Women at sea

There were those women who made a life at sea: either voluntary or otherwise. Some of the most common figures are prostitutes, slaves, fisherwomen, navywomen and female swashbucklers, better known as pirates.

The most romanticised, and most known, were the female pirates.

The following is a list of the known female pirates. If there is more information on a specific woman, a link will be attached (see above links as well).

Name
Time Period
Location
Queen Teuta 232 BC to 228 BC Adriatic Sea
Sela 420 AD   
Hetha around 704 AD Nordic Sea
Wigbiorg around 704 AD Nordic Sea
Wisna around 704 AD Nordic Sea
Alvilda (aka AElfhild, Alwilda, Alfhild) actual time unknown: Anywhere from 5th - 12th century Sweden
Ladgerda 870 AD   
Jane de Belleville mid- 1300's France / England
Grace O'Malley, a.k.a. Granuaile, Granny Wale, Grana Weil, Graun'ya Uaile, Granuaile, "Queen of the West" "the Great Sea Pirate" 1500s Atlantic: Ireland
Lady Mary Killigrew 1530-1570 Atlantic: Great Britian
Elizabeth Shirland late 1500's England
Mrs. Peter Lambert late 1500s Aldeburgh, Suffolk
Elizabetha Patrickson 1634    

Charlotte de Berry

 1640's England
Maria Lindsey Cobham 18th century England, Americas, France
Anne Bonny 1720 Caribbean
Mary Read 1720 Caribbean
Mary Harley (or Harvey) alias Mary Farlee 1726 Americas
Mary Crickett (or Crichett) 1728/1729 colony of Virginia
Rachel Wall (Scmidt) 1780's Boston, Massachusetts
Anonymous female commander of French privateer LA BAUGOURT 1805 France
Catherine Hagerty 1806 Australia, New Zealand
Margaret Jordan 1809 Canada
Madame Ching 1800's South China Sea
Mary Lovell 19th Century Pacific/Asian waters
Gunpowder Gertie late 1800's Canada
Honcho Lo and Wong 1921 China
Lai Sho Sz'en (Lai Choi San) 1922-1939 South China Sea
P'en Ch'ih Ch'iko 1936    
Huang P'ei-mei 1937 - 1950's    

For more on women seafarers I suggest these books/websites: