When most people think of pirates,
they imagine hulking, fearsome men
with names like Blackbeard or Long John Silver.
Although the vast majority of pirates
throughout history have been male,
One of the most famous and feared pirates
who ever lived was
Ching Shih --
a young Cantonese woman who became the ruler
of one the largest pirate fleets in history,
and the mastermind behind
a floating criminal empire so powerful,
that even the Chinese military couldn't stop it.
We don't know much about her early life,
except that at one point,
she worked at a brothel in Canton.
In 1801, Ching Shih married a pirate commander
named Ching I,
and soon ruled by his side
as he expanded his empire,
unifying countless small, scattered crews of pirates
into an organized
and increasingly powerful coalition.
When her husband died suddenly in 1807,
Ching Shih knew exactly what to do.
She stepped in to claim the leadership for herself,
taking control of somewhere between
40,000 and 60,000 pirates.
Their acceptance of a woman as their commander
remains a remarkable testament to both
her political skill and the respect
she must have earned from the crew.
She soon appointed her adopted son,
Chang Pao,
as the commander of her most powerful fleet
and eventually married him.
It was a little creepy,
but the two became a formidable team
whose raids were feared through
the South China Sea.
We don't know exactly what Ching looked like,
although some historians have assumed
she caught the eye of her pirate husband
through good looks rather than `
her considerable intelligence.
While there are many flamboyant but dubious
accounts invented by Western writers of a
gorgeous goddess,
wielding swords and wearing glittering battle gear
covered in golden dragons,
more reliable texts describe Ching Shih
as a good military strategist,
a strict disciplinarian,
and an excellent businesswoman.
Although she rejected many traditional ideas
about what women could and couldn't do,
other rules were extremely important:
namely, those enforced on her ships.
With the help of a code of conduct
drawn up by Ching Pao,
she helped establish clear rules for the behavior,
finances, and power structure of the fleet --
As well as the draconian punishment that awaited
anyone who dared to disobey or cheat her.
Her rule was unquestionably harsh:
not only for the victims of her raids,
but for anyone in the fleet who dared
to step out of line.
All plunder had to be registered,
with 80% of the loot paid into a general fund.
Somewhat ironically,
stealing from the fund
was one of the worst crimes a pirate could commit,
and the punishment was death.
As one observer noted,
Ching Shih's strict and often lethal reaction
to misbehavior kept the crew very honest.
And the pirates under her command
took great care to behave themselves well.
Through careful and ruthless management,
Ching Shih made the bloody and chaotic work
of piracy into a highly organized business.
And business was good --
making her a very wealthy woman.
And, of course,
like so many male leaders,
conquerors, and generals
throughout history,
her prosperity and success
came at the cost of innocent lives.
Her remarkable story is a reminder that,
regardless of the limitations placed on them,
women can be anything that men can be:
brilliant and brutal,
courageous and cruel,
powerful and dreadful.
The Chinese government devoted
considerable effort to crushing the pirates,
but, thanks in large part to
Ching Shih's strategic skill,
her fleets became so powerful
that the government eventually stopped
trying to destroy them,
and started trying to negotiate with them instead.
Ching Shih knew that piracy was not
a wise long term career --
especially when the most common
retirement plan was death.
So, in 1810,
she stepped off a boat,
surrounded by the wives and children
of her pirates
and walked completely unarmed into the office
of the local Governor General
to discuss amnesty.
With a fearsome floating army at her back,
Ching Shih negotiated a very good deal.
Not only was she and any other pirates
who surrendered completely pardoned
by the government for their many, many crimes;
they got to keep their all ill-gotten plunder
and even received jobs from the government
if they wanted.
Her husband was appointed a lieutenant
in the Chinese navy,
where he commanded a private fleet --
made up of former pirates, of course.
Thanks to her exceptional cunning and bravery,
Ching Shih ended her life of piracy,
not as a criminal behind bars,
or the casualty of a raid gone wrong;
but rather, by gathering her riches,
and retiring in comfort as a law-abiding citizen.
Well, mostly law-abiding.
She spent her later years running
a gambling establishment back in Canton,
where she reportedly led a peaceful life,
or at least, as peaceful as she could manage
while presiding over a notorious gambling den.
When she finally died in 1844,
at 60 years old,
she had transformed herself
from a relatively powerless young woman
into both the most powerful female pirate in history
and into something almost as rare:
a pirate who died from old age.