Who is Calico Jack the Pirate

Calico Jack at a Glance 

John Rackham (b. December 21, 1682 in London - died November 17, 1720 in Jamaica), also known as Calico Jack Rackham or Calico Jack, was an English pirate captain during the early 18th century. His nickname was derived from the colourful calico clothes he wore. John Rackham is remembered for employing two of the most notorious female pirates of his time - Anne Bonny and Mary Read - in his crew. John Rackham and most of his crew were executed in Jamaica.

Becoming Captain
In 1718 Rackham was quartermaster on a ship that belonged to Charles Vane. On November 23, the crew encountered a French warship. Vane decided to retreat rather than board the warship. The crew mutinied against him, left him on the shore of an unidentified beach and sailed away in a ship called "The Treasure". They made Rackham their new captain. He later successfully boarded and took over the French vessel.


Pirate career
The very same day he was made captain, he plundered several small vessels, earning him a good reputation with the crew. Once, while drinking in a local tavern, he met a woman named Anne Bonny. He decided to court her, and eventually asked if she would like to come along pirating with them. She agreed and dressed as a man so the crew would take little notice in her. One day, they raided a small merchant vessel near the West Indies. Most of the crew had been killed and they had one man cornered. They asked if the man would join their crew rather than be run through with a cutlass, an offer to which he agreed. Bonny befriended the young man, and became his constant companion, igniting Rackham's jealousy. He confronted the man, who admitted to being a woman in disguise. The new sailor was, in fact, Mary Read. Throughout the course of their pirate years, it is rumored that they had a three-way sexual relationship.[citation needed] However, this rumor has never been proven.

Capture and Death
Governor Woodes Rogers had learned Rackham had stolen an anchored ship in Nassau harbor. He sent two large ships with 45 men to find the thief.

In early October near Nigril Bay, Captain Johnathan Barnet caught up with the stolen ship. Rackham immediately set sail trying to escape. When the pursuers caught up with them, most of the pirates took cover below deck but Bonny and Read fought on. It was a hopeless fight and they were captured.

On November 16, Rackham and 11 members of his crew were sentenced to death by hanging in St. Jago de la Vega, Jamaica. Bonny and Read were both found to be pregnant and were thus jailed. Rackham was hanged the following day.

Bonny witnessed Rackham's death and had reportedly said "she was sorry to see him there, but if he had fought like a man, he need not have been hanged like a dog". Rackham was hung at Port Royal, His body was then put into a iron cage and hung from a gibbet on Dead man's Cay, a small island within sight of Port Royal which is today call Rackam's Cay.