Who do you think is the most successful pirate of all time? Blackbeard? Bartholomew Roberts? Samuel Bellamy? What if I told you it was none of the above? What if I told you it wasn't some white dude from England? What it if I told you that it was a woman from China that started off as a prostitute? Well that is the truth and that is the story of Zheng Yi Sao. Zheng Yi Sao became a pirate queen. She had command of about 80,000 pirates! She once wielded more power than all of China.

Content Warning:

17:13 - 17:17

History Shelf Merch:

https://history-shelf.creator-spring.com

Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/HistoryShelfPodcast

Fiverr:

https://www.fiverr.com/kortney_jewell/advertise-for-you-on-my-podcast

Riverside Link:

https://riverside.fm/?utm_campaign=campaign_2&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=rewardful&via=historyshelf

Amazon Link:

https://www.amazon.com/b/?node=11601506011&_encoding=UTF8&linkCode=ib1&tag=kortney0c-20&linkId=3d61959f57d3bc0c303494faf049bc56&ref_=ihub_curatedcontent_10d9c051-58f5-4648-8cab-a22034de7c13

Bookshop Link:

https://bookshop.org/shop/History_Shelf

Sources:

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/ching-shih-chinese-female-pirate

https://www.worldhistory.org/Zheng_Yi_Sao/

https://www.military.com/history/chinese-woman-led-largest-and-most-successful-pirate-fleet-history.html

https://vulgarhistory.com/2022/12/14/39-zheng-yi-sao-aka-shi-yang-aka-ching-shih/

Music:

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):

https://uppbeat.io/t/sky-gienger/inner-temple

License code: Y0IQWHGUYHWA5ILO

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):

https://uppbeat.io/t/zac-tiessen/eastern-journey

License code: QGNFAU0UYFK6IN7J