Real Pirates: Calico Jack the Ladies Man
by Craig Nybo ~ May 7, 2009
During the zenith of maritime romance and violence, from the 15th to the end of the 18th century—many pirates pillaged the open seas. Some hailed them as nothing more than thugs; others viewed them with rock star like celebrity.
Calico Jack—John Rackham—lived and died one of the most remarkable, and romantic pirates of the period. In his early career, he sailed on the ship, The Ranger, under Captain Charles Vane, a bloodthirsty, English pirate. Vane and Jack operated out of the notorious town of New Providence in the Bahamas, praying on English and French merchant ships.
When Vane was forced to disengage from a battle with a French war ship, Calico Jack made his move; he deposed Vane from captainship on the grounds of cowardice and, through intrigue, became the new captain.
Like so many other pirates, Calico Jack’s career didn’t last long. He commanded his ship, The Treasure from1718 through 1720, making his booty by plundering ships near coastlines. In the autumn of 1720, after terrorizing fishermen and women along the coast of Jamaica, he encountered a boat full of English pirates. He permitted the nine men on board his ship but was almost instantly attacked by an armed sloop sent by Governor Nicholas Lawes.
After a brief trial, Calico Jack was sentenced to death in St. Jago de la Vega, Jamaica. He was hung at Gallows-Point in Port Royal on November 18th, 1720. His body was then tarred and rehung in a cage, gibbeted on display on a small island called Plumb-point as a warning to other pirates.
One of the most remarkable facts about Calico Jack was his association with the two notorious female pirates: Anne Bonny and Mary Read. A widespread superstition among period mariners promised bad luck or even death to any ship that harbored women. Calico Jack, however, employed two females in his crew.
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