Criminalia

Rachel Wall may have been the first American-born woman to become a pirate – but she most certainly was the last woman to be hanged in Boston, though the specific crime that landed her that fate wasn’t actually piracy at all.

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Welcome to our Talk Like a Pirate Day celebration! Although pirates didn't actually use words like Arrr and Matey, that doesn't mean it isn't a lot of fun to throw that lingo around, right? Just like we speak in pirate talk that doesn't have much to do with real pirate talk, some famous pirates themselves are just as fake as that vocabulary – although many of us may think it's all real.

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Queen Teuta is often considered the “Pirate Queen” of antiquity, but that's actually a bit misleading -- Teuta was not actually a pirate. In line with her expansionist policies, she encouraged and sanctioned her tribe's piratical activities. This queen led an army of pirates.

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Legend says that Grace refused to bow before Elizabeth because she did not acknowledge her as Queen of Ireland. Maybe she did, or maybe she didn't. Now she's considered a famous, feminine sea captain, and the most notorious woman in all the coasts of Ireland. 

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Imposters are people who dishonestly pretend to be someone else for their own gain. Some do it in order to circumvent rules they feel are unjust. And some are simply criminals looking for an easy way to evade capture. And we talk about it all.

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Emperor Trajan, who came to power 30 years after Nero's death, spoke about the “quinquennium Neronis,” which means, the five good years of Nero’s 14-year rule. When Nero died by suicide, three documented Pseudo-Neros attempted to take his place.

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Maria Trimarchi and Holly Frey are coming back with season four of Criminalia! Tune in for the new season starting August 31.

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Margaret, Maid of Norway, ascended to the Scottish throne on March 19, 1286, when she was just shy of three years old, and living in Norway. Ten years after the real Margaret, Maid of Norway's death, a Norwegian woman claimed Margaret’s identity.

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His love for financial fraud may have been matched by his love of impersonation. Frederick Emerson Peters is regarded as one of America’s most infamous imposters. He posed as ordinary Americans, but also once pretended to be a Roosevelt -- actually, two different Roosevelts.

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Olivia Serres was an accomplished British landscape painter and published writer. She was also an imposter, pretending to be the legitimate daughter of Prince Henry Frederick, Duke of Cumberland. She insisted on being addressed as Princess Olive of Cumberland, and claimed to be of royal birth.

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