Zheng Yi Sao - Queen of the Pirates, and the most successful buccaneer in history, commander of 400 ships with over 40,000 swashbucklers - 1775-1844
Zheng Yi Sao (1775–1844; born Shi Yang, a.k.a. Shi Xianggu or Shek Yeung), also known as Ching Shih, was a Chinese pirate leader active in the South China Sea from 1801 to 1810.
Born as Shi Yang in 1775 to humble origins, she married a pirate named Zheng Yi at age 26 in 1801. She was named Zheng Yi Sao ("wife of Zheng Yi") by the people of Guangdong.
After the death of her husband in 1807, she took control of his pirate confederation with the support of Zheng Yi's adopted son Zhang Bao, with whom she entered into a relationship and later married.
As the unofficial commander of the Guangdong Pirate Confederation, her fleet was composed of 400 junks and between 40,000 and 60,000 pirates in 1805.
Add comment