Ching Shih was born into poverty in the Chinese city of Canton in 1785 and became a prostitute to survive. She later married the infamous pirate captain Zheng Yi, leader of the notorious Red Flag Fleet. After Zheng Yi’s untimely death his ambitious young wife took over the entire enterprise.
With Ching Shih in charge, Red Flag Fleet grew to 1,800 ships and 80,000 pirates. As a female captain, she made herself twice as feared and twice as ruthless as any male leader. Anyone found breaking her strict code of piracy had their head chopped off with an axe and their body dumped into the ocean, no questions asked.
