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Zheng Yi Sao (1775-1844) -

Infamous for being one of the most successful pirates in history, Zheng Yi Sao, also known as Ching Shih, was a Cantonese former prostitute who married a pirate named Zheng Yi. After his death, Shih came to amass and rule over history's largest pirate fleet. She personally commanded 24 ships and over 1,400 pirates.

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Anne Bonny (1697–disappeared in 1721) -

The notorious pirate Anne Bonny began her life as the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy Irish lawyer. She later moved to America, where she married a sailor. She journeyed to the pirate-infested island of New Providence in the Bahamas, where she abandoned her husband and fell under the spell of pirate Jack "Calico" Rackham.

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Mary Read (1685-1721) -

Also part of Rackham's crew was another female pirate, Mary Read. Originally from England, Read won a fearsome reputation together with Bonny. Both of them were captured and charged with piracy. However, they were able to delay their hanging because both were pregnant. While Read fell ill and died in prison, Bonny's fate is still unknown.

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Grace O’Malley (1530-1603) -

Born in Ireland, pirate Grace O’Malley led a 20-ship fleet that stood up to the might of the British monarchy. Unlike most pirates, she lived a long life to the age of 70, pirating until the very end.

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Rachel Wall (1760-1789) -

Rachel Wall was an American female pirate, and the last woman to be hanged in Massachusetts. Some records suggest she may also have been the first American-born woman to become a pirate.

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Teuta (231 or 228-227 BCE) -

Teuta was a queen regent of the Ardiaei, a group of Illyrian tribes in modern-day Albania, Montenegro, and Bosnia. After the death of her husband, King Agron, she ruled by herself and sanctioned a number of pirate attacks against Roman and Greek ships and coastal settlements.

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Æthelflæd(870-918) -

Æthelflæd was known as the "Lady of the Mercians," and became the first woman to rule an Anglo-Saxon kingdom. She is recognized as playing a vital role in defeating the Viking raiders and reconquering English lands.

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Jeanne de Clisson (1300-1359) -

Jeanne de Clisson was a Breton noblewoman who raided ships for the French and later the English during the Hundred Years' War. After her husband was executed for treason, she switched sides and fought with the English.

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Lagertha -

Lagertha was a Danish Viking pirate, who lived around the 9th century. She was known for her ferocity and skills in battles on land and sea.

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Sayyida al-Hurra (1485-1561) -

Sayyida al-Hurra ruled the western coasts of Morocco for over 30 years, and was known for her pirate activities against the growing empires of Spain and Portugal. She later married King Ahmed al-Wattasi of Morocco, but was deposed in 1542 by her son-in-law. She lived the remainder of her life in exile.

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Lai Choi San -

Lai Choi San was a Chinese pirate active in the South China Sea and the East China Sea during the 1920s and '30s. She commanded up to 12 junks, a type of Chinese sailboat.

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Lady Mary Killigrew (1525-1587) -

Mary Wolverston, or Lady Killigrew, was known for her pirate activities along the Cornish coast. The daughter of Lord Phillip Wolverton, a former pirate, she later married Sir Henry Killigrew, a pirate who was later made Vice-Admiral by Queen Elizabeth I.

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Artemisia I of Caria -

Active around 480 BCE, Artemisia was a pirate and queen of the city-state of Halicarnassus, which is now in Bodrum, present-day Turkey. She captained a fighting ship and led the most famous pirate fleet in the Mediterranean.

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Jacquotte Delahaye -

Jacquotte Delahaye was born around 1630 in Haiti, and legend has it that the British Navy killed her French father. Since her mother died during childbirth, she was all alone, so she joined up with a pirate crew, which she later commanded.

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Joanna of Flanders (1295-1374) -

The Duchess of Brittany by her marriage to John of Montfort, Joanna of Flanders was also a pirate who fought alongside her troops against the French in the War of the Breton Succession. At points, she even commanded great fleets in naval battles.

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Huang Bamei (1906-1982) -

Nicknamed "Two Guns," Huang Bamei was a Chinese pirate who served as a naval commander in the Second Sino-Japanese War and the second phase of the Chinese Civil War. At the height of her power, she commanded a force of 50,000 people and 70 ships.

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Sadie Farrell -

Also known as Sadie the Goat, she was a New York gang leader and river pirate during the mid-1800s. She left her hometown of Manhattan following a brawl, which resulted in her ear being bitten off. From then on, she wore the ear in a locket around her neck, as she pirated on the Hudson and Harlem rivers.

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Dido -

Also known as Elissa, Dido was the legendary founder and first queen of the Phoenician city-state of Carthage, located in modern Tunisia, in 814 BCE. Considered a pirate as well, she led several sea expeditions, raids, and kidnappings.

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Lo Hon-cho -

Lo Hon-cho was a 20th-century Chinese pirate who took charge of a pirate fleet after her husband’s death in 1921. With a ruthless reputation thanks to her attacks, she was captured by the Chinese military in 1922.

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Maria Lindsey -

Maria Lindsey was an English prostitute who married pirate Eric Cobham. Together they assembled a pirate crew and conducted attacks in New England and Newfoundland during the mid 18th century.

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Awilda -

Awilda was a 5th-century pirate and daughter of a Scandinavian king. Arranged to marry Alf, the crown prince of Denmark, she ran away and chose a life o piracy instead.

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Ng Akew -

Known for a series of events in 1849, Ng Akew was a Tanka slave of the American opium smuggler James Bridges Endicott in Hong Kong. She personally smuggled opium and acted as the representative of a pirate fleet. When Bridges Endicott retired, he provided her with land in Hong Kong, and she became a wealthy house owner.

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Anne Dieu-le-Veut (1661-1710) -

The wife of the Dutch pirate Laurens de Graaf, French-born Anne Dieu-le-Veut accompanied her husband on pirate raids. Some historians believe she only married de Graaf after he left his pirate life behind him, however she was herself an active privateer.

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Margaret Jordan -

Active during the early 19th century, this Irish woman was married to fellow pirate Edward Jordan. Tried for piracy and murder following a violent dispute over the ship The Three Sisters, she was found innocent and was released by the court.

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Sister Ping (1949-2014) -

Sister Ping operated out of Guangzhou as an owner and financier of pirate ships in the South China Sea. She also smuggled Chinese immigrants into the US and Europe. She was convicted in the US to 35 years in federal prison, and remained there until her death.

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Neel Cuyper (1655-1695) -

Neel Cuyper was a Dutch pirate who first served on merchant ships masquerading as a man. Captured by pirates who recruited her on account of her experience, she later founded a resort for pirates at Labadee in Haiti. She was killed by British and Spanish forces during a raid in 1695.

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Sarah Bishop -

Forced aboard a British pirate ship in 1778 as a sex slave, American-born Sarah Bishop eventually became the captain's wife and an active pirate herself.

See also: The most audacious acts of piracy in history

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