The Sea Sirens are an all female performance troupe of pirates that perform at pirate and renaissance festivals.
Jeanne de Clisson, the Lioness of Brittany
(1300-1359)
Jeanne married her first husband, 19-year-old Geoffrey de Ch â at the age of 12. She bore two children by him, but the marriage ended with his death in 1326. Four years later, she married Olivier de Clisson, a wealthy noble. The pair had four children.
Olivier de Clisson began fighting against English claimants to Brittany in 1342. When he failed to successfully defend against British forces, he came under suspicion by France… and promptly defected to the British. When he was vacationing in France, he was arrested, convicted of treason, and executed. Fourteen people, including one of his close friends, testified against him. His head was displayed on the wall outside the castle of Boufay.
Jeanne was, to be blunt, fucking pissed.
She swore revenge against the King and those who had testified against her husband, sold off his remaining lands, and bought three warships. The ships were painted black and the sails died red (hence, the Black Fleet). They took to the English Channel and destroyed ships and crews belonging to King Philip VI.
She always left one or two sailors left alive to return to the King to inform him that the Lioness of Brittany had struck again.
She kept the French channel free of warships, which was super awesome for the English, as well as keeping English ships supplied during battle. Despite King Philip VI’s death in 1350, she continued wreaking havoc on the French shipping merchants, often taking great joy in personally beheading traveling French noblemen and leaving their bodies to float in the water.
In 1356, Jeanne married English nobleman Sir Walter Bentley, a former officer for the English king, but later returned to France.
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(Source: residentstagehand)
Name: Gráinne Ní Mháille, AKA Grace O’Malley, Pirate Queen of Ireland, Sea Queen of Connaght, Gráinne Mhaol
Date: b.1530-d.1603
Why this woman rocks: She didn’t take shit from anyone. Not even the queen of England (Queen Elizabeth). Daughter of merchants, she became a pirate and led rebellions to keep her family and community safe from famine and cruel British rule.
Because of this woman we have respectable female pirates, a fighting Irish pride, parts of Ireland not under British crown rule, “A Most Notorious Woman” by Molly Lyons, Joyce’s “Finnegan’s Wake”
http://badasshistory.com/omalley.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_O’Malley
SUBMITTED BY: http://conundrum08.tumblr.com/
The most successful pirate of all time. When this pirate took over from her husband, she had 400 ships and over 70,000 soldiers. Three years later, she had more than 1,500 ships under her command (Black Bart only ever had 470 ships). Blockaded the city of Guangzhao (Canton), a city of 800,000 people at the time (by comparison, when Edward “Blackbeard” Teach blockaded the city of Charleston, the city had a population of about 10,000 people). Fought the Chinese Navy… and won. (Ching Shih)
FAMOUS WOMEN PIRATE.
Anne Bonney (first picture, middle)
- Anne is probably the best known female pirate. She took what she wanted from the world, and never made apologies.
Mary Read (First picture, far left)
- Wherever you find Anne Bonney, you’ll also find Mary Read. Also a woman of fierce courage. In their last battle, only Anne and Mary and one other sailor fought to save their necks from the gibbet. When the men refused to come out of the hold to fight, Mary shot down at them, killing a few, and wounding others.
Grace O’Malley (Granuaile) (Second picture)
- The Irish daughter of a pirate who grew up to be a pirate herself. She cut her hair and dressed like a boy to prove to her father and brother that she can be a pirate too. Her father and brother nicknamed her Granuaile.
Ching Shih (Third picture)
- Ching Shih terrorized the China Sea in the early 19th century. A brilliant female pirate, she commanded 1800 ships and about 80,000 pirates.
"The pirate queen known only as Cheng I Sao, or “wife of Cheng,” started out as a prostitute in Canton. In 1801, she married the raider Cheng I, who was organizing a confederation of sea brigands to prey on fishing and cargo boats around the Southern edge of China. When Cheng died in 1807, Mrs. Cheng seized her chance and took full control of the operation. Eventually, she governed more than 50,000 pirates. She was notorious for her ruthless sentencing: Looters that disobeyed orders were summarily beheaded, and first-time deserters lost their ears. Mrs. Cheng also entered into a politic fling with a promising young lieutenant, Chang Pao, after appointing him captain of the Red Flag Fleet, her most powerful squadron. Trouble arrived when the Chinese government sought protection against the pirates from the British and Portuguese navy. To avoid an epic battle, Mrs. Cheng brought 17 women and children with her to the Governor-General’s house and asked for pardon. She got it, along with permission to keep the wealth she’d acquired through plundering. Then, clearly craving respectability, she retired to open a gambling house in Canton. "
Brow Beat : A Short History of Lady Pirates
An excerpt from a great piece about female pirates. My favorite story is about Anne Bonny and Mary Read. I might have to buy this pirate book!
(via nicolelee)
(via nicolelee)
