As I Made A Post About Pirates Yesterday,

I thought I would make another one today, but this one is about a lady pirate,

her name is Sayyida al Hurra, photograph credit Oxygene Tetouan/ Wikimedia Commons, she was born around 1485 in the Andalusian city of Granada, Spain, to a prominent Muslim family. In 1492, her family along with fellow Muslim and Jewish families fled the city when Spanish monarch Ferdinand and Isabella conquered Granada, Sayyida and her family settled in Chaouen in northern Morocco, where she received a first-class education, studying languages, theology, and mathematics. When she was 16, Sayyida married al-Mandri, a friend of her father’s and the governor of Tétouan, another city in northern Morocco, Sayyida assisted her husband in governing Tétouan, and after his death in 1515, she inherited his position. She was the last person in Islamic history to legitimately hold the title “al Hurra,” which translates to “queen” or “lady who is free and independent.” perhaps because she wanted revenge on her “Christian enemy” that forced her out of Granada, Sayyida al Hurra turned to piracy and contracted with famous Turkish pirate, who you may have heard of in Pirates of the Caribbean,

Hayreddin Barbarossa,  pictured above in a 19th. centaury drawing, credit, PHAS/ Universal Images Group via Getty Images, together, Sayyida and Barbarossa ruled the Mediterranean Sea, with Sayyida controlling the western portion of the Sea while Barbarossa roamed the eastern side, at the height of her pirating power, Sayyida al Hurra married a second time to the King of Morocco, Ahmed al-Wattasi, in 1541. However, she refused to give up her seat of power in Tétouan, and instead of traveling to Fez for the wedding, she insisted Ahmed al-Wattasi come to Tétouan. It was the only time in Moroccan history that the Sultan has married outside of the capital city, Sayyida al Hurra’s power did not last. In 1542, her son-in-law Moulay Ahmed al-Hassan al-Mandari arrived in Tétouan with a small army and overthrew his mother-in-law. Sayyida al Hurra spent the remainder of her days in her childhood town of Chaouen, living to the age of 75, I knew of at least two other lady pirates, Anne Bonny and Mary Read, story from the Vintage News, but as it happens there were more than a few lady pirates as you can see here.