Bloody Mary
Recently there was an election here in The Netherlands, weeks and months of facts, half facts, false facts and sometimes no facts at all. Somehow between the wall – to – wall political propaganda in the regional newspaper a small announcement by the local history society caught my eye. Mainly because the article mentioned Bloody Mary. It was the first time I had seen the name since I came across it some fifteen years ago in an English book about pirates. This notorious female pirate had once owned a bar in Breda, the city where I live. Usually the local newspaper and tourist board are eager to claim anything or anyone with even the slightest connection to the town but Bloody Mary has gone almost unnoticed.
So –while the news media is now mostly speculating on which complicated coalition of parties will be governing the country for the next four years – let's forget about politics, relax and I'll tell you a story:
Mary Read was born in England and, for inheritance reasons, was brought up and dressed as a boy. She went into service but soon tired of being a servant, enlisted in the navy as a cabin boy before jumping ship and joining the British army in Flanders. She fought in several battles and fell in love with the handsome Flemish corporal with whom she was sharing a tent. At some point, as one of the contemporary accounts puts it ' she found a way to make him aware of her sex'. According to the same account he was 'surprised and delighted' at this revelation - I bet he was- but, surprisingly considering her later reputation, she made him promise to marry her before they went any further. He did. They did. When the military campaign was over they left the army, got married and became owners of the Three Horseshoes bar and restaurant in Breda. The actual site of this bar is uncertain but one of the possible locations suggested by historians is very close to the café that I most frequently visit.
Unfortunately her husband was killed in a knife fight and a period of peace was bad for business, there were not enough officers in what was essentially a garrison town. She closed the bar, resumed male dress, reverted to the name Mark Read and rejoined the army for a brief spell before boarding a ship sailing for the West Indies. The ship was captured by pirates. She was persuaded to joined the pirate crew, which, it is said, she did with great enthusiasm. Later as part of a general amnesty she and the crew were pardoned. She then sailed on a merchant ship which was, would you believe it, boarded and captured by pirates! This is when she came into contact with another female pirate, Anne Bonny, and her infamous partner Captain Jack Rackham known as Calico Jack. Anne, who dressed in male clothes but was not disguised as a man, took quite a liking to the good-looking sailor. However, when Mark revealed that she was really Mary it is said that Anne was somewhat disappointed while, on the other hand, Captain Jack was greatly relieved!
The three of them joined forces to rob, steal and terrorize the coast of the Bahamas until they were eventually captured. According to witnesses the two women were at least as fierce and bloodthirsty as their male crew mates and before their final capture they were reportedly the last ones on deck still fighting while the rest of the crew had surrendered.
The whole crew were tried, found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging however both of the women were pregnant ( Mary had obviously let another crew member become 'aware of her sex') and so, according to the law at that time, they escaped the gallows.
By now you are probably thinking that this tale has been ripped from a cheap romantic novel and is about as believable as an election promise, however I can assure you, although some accounts do vary, the core of the story is true and well documented. Also, unlike an adventure book or film, the end is a bit of an anti- climax. It is likely that Anne Bonny was bought out of captivity by her wealthy parents. Some say that she married and became a respectable wife and the mother of several children but there is no real evidence to support this.
And Mary Read? She died of a fever shortly after the trial.........
Twenty- eight political parties took part in the Dutch general election, one of them was the Pirate Party. It always amazes me that anyone votes for the most obscure and eccentric parties. Nationwide the Pirate Party scored .03% of the total vote. In the local context the number of people who voted for them was maybe just about enough to crew one small pirate ship!
