<P> 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 time in the British military . She came to the West Indies (Caribbean) after leaving her husband, and she joined Calico Jack's crew after he attacked a ship she had been aboard . She divulged her sex only to Bonny at first, but revealed herself openly when accused by Rackham of having an affair with Bonny . </P> <P> When their ship was assaulted in 1720, the two women and an unknown man were the only ones to defend it, the other crew members being too drunk to fight . In the end they were captured and arrested . After their capture both women were convicted of piracy and sentenced to death, but they stalled their executions by claiming to be pregnant . Read died in jail months later, many believe of a fever or complications of childbirth . Bonny disappeared from historical documents, but no record of her execution or a childbirth exist . </P> <P> The Barbary pirates were pirates and privateers that operated from the North African (the "Barbary coast") ports of Tunis, Tripoli, Algiers, Salé and ports in Morocco, preying on shipping in the western Mediterranean Sea from the time of the Crusades as well as on ships on their way to Asia around Africa until the early 19th century . The coastal villages and towns of Italy, Spain and Mediterranean islands were frequently attacked by them and long stretches of the Italian and Spanish coasts were almost completely abandoned by their inhabitants; since the 17th century, Barbary pirates occasionally entered the Atlantic and struck as far north as Iceland . According to Robert Davis, between 1 million and 1.25 million Europeans were captured by Barbary pirates and sold as slaves in the Arab world between the 16th and 19th centuries . </P> <P> Barbary pirates flourished in the early 17th century as new sailing rigs by Simon de Danser enabled North African raiders, for the first time, to brave the Atlantic as well as Mediterranean waters . More than 20,000 captives were said to be imprisoned in Algiers alone . The rich were allowed to redeem themselves, but the poor were condemned to slavery . Their masters would on occasion allow them to secure freedom by professing Islam . Many people of good social position--Italians, Spaniards, German and English travelers in the south--were captives for a time . </P>

When did the golden age of piracy start and end