Wonder Woman of the Week: Anne-Dieu-le-Veut

The Wonder Woman this week is another pirate from the "golden age" of piracy in the Caribbean. Along with "Back from the Dead Red" (a fellow Wonder Woman of the Week), Anne was one of the first documented women pirates in the Caribbean. Anne was born and raised in Brittany, France; but found her way to the Caribbean as a young woman- with some documents claiming her migration as a prisoner sent to a Caribbean penal colony.

What is known is that Anne married soon after she arrived in the Caribbean to a known pirate Pierre Lelong in 1684. Six years after the wedding, Anne's husband died in battle, leaving Anne and their only child left to fend for themselves. Anne married the following year in 1691 and had a second child only to see her second husband die a year after their wedding day from undocumented causes. In 1693, Anne married a third time- this time to another pirate Laurens de Graaf. As the story goes, de Graaf insulted Anne's late second husband, leading her to declare a duel against de Graaf in anger. When she bested him in the fight, the pirate immediately fell in love and the two married shortly after.

While serving as co-captain with her husband, Anne helped lead pirates to attack Spanish and English ports- including a raid on English Jamaica. In retaliation, the English counter-attacked by raiding the port where Anne and her husband liked to dock their ship and captured the two. After three years of negotiation, the French king himself managed to convince English authorities to free Anne and the rest of the crew in 1698- after recognizing her strength as a privateer for France. Anne and her husband were only spoken of twice later- both pertaining to the pirates' deaths. Some time in the first decade of the 18th Century, Anne and her husband were captured in a fight against a Spanish ship. They were brought to Veracruz (modern-day Mexico) first and later Cartagena (modern-day Colombia). While not proven, some documents claim de Graaf died either in the battle or while a prisoner. What is known is that the French king once again negotiated for Anne's release. Afterwords, Anne settled near New Orleans and died in 1710 at 48 years old.