If you think there are only men in the history of maritime, you are wrong. Because maybe there are quite famous women sailors that none of you have heard of. We want to give information about famous female sailors in history and their interesting stories. While there is a superstitious belief that the presence of women sailors on the deck of ships normally brings bad luck, we want to talk about how women were able to do maritime in history. 

Since ancient times, the master of the ships in the seas has always been in the hands of male captains. For many reasons, women have always been kept away from the maritime profession. Reasons such as superstition, more resilience of men or other sailors were not among the most popular reasons. Considering the issue objectively, working on the deck in those conditions was not for the physical strength of women. In addition to this, it would be very long expeditions in difficult conditions and food and beverage shortages would be experienced. For women who were not physically durable enough, malnutrition meant that a much more difficult process would pass. The ship had its conditions as well as harsh natural conditions and enemy attacks.

Considering all these conditions, seas and the maritime profession were not suitable for women. Of course, physical weaknesses were not the only reason for women to be excluded from the sea world. The fact that they had low social status in the society in which they were in the conditions of the period caused women to remain behind both the maritime profession and all social and economic activities in general. XX. This situation was intensely felt in social life until the beginning of the century. Naturally, such an environment did not even tolerate the idea that women would take part in a difficult job such as maritime. However, due to various exceptions, a woman could do maritime. As it was known at that time, women were not even allowed to go out on the deck of the ship.

In this period, a woman would have to be dressed as a man to be able to take part in the maritime profession where men are dominant. Of course, other sailors should not have noticed naturally that he was in men's clothing. If it was noticed, this would end when he was at the beginning of his maritime career. You may be wondering why a woman would want to be a sailor while having such difficult conditions and processes. In those times, women's economic needs, adventures, desire for a better life, love and loyalty made them want to do this profession. Despite all the difficulties and impossibilities, some quite important female sailors have spent their lives as a sailor. Grace O'Malley, an Irish pirate known as the sea queen, is one of the most important examples among these women. His interest in the maritime profession started one day when he wanted to go out with his father to get a negative response and cut his long hair and put on men's clothes. Inherited from a large fleet of merchants after her father's death, Grace took over this fleet and began receiving tribute from ships passing through the region on the western coast of Ireland. Caught for this crime, Grace was sentenced to death because she committed a piracy crime. As a result of the letter and one-to-one meeting he wrote to Elizabeth I, the crime was forgiven and the death penalty was abolished. XVIII. A popular song among sailors at the turn of the century, the song William Taylor tells the story of a young girl dressed as a boy in search of her fiancé. At that time, the most famous female mariner, Mary Read, became the men's dress.

XVII. At the end of the century, Mary was born as an illegitimate daughter of a captain. The adventure of being dressed as a man started with the training of his mother in the form of a man for his mother to get a share from the heritage. Dressed as a man who knows when she stepped into her adolescence, Mary first found a job on a ship and then joined the British navy. Mary, who participated in the 9-year wars while in the Navy and fought against the French, showed an example of superior courage. After her husband, Mary, who worked with a soldier she met during the war and left the navy, regained her male clothing and rejoined the navy. Mary, who left the navy at the end of the war and decided to settle down in the Bahamas, was taken over by the pirates during the journey and unfortunately, she continued her career as a pirate. When we arrived in 1720, Mary reached the peak of her piracy career with Jack Rackham and her lover Anne Bonny.

Anne Bonny, whom she meets, is one of the female sailors like herself, and her story is quite different. This woman started piracy with her husband after her family of sailors settled in the American Continent and married here at a young age with a sailor named James Bonny. He fell in love with Jack Rackham, whom he met while pirating with her husband, and left her husband and joined her crew.

A rapprochement begins between mother bonny and Mary over time, and Jack Rackham learns about it. When threatening to kill Mary, Anne has to clarify the truth. Jack then breaks an old maritime tradition and allows both women to stay on the deck.

These three pirates, who have been pirating together for many years and capturing many ships and looting, are caught unexpectedly by the Royal ship one day. It is decided to execute the pirates tried. Mary and Anne, who were pregnant at that time, were not executed and their sentences were postponed. During this time, he is released with the bribery paid by his parents and continues the rest of his life as a respectable woman. Mary, on the other hand, falls ill by falling ill in the cell she is in.

XVIII. While it is an extremely rare event for women to maritime in the 21st century, XIX. By the century, we had become or become a common situation. It was an important problem for women to go onboard again at that time. To get on the deck, they only had to be the captain's daughter or wife. The captains working on British ships could make their spouses with two captains.

The young woman named Marry Patten took control of the ship due to her husband's illness on the ship and took the helm with the support of her crew. The woman, who brought the ship to the port of San Francisco after a hard 50-day journey, was awarded $ 1000 by the insurance company.

Eliza Thorrold, the world's first licensed female captain in 1897, went through a difficult and painful period. It remained for him to operate the 44-foot steam tugboat, which remained after his husband's death. The captain, who was in a difficult situation due to the condition of being licensed under the conditions of the period and who had the first license after long efforts, is among the important names of the period.

In addition to the maritime mission, women could go on these difficult journeys with their captain wives. In 1899, his wife Alice accompanied him on every journey of the famous ship captain Alfred Durkee.

XX. After the two World Wars of the 19th century, women proved to be as successful as men at least as much as the maritime profession and continued to fight despite all the obstacles. We can say that the famous women sailors in history are full of success stories that can set an example for today's women with their superior effort and perseverance. We owe them thanks for both adding color to the maritime profession and being an example to future generations.