Caribbean Cutlass

Lady Pirate Costume For Halloween

Did you think that only men were pirates? Not so! There have been some famous lady pirates throughout history on the high seas. If you want to get away from the usual female costumes and would prefer to brandish a cutlass and do some swaggering, then a lady pirate costume may be just the thing.

When thinking about famous pirates who comes to mind? Some fictional examples are Captain Jack Sparrow, Captain Hook and Long John Silver. Or indeed, some real pirates such as Blackbeard, Calico Jack and Captain Kidd. All very well, but what about female pirates?

Actually, they were very few in number. Why was this? It was mainly because women were forbidden to sail on pirate ships, probably because they would cause a riot with the men. Also we mustn’t forget that life for a pirate was extremely harsh – it wasn’t holiday cruise – and most women wouldn’t be able to stand it.

There are, however, two famous lady pirates that we can mention: Anne Bonny and Mary Read. Anne Bonny was born Anne Cormac in Cork, Ireland around 1697 to a lawyer father and his servant. After her father’s affair with his servant was discovered, he moved to South Carolina with his servant and Anne. Even though her father became a wealthy plantation owner, Anne had a fiery temper and a taste for adventure and married a pirate called James Bonny. Later she encountered Calico Jack (Jack Rackham) and fell in love with him. She started a new life as a pirate with Calico Jack after leaving her husband. Her pirate adventures were mainly in the Caribbean. She dressed as a man whilst aboard the pirate ship and people said she was as good as any man at stealing and fighting. It was during this time that she met another sailor who turned out to be an English woman, Mary Read.

Mary Read, like Anne Bonny was a child of an affair and dressed Mary up as a boy in order to receive money from her family. In fact she spent most of her life dressed as a boy, serving as a footboy to a wealthy family and then on board a warship. She did marry and acted as a woman for a while, but when her husband died she went back to sea and her ship was captured by Calico Jack. This is when she became friends with Anne Bonny.

So if you fancy following in Anne and Mary’s footsteps, then wear a lady pirate costume this Halloween or indeed any fancy dress party. You probably don’t want to dress as a man but fortunately there are some very attractive and sexy female costumes. For example, my favorite is the Royal Lady Pirate Costume with its dress that looks like a waistcoat and short skirt and matching pirate hat. Just add a pair of long black boots and a sword and you’ll be ready to send the men to pirate heaven!

If you want to see some pirate costume ideas, visit my Caribbean pirate costume site.

Pirates of the Caribbean Online-Mastering the Cutlass