History of Anne Bonny

Anne Bonny is probably the most famous female pirate to sail the Spanish Main. She was a ruthless plunderer, raider, and menace to the sea faring vessels in the Caribbean Sea. She is commonly referred to as "Toothless Annie".
Anne was born in Ireland during the 1690's. Her parents moved to America and became well respected plantation owners. She grew up in South Carolina and was fascinated with stories of pirates that were told at the nearby Charleston Port. At Charleston she met a pirate named James Bonny. She married him and the two of them moved to an island in the Caribbean named Nassau. This island was basically run by pirates. Here Anne was surrounded by famous pirates such as Calico Jack Rackham. Anne left her husband for Rackham, and signed on as part of his crew.
At that time there was a code of piracy that stated women crew members were forbidden. This didn't stop Anne though. She went aboard the ship as a man and fought just as the rest of the crew did. Eventually she was discovered and some of the crew members openly voiced their opinions about having a female as part of the crew. Anne returned these opinions by killing the crew members who had spoken up.
Anne was the only female pirate aboard Rackham's ship. Mary Reed was another woman disguised as a man and soon she and Annie became friends. The two told Rackham their secret and the three of them inflicted terror and pandemonium throughout the Caribbean for almost a year.
Then in 1720, their ship was captured. During the fight Anne and Mary stayed aboard and fought to defend their ship. Meanwhile Jack and the rest of the pirates hid in the hold . Jack and the crew were hanged after their arrest.
Amazing Anne was granted a reprieve for her acts and was let go. No one knows what happened to her after that. Some say she went back to her life of piracy while others say she returned home. No matter what happened to her, Anne is probably most famous for the words she exchange with Calico Jack on the night before his execution. She scolded him saying "I'm sorry to see you here, Jack, but if you'd have fought like a man you needn't hang like a dog".

History of Blackbeard

Edward Teach is probably the most famous pirate to ever live. He more commonly known as the fearsome and bloodthirsty pirate, Blackbeard. Edward was born around the year 1680. Teach left for the Caribbean in the early 18th century where pirates were causing serious damage on Spanish shipping. While he was in Jamaica, Blackbeard served as a privateer under the command of Captain Benjamin Hornigold. While working for Hornigold, Blackbeard commanded his first vessel, which was a sloop. Soon he captured a French merchant vessel and named it Queen Anne's Revenge. He then changed the Queen Anne's Revenge into a 40-gun flagship. After Britain banned privateering, Teach turned towards outright piracy. He soon became the most fearsome pirate in the western hemisphere.
Teach received his nickname because of his long, black beard. As rumor has it, Teach would light slow-burning fuses and tie them to the end of his beard. They say that when most merchants saw this, they surrendered immediately.
Blackbeard left the Caribbean in 1718. He moved up north and began to raid the coastal waters of the Carolinas and Virginia. Here he would hold one of his most famous exploits. He lead a blockade of Charleston harbor that lasted a week. He wouldn't leave until his orders concerning the medical supplies were fulfilled. During this time, Blackbeard and Charles Eden, the governor of North Carolina, were in cahoots. Eden gave Blackbeard protection in exchange for a percent of the profit he made. This lasted a short while because the governor of Virginia offered a reward for the death or capture of Blackbeard. Then on November 22, 1718, Captain Robert Maynard attacked Blackbeard's ship and a huge battle began. In the end Blackbeard was killed and then decapitated. Captain Maynard kept the head and hung it on his ship.