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Ching Shih, The Most Powerful Woman Pirate in History
Ching Shih rose from being a prostitute to commanding the largest, most fearsome group of pirates in the world
When most people think of pirates, scruffy bedraggled men with eye patches come to mind. However, that’s just the stereotype, not the absolute. A perfect example of that is Zheng Yi Sao (also known as Ching Shih), who was a woman who led of one of the largest, most successful and feared gang of pirates the world has ever seen.
Although the exact date is not known, Sao was born around 1775 in the Guangdong province in South China. It’s believed she may have been a Tanka, which were people who lived on junks on the water. As she grew older, she became a prostitute or madame, working on a Tanka brothel, before ultimately marrying renowned pirate Zheng Yi.
Piracy became a family business for Sao. In addition to her husband, his cousin Zheng Qi also sailed under the black flag. Unfortunately, he was executed around 1802 near the Vietnam and China border. His den of pirates was inherited, so to speak, by Zheng Yi. The group was fractured at that point, with infighting and power grabbing taking place. Thanks in large part to Sao, who showed remarkable abilities in organizing and planning, the pirates were brought successfully…
