Like many pirates, little is known of the early life of John Rackham, known as Calico Jack, (a nickname given to him because he habitually wore clothing made out of Indian calico). According to one account, he was born in Bristol, England, in1682, while yet another states that he was British and had been born in Jamaica. Whichever it was, the general consensus was that he was English.
The first record of Rackham shows that in 1718 he was quartermaster on the sloop “Ranger” captained by the pirate Charles Vane. Vane and his crew had attacked and robbed several small ships off the coast near to New York, when they came across a large French man-of war. The French ship that was twice their size, move in to attack the pirates and Vane fled claiming that they could not defeat the man-of-war. Rackham acting as spokesman for the majority of the crew, who felt that, the Frenchman was a rich prize, called for Vane to turn and fight the man-of-war. Instead Vane pulled rank and declaring that the captain’s word was final, continued to flee.
The discontent amongst the crew at the captain’s decision grew until finally on the 24th of November 1718 Rackham called for a vote. The result seventy five against and only fifteen for, branded Vane as a coward and he was replaced as captain by Rackham. The new captain, Calico Jack, gave Vane and his fifteen crewmen the other sloop belonging to the fleet, plus some ammunition and goods and they parted company.
As captain, Calico Jack did well, in less than a year, keeping close to the coast; he plundered several small vessels, including a small Jamaican ship the “Kingston” which he made his new flagship. Moving to the West Indies he took several small ships and two larger ships off Bermuda. Having in a very short period made himself and his crew rich with treasure and having also heard that Governor Woodes Rogers was giving out pardons and commission’s to fight the Spanish, Calico Jack headed for the Bahamas.
Woodes Rodgers granted Calico Jack and his crew their pardon, but refused to grant him a commission as he did not think him capable of defeating the much larger Spanish ships.
With a pardon from the king and money in his pockets Calico Jack’s took a respite from his pirating ways and set out to enjoy himself with wine women and song. Unfortunately the woman he took up with, Anne Bonny was already married to an ex pirate turned informer, James Bonny, who was a friend of Woodes Rogers. When Bonny found out about his wife’s affair he dragged her before the governor who found her guilty of adultery and ordered that she be whipped. On hearing of the sentence Calico Jack offered to buy Anne in a “divorce by purchase” which was a common thing at that time. However Anne took umbrage at the idea of being sold like animal and refused.
Nevertheless the affair continued, while Calico Jack grew sick, not of his new love, but of life ashore and he decided that if he couldn’t be a privateer, he would go back to pirating. Secretly he gathered a crew and Anne dressed as a man accompanied them as they fooled the guards on the British ship “Curlew” and sailed out to sea. Anne still dressed as a man shared a cabin with Calico Jack and if the crew thought anything of it they weren’t saying, beside, unlikely as it may seem it was said that most of them had no idea the captains new friend was a woman.
They sailed the Caribbean taking many vessels, some of those attacked were other pirate ships and Calico Jack incorporated the men into his crew. As time past the inevitable happened, Anne became pregnant and some said that she was dropped off in Cuba and was picked up later, leaving the child behind or that it was a premature birth and the child died.
Some time later Calico Jack took a Dutch merchantman and as usual some of the crew joined him. Amongst those who joined his grew was a Mark Read who became very friendly with Anne, so close did they become that in a fit jealousy Calico forced his way into a cabin and found not Anne and her new paramour, but two partially dressed women. Mark Read was in fact Mary Read, another female who had a perchance for dressing as a man.
In the autumn of 1720 Calico and crew sailed along the northern coast of Jamaica attacking villages and taking many small fishing boats and a small pirate vessel containing nine men who were conscripted into his crew.
In October 1720 the pirates were anchored in Dry Harbour Bay in Jamaica enjoying a period of rest and relaxation with another pirate crew, when Jonathan Barnet a pirate hunter sent by Governor Woodes Rogers came across them. Barnet fired a broadside which disabled the pirate ship and the drunken Calico Jack, his guests and their crews fled to the hold, leaving Anne, Mary and one man to face Barnet’s boarding party. The women were so incensed at their cowardice that after calling for them to come out and fight, Mary fired into the hold killing one of them and wounding some of the others. With only two women and one man in defence Barnet’s crew had little trouble in capturing the ship and Calico Jack, requesting quarter, surrendered.
The Trial, in Spanish Town Jamaica, began on the 17th of November 1720, Calico Jack being the first to face justice. At the trial, Anne Bonny when asked to testify on his behalf, simply said, “If he had fought like a man, he need not have been hanged like a dog.”
After being condemned, Calico Jack (Rackham) was taken to Gallows-Point in Port Royal on the 18th of November 1720, where he was hanged, covered in tar, hung in a cage and gibbeted on Deadman’s Cay at the entrance to Port Royal. (Deadman’s Cay was later renamed as Rackham’s Cay.)
The crew, barring Anne Bonny, Mary Read and the nine men taken just before the capture, were convicted and hanged. At their trial, a week after Calico Jack’s execution, Bonny and Read claimed they were pregnant and were allowed a stay until such a time as it could be proven.
The nine men who were only recently conscripted into the crew had to wait until January 1721 for their trial, but were found guilty and suffered same fate as the others.
Mary Read died in April 1721 of a fever brought on by childbirth. Anne Bonny was the only one left and after being spared from execution, she disappeared never to be heard of again. Some say that her father paid for her freedom and took her back to live on the family plantation in South Carolina.
Bristol, England, in1682, while yet another states that he was British and had been born in Jamaica. Whichever it was, the general consensus was that he was English.