Anne Dieu-le-veut (1661 – 1710) was a Breton pirate. Described as tough and relentless, she actively participates in all aspects of life on board, from command to combat.
Deported as a criminal
Anne Dieu-le-veut was born on August 28, 1661 in Gourin, Morbihan (Brittany). Very little is known about her youth and the beginning of her adult sight, except that she arrived on Île de la Tortue (north of Santo Domingo, present-day Haiti) when Bertrand d' Ogeron de La Bouëre was its governor, between 1665 and 1675; she would have been deported there as a criminal.
In 1684, she married the buccaneer Pierre Lelong, first commandant of Cap Français (now Cap-Haitien, Haiti). Their daughter, Marie-Marguerite Yvonne Lelong, was born in Morlaix (Brittany) in February 1688, but Pierre died two years later during a fight in Santo Domingo. In 1691, she married Joseph Chérel who died two years later, also leaving an orphan:Jean-François Chérel, born in 1692.
The pirate
According to traditional stories, Anne then challenged the Dutch filibuster Laurent-Corneille Baldran dit de Graaf to avenge the death of her husband, or following an insult. When she draws her pistol against Laurent de Graff's sword, the latter gives up, saying that he cannot fight against a woman. Admiring Anne's courage, he asks her to marry him. In 1693, he obtained the annulment of his first marriage, and Anne Dieu-le-veut and Laurent de Graff married in Cap in July 1693. They had two children:Marie Catherine de Graff, and a son who died downstairs. age.
Anne accompanies her husband at sea, during his acts of piracy. Unlike Anne Bonny and Mary Read, she does not hide her gender. While superstition has it that a woman on board brings bad luck, her husband's crew considers Anne a lucky charm, and reserves her share of the loot. Described as brave, tough and relentless, she actively participated in life on board, in command and in combat alongside her husband. It was from this time that she became known by the nickname "Anne Dieu-le-veut".
Anne Dieu-le-vout, difficult captive
In 1693, following incursions into English Jamaica, Laurent won the title of knight. Two years later, in retaliation, the British attacked Port-de-Paix in Santo Domingo, sacked the city and captured Anne Dieu-le-Veut and her children. “Difficult captive” according to the accounts of the time, the pirate and her children were held hostages for three years and were only released following numerous steps by France in 1698.
The rest of its existence is not well known. According to some versions, she and her husband settled in Louisiana or Mississippi, but it is not known whether or not they continued their piracy activities.
Anne Dieu-le-veut died in Cap-Français on January 11, 1710, aged 48.