ABSTRACT
There were many women in sixteenth-and seventeenth-century England who demonstrated unusual physical bravery and great resourcefulness in what was typically considered the male sphere. Some of these women fought in wartime to protect their homes and their families; for their “masculine bravery” they were vilified by some and praised by others. Strong and clever women also participated in acts of piracy, usually as a means to enrich themselves or their families, but for one such as the infamous Grainne Ni Mhaille (Grace O’Malley), piracy was also a form of patriotism.
