan claiming Margaret , who was aboard with her son and three young daughters , was also involved . Margaret admitted hitting the Captain after he had hit her husband during an argument in her cabin before he decided to commandeer the vessel ; the other crew member testified she was actually in fear for her life from her violent husband and had attempted to escape . Edward was hanged for piracy and murder , Margaret was discharged
Johanna Hård 1823 Swedish Sweden 's last pirate ; in 1823 , recently widowed Hård , a farm owner on Vrångö Island , was arrested along with her farmhand Anders Andersson , farmer Christen Andersson , and one of Christen 's farmhands Carl Börjesson and boatman Johan Andersson Flatås of Göteborg for piracy after the Danish ship Frau Mette was found beached and plundered with a murdered crew . Evidence was presented that the five had followed the Frau Mette on Flatås fishing vessel the Styrsö and requested water . After boarding her they killed the crew . Johan Andersson Flatås , Anders Andersson , and Christen Andersson were sentenced to death and beheaded . Carl Börjesson was imprisoned in Karlstens fortress where he died 1853 . The evidence against Johanna Hård was insufficient and she was released and subsequently disappeared
Sadie the Goat 1869 American Possibly fictional . Operated around the state of New York as a member of the Charlton Street Gang . Named for her habit of headbutting her victims before taking their money
19th-century pirates
While piracy was predominantly a male occupation, a minority of pirates were women. On many ships, women (as well as young boys) were prohibited by the ship's contract, which all crew members were required to sign. Because of the resistance to allowing women on board, many female pirates did not identify themselves as such. Anne Bonny, for example, dressed and acted as a man while on Captain Calico Jack's ship. She and Mary Read, another female pirate, are often identified as being unique in this regard. This article contains a list of female pirates who are recognized by historians, listed in the time period they were active.