As I dug a little deeper, I discovered several books, articles and fan fiction about historical women pirates and this really intrigued me. I imagined there were probably a few women pirates, such as Anne Bonny, who dressed and acted like men to sneak by.  Just like there were women soldiers who disguised their gender and fought in wars.

There are accounts of very powerful and successful female pirate captains who did not hide their gender throughout history. Famous woman pirate captains, such as Ching Shih, ruled the seas.

Historical accounts vary and some facts may have inaccuracies, but there were female pirate captains spanning different eras, coming from regions around the world, representing many races, religions, and socio-economic levels.

Sayyida al Hurra was a Queen of Morocco and also a pirate captain. She raided Spanish and Portuguese ships to fight against the colonialism of North Africa and the forced religious conversions of Muslims.

What circumstances would cause a woman to choose the life of a pirate? Considering that many civilizations did not allow women to have any power, independence, or inherit wealth, how did famous female pirates become leaders of fleets of ships and command hundreds and even thousands of men? What were the political or economic motivators?