Who Was Ching Shih The Pirate?

Who Was The Most Successful Pirate of All Time?

Without a doubt the most successful pirate of all time would have to be Ching Shih. She was like some crazy pirate-styled combination of Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates; insanely rich and successful.

A Pirate's Life For Ching Shih

Born in 1775, Ching Shih went from humble beginnings to becoming the wife of pirate captain and leader of the ‘Red Flag Fleet’, Zhèng Yi. Historians are a little vague as to how the pirate couple got together but one thing's for certain, Ching Shih was not content with being a doting wife. She wanted power and influence and she knew how to get it.

The Red Flag Fleet

The Red Flag fleet went from around 200 ships to an absolutely stonking 1800 ships, with some 70,000 pirates under Zhèng Yi and Ching Shih’s command. This plentiful pirate posse took some work to organise. The massive fleet was colour coded to make sure there was discipline and order. How on earth you can organise 70,000 pirates with early 19th century communication technology is beyond me, but our criminal couple managed it.

Taking Command

In 1807 Zhèng Yi prematurely popped his pirate boots and died, leaving Ching Shih in charge. She more than rose to the occasion. Strict, extremely capable and organised, Ching Shih approached being a pirate lord like a modern day CEO.

She formed an ad-hoc pirate government and set out clear rules for her employees to follow; breaking the law was met with severe punishment. Including, but not limited to, flogging, quartering and having your ears cut off. Just not necessarily in that order.

Ching Shih crushed anyone who opposed her, Chinese, Portuguese, and British naval ships fell victim to the Red Flag Fleet. She was even dubbed "The Terror of South China”, in recognition of her brutally efficient reign.

Reaching Legendary Status

So feared was Ching Shih that Chinese authorities eventually offered her and every pirate under her full amnesty. Ching Shih was even permitted to keep all of her ill-gotten gains. She eventually retired and opened her own gambling house in Canton. What a legend she was.