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When most people think of pirates,

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they imagine hulking, fearsome men

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with names like Blackbeard or Long John Silver.

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Although the vast majority of pirates

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throughout history have been male,

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One of the most famous and feared pirates

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who ever lived was

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Ching Shih --

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a young Cantonese woman who became the ruler

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of one the largest pirate fleets in history,

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and the mastermind behind

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a floating criminal empire so powerful,

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that even the Chinese military couldn't stop it.

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We don't know much about her early life,

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except that at one point,

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she worked at a brothel in Canton.

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In 1801, Ching Shih married a pirate commander

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named Ching I,

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and soon ruled by his side

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as he expanded his empire,

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unifying countless small, scattered crews of pirates

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into an organized

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and increasingly powerful coalition.

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When her husband died suddenly in 1807,

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Ching Shih knew exactly what to do.

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She stepped in to claim the leadership for herself,

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taking control of somewhere between

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40,000 and 60,000 pirates.

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Their acceptance of a woman as their commander

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remains a remarkable testament to both

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her political skill and the respect

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she must have earned from the crew.

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She soon appointed her adopted son,

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Chang Pao,

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as the commander of her most powerful fleet

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and eventually married him.

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It was a little creepy,

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but the two became a formidable team

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whose raids were feared through

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the South China Sea.

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We don't know exactly what Ching looked like,

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although some historians have assumed

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she caught the eye of her pirate husband

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through good looks rather than `

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her considerable intelligence.

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While there are many flamboyant but dubious

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accounts invented by Western writers of a

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gorgeous goddess,

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wielding swords and wearing glittering battle gear

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covered in golden dragons,

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more reliable texts describe Ching Shih

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as a good military strategist,

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a strict disciplinarian,

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and an excellent businesswoman.

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Although she rejected many traditional ideas

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about what women could and couldn't do,

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other rules were extremely important:

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namely, those enforced on her ships.

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With the help of a code of conduct

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drawn up by Ching Pao,

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she helped establish clear rules for the behavior,

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finances, and power structure of the fleet --

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As well as the draconian punishment that awaited

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anyone who dared to disobey or cheat her.

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Her rule was unquestionably harsh:

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not only for the victims of her raids,

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but for anyone in the fleet who dared

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to step out of line.

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All plunder had to be registered,

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with 80% of the loot paid into a general fund.

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Somewhat ironically,

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stealing from the fund

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was one of the worst crimes a pirate could commit,

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and the punishment was death.

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As one observer noted,

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Ching Shih's strict and often lethal reaction

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to misbehavior kept the crew very honest.

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And the pirates under her command

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took great care to behave themselves well.

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Through careful and ruthless management,

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Ching Shih made the bloody and chaotic work

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of piracy into a highly organized business.

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And business was good --

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making her a very wealthy woman.

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And, of course,

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like so many male leaders,

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conquerors, and generals

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throughout history,

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her prosperity and success

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came at the cost of innocent lives.

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Her remarkable story is a reminder that,

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regardless of the limitations placed on them,

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women can be anything that men can be:

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brilliant and brutal,

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courageous and cruel,

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powerful and dreadful.

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The Chinese government devoted

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considerable effort to crushing the pirates,

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but, thanks in large part to

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Ching Shih's strategic skill,

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her fleets became so powerful

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that the government eventually stopped

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trying to destroy them,

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and started trying to negotiate with them instead.

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Ching Shih knew that piracy was not

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a wise long term career --

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especially when the most common

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retirement plan was death.

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So, in 1810,

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she stepped off a boat,

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surrounded by the wives and children

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of her pirates

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and walked completely unarmed into the office

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of the local Governor General

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to discuss amnesty.

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With a fearsome floating army at her back,

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Ching Shih negotiated a very good deal.

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Not only was she and any other pirates

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who surrendered completely pardoned

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by the government for their many, many crimes;

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they got to keep their all ill-gotten plunder

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and even received jobs from the government

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if they wanted.

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Her husband was appointed a lieutenant

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in the Chinese navy,

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where he commanded a private fleet --

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made up of former pirates, of course.

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Thanks to her exceptional cunning and bravery,

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Ching Shih ended her life of piracy,

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not as a criminal behind bars,

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or the casualty of a raid gone wrong;

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but rather, by gathering her riches,

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and retiring in comfort as a law-abiding citizen.

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Well, mostly law-abiding.

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She spent her later years running

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a gambling establishment back in Canton,

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where she reportedly led a peaceful life,

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or at least, as peaceful as she could manage

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while presiding over a notorious gambling den.

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When she finally died in 1844,

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at 60 years old,

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she had transformed herself

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from a relatively powerless young woman

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into both the most powerful female pirate in history

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and into something almost as rare:

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a pirate who died from old age.