An intriguing, well-researched book chronologizing the pirate women of history. The heroines and anti-heroines of the Seven Seas: real, made-up, and somewhere in between.
Due to there existing, to this date, virtually no extensive records or documents of the eras of pirating and privateers pre-20th century - much less any concrete information concerning female pirates - the line between fact and fiction is extremely blurred on these swashbuckling, freedom-loving, leaves-no-prisoners outlaws of the perilous world of the sea. Laura Sook Duncombe does preface that any research on the pirate women she discusses in her book should be taken with a grain of salt, and that as a lover of pirates she tries to give as much information as she can find, taken from sources that by are all accounts credible, vague and dubious, all at once. With a frustrating lack of founded evidence for this particular area of historical interest, some bias and guesswork is expected. Myths and legends can hold truths to them, as well.
In 'Pirate Women: The Princesses, Prostitutes, and Privateers Who Ruled the Seven Seas', the reader learns about Queen Artemisia I of Halicarnassus, Queen Teuta, the Viking Ladgerda, Norse Princess Alfhild, Jeanne de Monfort, Jeanne de Clisson, Sayyida al-Hurra of the Barbary corsairs (ruler of the western Mediterranean for twenty years and consort to the sultan of Morocco), Lady Mary Killigrew, Grace O'Malley (Pirate Queen and enemy/rumoured friend of Queen Elizabeth I), Anne de Graaf, Anne Bonny, Mary Read, Charlotte de Berry, Margaret Jordan, the bloodthirsty Maria Cobham, Mary Ann Townsend (rumoured wife of Blackbeard, real name Edward Teach), Cheng I Sao (aka the most successful pirate of all time), Lai Choi San (possible originator of the dragon lady stereotype, though not by her choice), Cheng Chui Ping (aka Sister Ping, human smuggler and hero of China in the 20th century), and many more.
All these amazing women are barely known in the public consciousness and are almost never talked about in history books, lectures and programs, despite them having lived fascinating lives filled with worldly influences and both successes and failures; worthy of various film adaptations.
Women have always been complex people yearning for freedom as much as anyone else. But history is told by the victors and those in power (read: white men) who would want to keep women "in their place" and remain chaste, weak and subservient creatures existing only as pretty baby-makers, not interested or even capable of having exciting adventures. Nearly all the pirate women listed in this book were married, some more than once, and succeeded in piracy only after the death of a pirate husband. However, that doesn't lessen a doubloon of their awe-aspiring existence, as they sailed ships, commandeered fleets, organized crime waves, looted, pillaged treasure, deceived, and even murdered onshore and at sea.
Duncombe writes about the ages of piracy and how it came about. She details the different boats used, the regimes, the contrasting piratical and naval conditions (pirates' lives appear more equal and free in their democracies), and other products of the pirate women's times. Restrictions based on gender would only make them want the life of an outlaw even more. Though Duncombe does go off topic sometimes in describing various aspects of piracy before getting into the bones - the nitty gritty - of the women and their stories she is meant to be talking about, she is an engaging writer. I was actually immersed in the history lesson, rather than bored out of my skull. To know that women like Grace O'Malley, Cheng I Sao, Lai Choi San, and Cheng Chui Ping existed is exciting and liberating enough, and to learn further about their worlds and how they possibly lived in them is essential to my understanding of them as people, information skewed as it is on verification.
A woman's perspective - an obscured window - into history is a rare jewel, nay, a hidden horde of valuable treasure, in of itself.
It seems my attraction to pirates and pirate women - until a couple of years ago I hadn't known there was ever such a thing, that's how powerful a hold the patriarchy has on history - is not founded on pop culture superficiality alone. A lot of fictional stories about them I find to be surprisingly dull - what a crime, for if there is one thing pirates should absolutely not be, it is boring! - but this non-fiction collection of famous and forgotten pirates is fulfilling to my buccaneering, adventuress-wishing heart.
Duncombe also mentions pirate women that are most definitely fictional and more legendary than fact, such as Jacquotte Delahaye, Gunpowder Gertie and Fanny Campbell, and in her last chapter talks about the tragically few pirate women on the big screen.
There's 'Anne of the Indies' (1951), and one of the biggest box office bombs in cinematic history, 'Cutthroat Island' (1995), which was the reason why Hollywood studios avoided pirate movies - as well as adding another excuse for not making movies about women - until the colossal success of the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' movies from Disney, started in 2003, and is still spawning sequels to this day. Pirate properties aren't making much headway or lasting popularity, however. I also disagree with Duncombe's assessment of the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' first trilogy's only female pirate, Elizabeth Swann; which is positive despite practically every aspect of Elizabeth's pirate life being forced on her, with no choice made on her part, including the vote for her to be the king of the pirates in 'At World's End'. In the same film, Duncombe praises Elizabeth for her given status (again, she has no choice or agency of her own) as captain of a ship by its previous captain as he lays dying, neglecting to mention that that same man tried to rape her not ten seconds beforehand. Elizabeth Swann is mostly a bore, also a target for sexual innuendos, who leaves so much to be desired for the chance to see exciting portrayals of female pirates in pop culture. Plus she's played by Keira Knightley, but that's a negative bias of mine and not a valid criticism.
But oh yo ho ho, what a triumph 'Pirate Women: The Princesses, Prostitutes, and Privateers Who Ruled the Seven Seas' is for me! Not perfect, but it's the best thing a modern pirate and pirate women fan can hope for in receiving as much knowledge about them as is available.
Funny how I had thought that I would rate this feminist text the lowest out of the most recent ones read - it has a low score on Goodreads - but 'Pirate Women' ended up being the only text I like, satisfying me in terms of new, heart-pounding content and engaging writing, coming from a place of love and necessity. These females, for all the risks they took, the sacrifices they made, the storms they weathered, and the brutal, bloody life-and-death situations they went through, cannot be forgotten.
A feminist history book to be preserved for the ages; for the adventuress at heart in every generation. Inspiration from the heart of the sea.
Final Score: 4/5
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