It began in the crowded harbors of Guangdong, where intelligent woman, Zheng Yi Sao, worked aboard a floating brothel. Through strategy, negotiation and an unshakable understanding of power, she went on to become the leader of 70,000 pirates, command hundreds of ships and take control over trade in the South China Sea—making her one of the most feared pirates ever recorded in history.
Sources:
History of the Pirates Who Infested the China Sea From 1807 to 1810
Royal Museums Greenwich
Great Explorers: Zheng Yi Sao
Cheng Yi Sao, Female pirate extraordinaire
Zheng Yi Sao: The most successful pirate you’ve never heard of
Chinese piracy in the late 18th and 19th centuries
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