Golden Age of Piracy on a navy ship. Many of the most well known pirates in historical lore originate from this Golden Age of Piracy. While most pirates were men, there were at least fifty cases of women entering the career of piracy (usually disguised as men). The best known female pirates were Anne Bonny (also sometimes spelled Bonney) and Mary Read. Bonny developed a notorious reputation in Nassau, and when she was unable to leave an earlier marriage, she eloped with her lover, Calico Jack Rackham. Mary Read had been dressed as a boy all her life by her mother and had spent
Mary Anne Rawson Mary Anne Rawson Mary Anne Rawson (1801–1887) was an abolitionist. She was a campaigner with the Tract Society, the British and Foreign Bible Society, Italian nationalism, Child labour, but above all anti-slavery. She was first involved with a Sheffield group who successfully campaigned for people to boycott sugar from the West Indies, as it was produced by slave labor. She is pictured attending the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London in 1840. Mary Anne Read was born to Joseph and Elizabeth Read, wealthy parents who encouraged her involvement with good causes. Her abiding interest from the mid-1820s to the 1850s was