Ching Shih-The greatest pirate in history
Ching Shih-The greatest pirate in history
Ching Shih, the world’s first pirate, rose from poor beginnings and even had more than 80,000 ships at her disposal.
Its beginnings and entrance into the pirate world:
Cheng Shih was a common Chinese woman who, due to her poverty, worked in a brothel in Canton, China, in 1775. While there, she was impressed by a wealthy pirate named Cheng Yi who was in charge of a fleet of ships known as the “Red Flag Fleet,” and he sent her to tell her that he wanted to marry her.
Red Flag Fleet
The Red Flag Fleet was run by the two of them after Cheng Yi consented to Xie’s demand that she marry him in exchange for a piece of the power in his group and a portion of the loot they were doing. Only 200 ships were in the fleet when it first started, but that number quickly increased to over 20,000, then 80,000.
Unfortunately, Cheng Yi passed away after six years of marriage to Qing Shih; at that time, it was customary for the pirate’s wife to step aside and allow her son to command the fleet. However, Qing Shih refused to return to a life of prostitution and convinced the second man in Zheng Yi’s reign to do so in exchange for being with her in command of the fleet; as a result, she became the first woman to hold that position.
Ching Shih first pirate
She was not just the first pirate but also one of the most successful ones, and she was a shrewd and severe leader who enforced rules on her ship, particularly those relating to the distribution of loot and the application of laws.
The Ching Shih system required all loot to be presented first and recorded before it could be divided. Any ship that acquired a treasure was permitted to keep 20% of its value while depositing the remaining 80% in a common fund, and laws were put in place regarding the treatment of prisoners. In addition to considering treason and rape crimes to be capital offences, it also passed regulations that treated captives with dignity and actively punished those who disobeyed them.
Inability of the Chinese government
She was dreaded by the Chinese government because to her tight rule and devoted supporters, but she displayed such indifference that ships from the Portuguese, British, and Chinese navies were captured.
In the hopes that Qing Shih would turn herself in and stop posing a threat to the ships, the Chinese authorities attempted to give amnesty to all pirates in exchange for their decision to stop piracy.
Cheng Shih eventually agreed to the negotiations, and after striking a favourable agreement with a Chinese government official, she was given the opportunity to keep all the money she had amassed as a pirate.
She married Chang Bao, the second member of the Red Banner Fleet, after she gave up piracy, went back to Canton, and there she established a gaming establishment where she resided until her passing in 1844.
She is still regarded as one of the greatest entrepreneurs of all time in addition to being renowned as the first pirate.