Short History Of... - The Pirate Queen

Episode Date: November 29, 2021

It’s November 28th, 1809. The Imperial fleet in Tung Chung Bay is aflame. But the crew of Zheng I Sao’s ship watch on and cheer. This is the greatest victory of the Pirate Queen, scourge of the South China Sea. At its peak, her fleet was more than twice the size of the Spanish Armada. But who was Zheng I Sao? How did she become one of the most successful pirates of all time? And why did she go under the radar for so long? This is a Short History of The Pirate Queen. Written by Joel Duddell. With thanks to Dian Murray, historian, and author of Pirates of the South China Coast. For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Now available for Apple and Android users. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's November the 28th, 1809. The South China Sea is aflame. The smell of burning wood and the screams of panicked sailors cross the warm, tranquil waters of the Tung Chung Bay. The pirates of Jung Yi Tsao's fleet watch on and cheer. The Pirate Queen, as she's known, stands proudly at the stern of her ship On a boat nearby stands her adopted son and lover, Zhang Bao They share a victorious look

On the opposing side across the bay, the governor general of Canton holds his head in his hands and sobs He had been tasked with bringing the pirates of the South China Sea under the heel of the Chinese emperor. After months, years in hot pursuit, the governor general thought that he had them in his grasp. He traveled here to Tongchun all the way from the mainland to witness the pirates' final defeat, but instead his forces had been vanquished. Now he wonders how he will explain this disaster to his boss, the Emperor. Because Zhongyi Zhao and her pirate fleet have won a remarkable victory. As battle raged in the bay, the Emperor's forces unleashed a fleet of special made vessels. Vessels purposely set ablaze. The idea was to direct these

fire ships towards the pirate queen and her allies and thus to burn them to a crisp. But watching on the governor general's glee had swiftly turned to cold fear. In a surreptitious turn of events, the winds changed and blew the fire ships back towards the lines of the Imperial Chinese Navy. Now instead of the pirate ships being set alight, the Chinese Navy's own vessels are on fire. Welcome to Short History Of. In this episode, we'll take a trip to Imperial China at the turn of the 19th century, and meet a woman who, at the peak of her powers, commanded a pirate fleet of some 1,800 ships. She is, by most measurements, the most successful pirate of all time,

a bona fide criminal mastermind who turned piracy from a side hustle into a dizzyingly lucrative profession. Zheng Yizhou, sometimes known as Ching Shih, controlled a sprawling criminal empire to match that of any mafia boss, robbing and racketeering while the law tried and failed to bring her down. But how did she do it? And why is this remarkable woman not better known? Pirates in the West achieved romantic reverence and public acclaim.

So why did Zhong Yizhou go under the radar for so long? This is a short history of the Pirate Queen. It's 1775. The city of Canton sits on the mouth of the Pearl River on China's southern coast. 74 miles from Hong Kong today the city is called Guangzhou. It remains a sprawling port. But back in the Pirate Queen's day, this teeming metropolis has yet to be industrialized. It's set right on the water. There's the splash of a paddle as a peddler rows his small boat between the thousands of junks.

The Chinese sailing ships, lined up as far as the eye can see. He is just one of many traders to work these traffic-clogged watercourses. The air hums with humidity in the babble of the multitude who call this place home. Many of the junks along this shore are birthed here permanently and will never set sail. As many as 80,000 people reside in this river-born city. Some will live their entire lives without ever once setting foot on dry land. Why leave the water when it provides everything you might ever need? The peddler paddles past floating markets offering all manner of groceries and goods.

There are wedding boats too, and craft for all manner of occasions. Prostitution is often called the oldest profession, and it's no surprise that even here it can be found. Very little is known about the early life of Zhong Yizhou, the woman who will go on to lead one of the largest pirate fleets ever amassed. But this is the world in which she grows up, the water world of the province of Canton. Zhong Yizhou is born at the bottom of the ladder, in a highly stratified society. Social mobility simply doesn't happen here. Indeed, barriers are actively placed in people's way.

are actively placed in people's way. Diane Murray is a historian and author of Pirates of the South China Coast, 1790 to 1810. China was the first country to establish civil service exams for government officials. But the boat people would have been categorized as mean people and they would not have been allowed to have proceeded to study and to take those exams, even if they could have afforded the tuition and the tutors and the stuff that it took. So they were kind of seen as a pariah group, a marginalized group.

People would have looked down on them. Zhongizhou seems to have actually been born on land. So how is it she ends up living on the river? Once again, it's because of the discrimination those on the bottom rung face. One of the biggest problems is overpopulation. There was just not much land there. And there was a coastal strip, and then there were mountains that weren't very far inland. So farmland was very much, you know, that's what people wanted. With land at a premium, the poor can't afford to buy or rent. They have little choice but to live

on the water. There are some benefits to life here, particularly for women. For example, the boat people, as they're known, don't bind their daughter's feet. And there are employment opportunities. Much of the labour, steering of boats, hawking of goods, collecting linen from foreign ships to wash, is done by women. This greater equality means Jung Izao can take ownership of her life to a greater extent than women in much of mainland China. to a greater extent than women in much of mainland China. This would allow her to have a great impact far and wide. But all that is still to come. And for now, life is hard.

At some point, it's impossible to know exactly when, she finds employment in the sex trade. She seems to have been a prostitute on one of the flower boats in Canton. That's the best I could do to sort of track her. The brothels in Canton and in South China and that whole area were boats. There were whole floating cities on the water, especially around Canton or Guangzhou,

and then farther south. And these were so organized that there were thousands of people who never set foot on land. They had everything, all their needs were satisfied. They had almost like streets and rows and anchorages set out. So it is not surprising that the brothels would also be on vessels. With life so difficult for the boat people, it's little wonder that some supplement their income by preying on their richer neighbors. Fishermen in particular find themselves at the bottom of the barrel.

Their earnings are subject to both the seasons and to the whims of the marketplace. So in the summer months, when fishing is poor, many will sail north to plunder and rob along the coast. Fishing was a part-time seasonal activity, and the other half of the seasonal activity was piracy. And fishermen were always in debt, they never had any money. Their season was maybe 125, 150 days a year. And the rest of the time they had to have income. And so they would have these small groups, maybe a guy had a junk and you'd get it for a few friends and then they'd go out and they'd get some bean bran or some fish or whatever the local stuff that was going in the coasting trade. They'd capture it and before any officials could come

after them, they'd be gone. They'd be back in the population. This, they'd capture it, and before any officials could come after them, they'd be gone. They'd be back in the population. This would go on forever and ever and ever. It didn't make any big dent. It was just nuisance piracy. One man engaged in such activity is Jung Yi. It's from Jung Yi that Jung Yi Zhao will take her name. But she will go on to eclipse her husband.

A pirate, he frequents the flower boat where she plies her trade. Something draws them together and they fall in love. Zhongyi and his new wife, Zhongyizhao, are dissatisfied with their lot. They find themselves attracted to a somewhat more lawless place, the border town of Jiangping. It was a very wild place. It was a border town. It was a place where fishermen would go to repair vessels. The Jung strike up a conversation with fishermen in a tavern.

They have a junk of their own. They now need a crew. But this is no fishing expedition they have in mind. They look for those on whom the arduous work of the sea has honed muscle and shed fat. They watch for those quick with their fists and unforgiving of offense. It's tough men and women they seek, and those with little to lose. An isolated rural hamlet on the coast of southeast China. The villages are only just now stirring from their beds. The fields are quiet and still. The day's labour is yet to begin.

A farmer emerges, bleary-eyed into the bright morning light. He glances out to sea and sees a junk silently approaching. The hungry and determined look in the eyes of its crew tells him all he needs to know, as does the physical appearance of some of the pirates. The hated Manchu rulers have imposed a particular hairstyle on the Han Chinese, shaved at the front and sides, with the remainder tied into a long ponytail at the back. Those crew members of a more revolutionary bent have cut off the ponytail

and allowed their hair to grow freely. The farmer tries to warn the others, but it's too late. The pirates storm ashore and go house to house pillaging whatever they find. The Zungs are good at this work and they prosper. They are now regular visitors to Jiangping, the border town where they recruit crew and sell their booty to fences. There was this, I think, increasingly noticeable struggle for resources and livelihood, and that sent people, refugees, down. There was a big market set up there. People who were merchants would come down and, you know, they'd buy this stuff cheap and then they'd

sell it wherever they sold it. It was a gathering place for entrepreneurs, for fishermen. That was the logical sort of headquarters, if you will, of the mercantile side of this whole enterprise. It's petty criminality that Jung's are engaged in. And in the grand scheme of things, it does little damage. But things are about to change. damage. But things are about to change. Over the border, in Vietnam, three brothers from the village of Tay Son lead a peasant revolt against their tyrannical and sclerotic rulers. But the armies leveled against the rebellion are daunting, and they need a navy to repulse

any attack from the sea. So the Vietnamese rebels turn to the pirates for help. Like others of their ilk, the Dungs are more than happy to lend their support for a price. And so they recruited and made welcome the Chinese pirates who were pretty much petty pirates that I described earlier. They were these part-time pirates and fishermen. And they came down to Vietnam. And initially they were given protection, safe harbor. They were backed to go on heists into China to get something, bring it back, and they would turn it over and probably get some of the proceeds themselves. Under the protection of the Tay Son rebels, the pirate crews step up their campaign of raiding and pillaging.

And soon their numbers swell. As they went to Vietnam, they became more stable, more structured, and they began to develop organization. And by the end of the time, I think in Vietnam, there were certain fleets, maybe there were certain groups that sailed together, fleets maybe of 100 vessels instead of two or three or four or twelve. The Chinese emperor is incensed. China has only just suppressed a revolution of its own. The White Lotus rebellion in the north of the country lasted over 10 years

and cost several hundred thousand lives. And it's not just the White Lotus. There's a long history of resentment towards the dynasty which rules China. And so it faces threats from every quarter. The last dynasty of the Chinese was the Qing dynasty. This was not a native dynasty. China was ruled at that time by Manchus, people north of the Great Wall who were able to, for a variety of reasons, they were better organized, they had help from Chinese collaborators, etc., etc. They conquered China and took the throne in 1644. They stayed in power until 1911. They were brought down by the revolution. In the 1640s, when they conquered and were conquering China, they were very much hated, and there were resistance groups that bounded together to try to overthrow the Qing,

restore the Ming, which had been the previous dynasty, which was a native Chinese dynasty. And although the Manchus were able to suppress most of the dissidents and the terrorism, there was always a kind of strain there. The Qing dynasty has ignored piracy off its coastlines. More pressing matters have demanded attention. But now they decide to teach the Vietnamese Tay Son a lesson for harbouring their enemies.

The Chinese emperor sends two large armies into Vietnam. But it isn't the Tay Son who are put in their place. into Vietnam. But it isn't the Tay Son who are put in their place. After a fearsome battle, it's the Chinese who suffer an ignominious defeat. Their threat is neutered, while the Tay Son consolidate their grip on Vietnam.

With their work done, the pirates are no longer needed by their Vietnamese employers. As the Chinese returned home, they might not have been organizationally at their apex, but they were too big to just slip back into the population. And I think they were fighting each other. It's early evening in the South China Sea. A merchant ship has been boarded by pirates.

They've stolen its cargo and seized its crew. Darkness is encroaching, and visibility is not what it was just a few short hours ago. Another junk pulls up alongside, having silently approached under the cover of twilight. It's a rival pirate ship. The captain of the first vessel orders his crew to set sail. But they're overloaded with captured booty and prisoners. The rival ship keeps pace with them. In desperation, the pirate captain orders his crew to throw some of the booty overboard.

But still, the pursuers draw level. They fire on each other. Then, the enemy pirates board. They fire on each other. Then the enemy pirates board. Privateers on both sides are cut down. One side will win and the other will lose. But whichever crew prevails, pirates will die and booty will be lost.

Such is the chaotic nature of piracy in these parts after the end of the Taysan rebellion. Cut loose by their Vietnamese employers, the pirates have returned to plundering the coast of China. Different factions battle viciously over the spoils. Surely there must be a better way. Some certainly think so, chiefly, Jung Yi and Jung Yi Zhao. And I think it was the Jung, he and she, her husband and Mrs. Jung who said, you know, this is stupid. We need to collaborate and stop fighting each other. That is stupid. So they drew up, and this was just the most thrilling moment of this research project, they drew up their Articles of Confederation.

It's a remarkable document. A detailed treatise, setting out the rights and obligations that pirates share with each other. The Articles of Confederation establish an alliance, which makes them a fearsome force to be reckoned with. Amongst other regulations, the pirates agreed to divide their forces into seven fleets, each with its own banner. Each boat has to have a name and registration number on its bow. When pirates attack a cargo ship, its booty belongs to the first junk to strike it.

These regulations are designed to stop the infighting and to ensure the pirates instead fight against their common foe. It also puts an end to the more amateur forms of privateering. Instead, the federation the Jungs have created becomes a monopoly. If you want to be a pirate, you need permission. What made her, or what made the Confederation so large and able to support itself? First was the professionalization that came by following these rules. You just couldn't waltz in and out anymore.

You enrolled and you were basically there. And that really cut out all the small-time operators. They had to join with the big boys. And then the big boys, they were able to sustain themselves financially, not only by, you know, robbing at sea, which I think would have been hit or miss, but they had what I've called regular income streams that came from selling protection money. And so they established offices along the coast, openly, brazenly, along the coast for people who were going to set out to sea for either mercantile or fishing purposes, bought passports for protection from the pirates. And if

the pirates attacked somebody who had a passport, they were in deep trouble. So this was rigorously and honestly enforced. And so then they would sell these passports and then they were able to extend them into the inner waters and sell them. And if the villagers didn't pay up, they burned the village. By 1805, the Zheng's Confederation numbers some 70,000 sailors on 400 ships. This is a fleet more than twice the size of the Spanish Armada. The pirates' ascent is aided by the weakness of their enemies. China is a large nation and historically it has seen threats as coming not from the sea, but from overland. The Great Wall of China, all 13,000 miles of it, was built precisely for this reason.

To keep out the Mongol hordes and other nomadic tribes which sweep down from the Eurasian steppe. Indeed, China hasn't witnessed a significant seaborne threat for more than 100 years. What naval forces China has have been neglected, their boats allowed to rot. The imperial fleet comprises lumbering rice-carrier junks, which are long past their prime. Each is manned by 40 to 80 part-time sailors, fishermen by trade, with little or no training. They have a handful of mismatched cannon.

They're completely unprepared for the Jung's armada. Crews are so desperate to avoid going up against their superior enemy, they sabotage their own boats. Others set sail only to hide away in secret harbors and bays, while false reports are filed to high command, boasting of great victories over the brigands, which of course never happened. On the few occasions an Imperial Navy ship is foolhardy enough to engage the pirates, they almost always lose. The Cantonese Governor General orders a coastal embargo to choke the pirates of supplies, but this just pushes them inland.

Soon their quiet junks are sailing up river and along the waterways. Villages which never before had to worry about pirate predation, now find themselves at the mercy of the outlaws. The pirates are going from success to success. By 1807, the junks are at the height of their powers. But a disaster is about to strike, which will threaten all they built. Zhongyi has set sail in command of his flagship. He patrols the South China Sea on the lookout for choice cargo vessels to plunder. Then a typhoon strikes. Waves, 200 feet in height, batter the jungle. High-speed

winds tear at its sails, the rigging creaks, the ship's hull pitches at an impossible angle. There's a loud crack, and one of the masts topples. Thick as a tree trunk, it knocks a score of sailors into the swell, their screams silenced by the screech of the wind and the roar of the waves. Later the survivors will be unable to pinpoint exactly when Zhongyi went overboard. But Mother Nature has achieved what the Imperial Chinese forces could not. She has slain the fearsome pirate king. It falls to Jung's widow, Jung Yi Zhao, to pick up his mantle. She's a respected figure in her own right.

Unlike in the West, female pirates are not so unusual. There's no tradition of bad luck associated with having women on board boats. Indeed, women often work on ships. In the West, as you probably know, women were deemed bad luck on merchant ships and on naval ships and that kind of thing. the case in China, where in the south the women had sculled and rowed sampans and other vessels out on those water world ways for a long time. There were some women on board pirate ships, not usually a lot, but they were usually married to one of the men on board. And so that feature is, I think, an interesting one that does separate China from the West a little bit. But even so, having clawed her way up from such humble beginnings,

Zhong Yizhou is savvy enough to know she must consolidate her position. She moves fast, securing the support of key lieutenants and influential commanders. The Zhongs have children, two sons, but they have also adopted a third, a grown-up man who was captured and pressed into service. His name is Zhang Bao. The story has it that Zhang Bao was the son of a fisherman when he was 15, and Zhang Yi captured Zhang Bao, I think, and his father out while they were fishing and was going to force him to become pirates.

And this was one way when volunteers were short that pirate fleets could be expanded by captivity. And so Zhang Yi realized that Zhang Bao had some potential. He was pretty good. But Zhang Bao caught Zhongyi's eye as more than just a pirate. It seems that a physical relationship soon began. There was a homosexual relationship, apparently, between Jungi and Zhang Bao. And I spent a lot of time trying to figure out just what that meant.

It turns out the archives contain lots of similar examples. Pirate groups would be apprehended and the interrogation submitted to Beijing, it was mentioned that so-and-so was captured. Homosexual relationships occurred between the captor and the captive. So I was trying to figure out, is this love? Is this a kind of formalization of a power relationship? and the captive. So I was trying to figure out, is this love? Is this a kind of formalization of a power relationship? Is this a way to bring them into the fold?

What is this? Whatever the exact dynamics of the relationship, Jiang Bao's proximity to the Pirate King placed him well and truly inside the tent. And then he seems to have been given command of a ship, his own ship. And then the next step is that he became the adopted son of Zheng Yi and Zheng Yi Cao. Now, he would have been obviously a young adult, an adolescent at this point. I don't know, you know, I don't know exactly when this occurred, but that would not have been uncommon.

There was a lot of adult adoption. And the reason is that in China, you really needed kinship as a basis for your ability to have business relationships and sort of familial capitalism that undergirds a lot of that society. Well, what happens if you want to interact with somebody that you're not related to? And so they would create these fictive kinships and they would adopt adults or young adults, bring them in so that whatever business or transactions

could proceed. Over the years, Zhang Bao has proven himself a capable commander. So now with the Pirate King dead, his widow puts Zhang Bao in charge of the largest and most powerful unit in the Confederation, the Red Fleet. Later the Pirate Queen and her adopted son marry. This secures her position as undisputed commander-in-chief.

On the surface, their marriage is curious, not to mention incestuous. Were they involved prior to Jungi's death? Are they truly in love? Or is it just a marriage of convenience? It's difficult to know. But in the context of the time, theirs is not a particularly unusual arrangement. Family relationships are often intertwined with business and politics. Under the leadership of Zhong Yizhou and Jiang Bao, the Pirate Federation goes from strength to

strength. They start to occupy land. The power they wield is actually beginning to rival that of the Chinese state. I have referred to it or seen it as kind of a state within the state along the coast. They didn't extend very far inland, but in this region, which I've called the water world, it's just water cut. And there weren't roads. And so vessels, boats were the way you got anywhere and did anything. And I think that that was a very important reason why piracy was so feared and so dominant in that area. Like successful criminals throughout history, violence is only one tool the pirates rely upon. Bribery and corruption, too, are used to facilitate their success. I don't know how large the infiltration into the government's yamen were,

but I think there were a few occasions where either some pirates or people connected to the pirates were in the government and creating a little help for them. I think they played both ends very well. They had some very important alliances, and then they would use terror and fear as a kind of way to get submission from people without having to fight for everything. At this time, the island of Macau is a Portuguese colony off the coast of China. It's an important trading post and a stop-off point for merchants travelling to and from the mainland.

Its history is bound up closely with piracy. Some say that way back in the 1550s, the Portuguese acquired Macau after helping the Chinese Ming government to suppress the local privateers. Others say it was the Portuguese themselves who were the pirates, and that they kidnapped Chinese women and children to sell into slavery. Whatever the truth, criminality has always flourished here, and some local administrators have a very relaxed view of the law. The corrupt Macau officials helped the pirates to run their protection rackets. There are other scams too. Soon the pirates have a stranglehold

on the lucrative salt trade. Salt was a taxable item. And in China, the right to produce salt and then the right to sell it, those were monopoly concessions, I guess you could say. And then the salt had to be transported from the areas of production to markets. And there were some big salt-producing areas in Guangdong province.

And at first, the pirates would attack them and overwhelm them. And then finally, they became the convoi escorts and had been paid substantially for the privilege of allowing safe passage. So that was another source of income. The pirate problem is now out of control. The Chinese authorities start to worry how the European powers will perceive them. They might see China as weak and vulnerable if it can't keep these criminals in check.

The Europeans might be tempted to take matters into their own hands. The pirates are just as happy attacking foreign ships as Chinese ones, after all. But the emperor and his officials are split over what to do. Some want to ask the Portuguese or the British for help. The emperor is resistant. He believes China must stand on its own two feet. But his military has been drained by its war to put down the White Lotus Revolution.

The West was primarily interested in commercial relationships with China, but they also wanted diplomatic ones. They wanted to be able to be in touch with Chinese officials. Chinese officials weren't very excited about this and basically didn't go for it. And they didn't want foreigners, particularly Western foreigners, mixing with the Chinese population. So after 1750, all Western commerce was confined to take place in Canton. Macau was sort of the focus of this.

Macau was sort of the focus of this. The British monarch, King George, writes to the emperor to offer the Royal Navy's assistance with the pirate problem. The emperor rebuffs him. He'll sort out the pirates in his own way. It's July the 5th, 1808. Major General Lin Kuoyang is the commander of the Imperial Chinese forces tasked with defending Canton itself. From the deck of his ship, not far from Macau, he hears the cry of his scout on the wind. A number of junks have been spotted on the horizon.

Kuoliang snatches up an eyeglass and peers at the vessel's banners. Some are black, others red. He's stumbled upon the two biggest units of the pirate armada. For once, though, the navy forces outnumber those of their enemy. Kuol Yang senses that a morale-boosting victory might just be at hand. He gives the order to engage. His 25 ships power forward as one, catching the pirates unawares.

Navy cannon boom. The wooden hulls of the pirate chunks explode in splinters. Screams ripple across the water. Kuo Liang's forces sink seven enemy ships and kill over a hundred pirates. Victory is rare. The feeling is intoxicating. They don't spot the danger until it's too late. From a hidden cove, more pirate ships emerge. Like a dense shoal of fish, they fill the water.

Before Kuoyang and his men realize what's happening, they're surrounded by over 100 pirate junks. At the head of this new band of pirates is Jiang Bao himself. Kuoyang has sailed straight into a trap. Jiang Bao had sent out the seven previous junks on purpose, as bait. Now the tables are turned, and the pirates fire on their enemies from all sides. The Imperial Navy put up a valiant and desperate fight. Kuoyang rushes to the nearest cannon.

He pushes the gunners aside and aims it himself. He fires directly at the nearest cannon. He pushes the gunners aside and aims it himself. He fires directly at the pirate chief. His aim is true and Zhang Bao falls to the deck. A cheer erupts from the beleaguered seamen. For the briefest of moments, it looks like they may just escape. The pirate's famed captain lies on the deck, apparently dead. His men now falter, while the Imperial sailors fight with renewed vigor. But then, Kuoliang looks again, and the sweat on his brow chills with dread. Zhang Bao is rising to his feet once more, barking orders at his men.

Turns out the cannonball grazed him, nothing more. The battle continues for the rest of the day until the hold of Kuol-Yang's ship is filled with bodies. Kuol-Yang himself is stabbed to death. Only 15 sailors are taken alive. Just seven Navy vessels remain in one piece. It's a disastrous defeat for the Chinese authorities. It destroys any hope they might have had of defeating the pirates in open combat. It also leaves the Pearl River wide open to the pirates. Over the next weeks and months, they swarm up

the tributaries into the interior. Something now really has to give. The Chinese emperor finally decides to ask a colonial power, Portugal, for assistance. With six Portuguese men of war in their service,

the Chinese authorities finally have the firepower they need to turn the tide. The government was really trying to suppress them, get rid of them. They actually ate crow and went to the Portuguese and got six men of war to align with them. And they were going to try to block the pirates in and get rid of them. We're back to the scene that opened this story. Battle rages in Tung Chung Bay as the Emperor's forces attack Chung Yi Tsao and her pirate fleet.

The Governor General of Canton has traveled out onto the water all the way from the mainland just to observe what he believes will be the pirates' final hour. He watches on as the Imperial captains play their killer hand. A fleet of special-made ships catch the breeze which pulls them towards the pirate queen and her allies. These vessels have been purposely set ablaze. Smoke billows into the air as they get closer and closer to Jungi's isle. But then a twist of fate. To the terror of the authorities and the glee

of the pirates, the wind suddenly changes and blows the fire ships back from whence they came. Imperial sailors scream and dive overboard. The crackle of fire consuming wood fills the air. Chungi Zhao and Jiang Bao are victorious once more. But despite their success, the fact that the Portuguese were willing to assist the imperial authorities is something of a game changer. The pirates' luck is running out. The forces ranged against them are growing in strength by the day.

In true Mafia fashion, the time has finally come to do a deal. A fishing village, somewhere on the Chinese coastline. A pirate junk has just landed, but this time there are no fearful peasants fleeing into the surrounding forest. No imperial sailors struggling to put up a fight. Instead the pirates are met by officials who offer food and drink. The two sides are courteous. They joke and chat.

Then they sign a document. Because this is a surrender ceremony. The government is offering amnesty to any pirates who choose to lay down their arms. Their hope is that this will finally neuter the pirate threat. In addition, they've calculated that recruiting these enemies will significantly bolster the Emperor's military forces. From the perspective of Zhong Yizhou and Jiang Bao, it's an attractive proposition.

Everyone knows the end is in sight. Foreign warships are increasingly turning their cannon on the pirate junks. Moreover, the embargo put in place by the Governor General of Canton Foreign warships are increasingly turning their cannon on the pirate junks. Moreover, the embargo put in place by the Governor General of Canton is preventing pirates from sourcing supplies in coastal areas. Some pirates are resorting to eating the rats in their ship's holes. If they're captured, they face execution. But if they surrender, their crimes are forgiven. They can return to society with a blank slate, while keeping the booty they've amassed over the years.

Zhang Bao and his pirate queen bow to the inevitable. With the Pirate Federation wound down and their surrender negotiated, Zhongizhou and Zhang Bao are free to continue with their lives. They flourish. Zhang Bao becomes an officer in the very military which has spent decades trying to capture and kill him. He rises through the ranks incredibly quickly. He became an official who rose through the military ranks, an official in charge of private suppression, and he was stationed to some of the posts in the pescadores in Fujian province. He was rising through the military ranks, an official in charge of private suppression, and he was stationed to some of the posts in the pescadores in Fujian province. He was rising through the ranks pretty quickly. The precise circumstances are unclear, but two years later, Jiang Bao dies at sea

at the age of just 36. But before he passes on, Bao fathers a child with Zhong Yizhou, a son they name Zhong Yulin. Upon her husband's death, Zhong Yizhou returns to Canton with her child. The pirate queen lives out the rest of her life running an infamous gambling house. She is no longer a pirate, but still on the margins of legality. She's a woman determined to do things her own way. She dies in 1844 at the age of 69. She's lived a long and fruitful life

by the standards of the time, especially for someone of such humble beginnings. She's outlived many a friend and foe alike. Some will remember the Pirate Queen, but many will forget her. While Western pirates like Blackbeard and John Rackham continue to thrive in popular culture, Zhong Yizhou has largely slipped out of our minds. But for those versed in her legend,

she remains a uniquely beguiling and fascinating figure in history. A woman more than deserving of her fabled title, Pirate Queen. Next time on Short History Of, we'll bring you a short history of the Roman Republic. The Roman Republican Constitution may be a brilliant system. That doesn't explain how did Rome rise to dominance.

Why is it so aggressive? The Roman Republic existed for approximately 450 years. Well, according to our records, it was at war for approximately 440 of them. It is one of the most militaristic societies ever recorded. This explains both the rise of Rome to greatness and the collapse of the Roman Republic. That's next time on Short History.