Woman pirate. 1929 and 1934.

After the post last week about Pirate Sue (another suggested title was Sue the Equalizer) I had a look around for an article about what happened to her. So far I haven’t been able to find out what her punishment was, but I did find some other articles about women pirates in the same area around the same time. Maybe it is the same woman…

The Daily News 23 Sep 1929 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article79215381

Just in case you didn’t read the post the other day, the woman we have named Pirate Sue was a woman pirate who was caught in 1936 after terrorizing the Bias Bay area, and identified as Miss Sue Nakawura, a previously respectable teacher from Japan.

This article is about a young bobbed-haired pirate woman armed with two guns in 1929. I am not going to assume it is the same woman though, I was very happy to find out there was more than one woman pirate* plying the seas of Bias Bay!

Here is a link to another longer article about the 1929 attack on the Deli Maru where the woman pirate is described as ‘pleasant looking’ and about 20 years of age.

I was surprised and pleased to find that an article exactly the same as the one in my original post was included in the ‘Pages for Girls and Boys’ section of one newspaper. I wonder how many young girls read it and then secretly dreamed of a life of piracy?

Clearly pirates were something of a problem at that time, this article below details the lengths the British were going to in order to take care of the Pirate Queen. I wonder if they were referring to Miss Nakawura?

The woman pirate they were after had some pretty questionable tactics though. Once she had targeted a vessel she would conceal some of her men amongst the passengers. When all was quiet they would give a signal, kill the radio operator, and overpower the officers. If any passengers resisted they would also be killed. Once the pirates were done pillaging they would ruin the motors and leave the ship to drift uncontrollably. Not very nice were they?

The British had put a price on her head, and that of her crew, of 200 pounds for any of them dead or alive.

The involvement of Charles Corkran (below) in the search for the ‘pirate queen’ sounds a little like revenge doesn’t it. Eighteen months earlier he and Mrs. Pawley, a woman described as a ‘young British bride’ (although not his), were kidnapped by bandits and held for ransom before being rescued by Japanese troops.

I am disappointed that I haven’t been able to find out the fate of Miss Sue Nakawura yet, but I will keep on looking!

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*Have a look at this article about Lai Choi San from 1943, described by a man recently returned from China as a rich, trouser-wearing, 47-year-old with two husbands and a preference for kidnapping. Best not to mess with her or she sent you home in pieces!

Sunday Times 25 Mar 1934 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article58716768

A Woman Pirate. 1936.

I did a post yesterday with hints on how to be a helpless female in 1890.

It was very amusing to read the tactics outlined by R. J. Burdette (a man) in order to ensure a life of leisure.

The Daily News 14 Apr 1936 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article84222953

This article about a woman pirate is from the opposite end of the spectrum. I really doubt that Miss Sue Nakawura would have had much time for such a helpless, coddled woman.

I love her story, going from the life of an 18 year old school teacher from a respectable home in Japan to the mistress of a pirate chief.

I can just imagine her daydreaming during the lessons, wishing for a more exciting life. Unlike most people, she then went off and found one!

First she eloped with a travelling salesman, but obviously that life wasn’t exciting enough for her and she soon transferred her affections to a Formosan pirate chief.

Once she hitched up with Chen Pao-lin, she quickly showed an aptitude for piracy and became an expert marksman, winning the respect of the other bucaneers.

I wonder what an aptitude for piracy is? Saying “arrrr, me hearties” a lot?

Clearly she was pretty good at counting dubloons as she became chief booty distributor. Maybe she had been an accounting teacher?

A Pirates Punishment. 1905.

We all know what pirates were rumoured to do to their victims, make them walk the plank, preferably with circling sharks below, right? Not a nice way to go.

Examiner 28 Mar 1905 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article38776171

Apparently the punishment meted out to one pirate by these particular landlubbers was far more bloodthirsty!

This article from 1905 retells a story published in the 18th century in a book called A History of Essex.

Apparently a Danish pirate was caught in the act of defiling a church at Hadstock, Essex, 900 years earlier.

It was clearly a bad move on his behalf, and the priests decided to make an example of him to discourage others who thought a church might be an easy target.

Interestingly, they thought the best way to teach this lesson was to flay him and nail his skin to the front door. Eeeek! I expect that such a display made sure the parishioners were a little more obedient for a time too.

Over the years, this pirate’s hide was taken away piece-by-piece by souvenir hunters until the story was almost forgotten. Now, I love an unusual souvenir myself, but bits of human skin? No thanks!

The reason this story was being retold in this 1905 article was that the door had recently been taken away for repairs. Under a hinge was found a last remnant of flesh.

Obviously bits of old pirate were still quite collectable all those years later. That last scrap was mounted in a box with a collection of literary references and sent off to be auctioned. It was sold for £3 which was probably more than a weeks average wage.