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History
File this under: someone needs to write a novel about this!
The most successful pirate ever was an Asian woman
When you hear the word “pirates” you undeniably end up thinking of proficient fierce men whose life stories have mesmerized millions of teenagers and adults alike for several centuries now. Names like Blackbeard, Henry Morgan and Sir Francis Drake may ring a bell in the minds of several reader’s of history. These men were considered to be the most successful pirates of all time. Contrary to these popular ideas, the most successful pirate-lord in recorded history was not any of the previously mentioned American or European men. Instead, she was an extraordinary Asian woman who is known today by the name Ching Shih, which simply translates to ‘Ching’s widow’. Her saga is nothing less than an exhilarating rag to riches story. At the height of her power, she commanded over 800 large ships, 1000 smaller vessels and over 70,000 pirate crew, comprised of both men and women.
In comparison, the over-hyped Blackbeard at his peak commanded a laughable 300 ships and few thousand pirate crew.
Ching Shih’s humble beginnings
Ching Shih was born as Shih Yang, in 1775, in the poverty-ridden society of Guangdong province, in China. Akin to many of the women of this period, on attaining puberty at the tender age of thirteen, she was forced into prostitution in order to supplement her families income. She worked in one of the floating brothels, also known as flower boats, in the Cantonese port city. These boats would sail along the nearby coast with the customer on board. Back then, the Chinese perceived that the rocking of the boat added an entirely new dimension to sexual pleasures and enhanced the overall experience.
