Charlotte de Berry

Charlotte de Berry was born in 1636, in England, the month and date is unknown. When she was in her teenage years, she fell in love with a sailor. But her parents did not approve of this marriage. But she married him anyway.

 

She followed her love onto a ship, but she disguised herself as a man (like Mary Read), because, at the time, it was a sign of bad luck to have a woman onboard a ship. Her true identity was discovered by one of the ship’s officers, but he kept this secret to himself, because he wanted Charlotte. The officer assigned Charlotte’s husband to some of the ship’s most dangerous jobs, but he survived them with the help of Charlotte. This officer also accused Charlotte’s husband of mutiny, in which he was proved guilty, based on the word of an officer versus that of a common sailor. He was punished by being whipped, which killed him. The officer made advances toward Charlotte, but she refused. Later, in port, Charlotte killed him and snuck away.

 

Charlotte found work on the dock, now dressed as a woman. A captain of a merchant ship saw Charlotte, and loved her immediately. So, he kidnapped her, and forced her to marry him. He took her on his trip to Africa. To escape her new husband (who was a tyrant), she gained the respect of the crew, and convinced them to mutiny. She decapitated her husband and became captain of the ship.

 

After years of piracy, Charlotte fell in love with a Spaniard. However, their ship crashed and her husband died (some say due to cannibalism), which left her heartbroken. The survivors were rescued by a Dutch ship, which was later attacked by pirates. But the crew bravely defended their rescuers. While everyone else celebrated, Charlotte jumped overboard to be with her dead husband. Nobody knows if she survived or not.

 
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Charlotte de Berry