South China Sea

Piracy has been rife in Asia since as early as the 9th Century. In particular, piracy has plagued the region of Southeast Asia and continues to do so to the present day. Despite increased efforts by the regional countries to reduce the problem, pirate attacks take place on an alarmingly regular basis in what are some of the world’s most travelled waterways. With its vast and complex coastlines, encompassing both the Indonesian and Philippine archipelagos - whose islands total over 20,000 in number - Southeast Asia has provided a fertile area for the growth of piracy. Targets are never in short supply. Approximately one-third of the world’s trade and half of the world’s oil passes through the Straits of Malacca - a waterway that continues to be of great strategic importance that has been described as one of the arteries of the regional economy.
Piracy in Southeast Asia took off in a big way in the late 14th Century. With the collapse of the Yuan Dynasty, the Mongol fleets that had patrolled the waters retreated, and pirates quickly took to the fore. Their strength and ferocity coincided with the impending trade growth of the maritime silk and spice routes in the South China sea. 
There were various native 'tribes' of pirates that vied for control of the waters around south east Asia throughout the 14th and 15th centuries. The Buginese sailors of South Sulawesi were infamous pirates who used to range as far west as Singapore and as far north as the Philippines in search of targets for piracy. The Orang laut pirates controlled shipping in the Straits of Malacca and the waters around Singapore, and the Malay and Sea Dayak pirates preyed on maritime shipping in the waters between Singapore and Hong Kong from their haven in Borneo. The Moro pirates of the southern Philippines harassed Spanish shipping and terrorized Christian Filipino settlements, and may have captured up to 2 million slaves in the first two centuries of Spanish rule after 1565.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, there was frequent European piracy against Mughal Indian merchants, especially those en route to Mecca for Hajj. Captain Every who I mentioned last week made history when he attacked the Grand Moghul's ship in 1696 with its enormous gold hoard, considered an act of piracy by the British court due to their alliance with the prince, however despite the high-handed nature of the theft they were found not guilty by a jury in England. They were later retried and convicted in absentia for the mutiny and theft of the ship that had started the crew on their pirate career. European attacks in Asian waters came to a head when the Portuguese attacked and captured the vessel Rahimi which belonged to Mariam Zamani, the Mughal queen, which led to the Mughal seizure of the Portuguese town Daman.

The Red Flag Fleet

During the Qing period, Chinese pirate fleets exploded in size, with immense repercussions on the Chinese economy. The pirates preyed voraciously on China's junk trade, which prospered in Fujian and Guangdong and was a vital artery of Chinese commerce. Pirate fleets exercised hegemony over villages on the coast, collecting revenue by exacting tribute and running extortion rackets. Pirate empires flourished, and fleets grew immensely in size, rivalling the Chinese Imperial fleet. In 1802, the menacing Zheng Yi who admiraled the Red Flag Fleet, inherited the fleet of his cousin, captain Zheng Qi, whose death provided Zheng Yi with considerably more influence in the world of piracy. 

Four Chinese Pirates, hanged in Hong Kong in 1863

The military might of Zheng Yi's fleet alone was sufficient to combat the Qing navy. When he died in 1807, his wife Ching Shih, a Canton whore, quickly manoeuvred towards taking over her late husband's empire, and successfully assumed control. The fleet continued to grow and prosper under her rule, and she eventually commanding as many as 40,000 men and grew powerful enough to resist even the British Empire. Once she held the fleet’s leadership position, Ching Shih started the task of uniting the fleet by issuing a code of laws.The code was very strict and strictly enforced.

First, anyone giving their own orders (ones that did not come down from Ching Shih) or disobeying those of a superior were beheaded on the spot.
Second, no one was to steal from the public fund or any villagers that supplied the pirates.
Third, all goods taken as booty had to be presented for group inspection. The booty was registered by a purser and then distributed by the fleet leader. The original seizer received twenty percent and the rest was placed into the public fund.
Fourth, actual money was turned over to the squadron leader, who only gave a small amount back to the seizer, so the rest could be used to purchase supplies for unsuccessful ships. The punishment for a first-time offense of withholding booty was severe whipping of the back. Large amounts of withheld treasure or subsequent offences carried the death penalty. 
Pirates that raped female captives were put to death, but if pirates had consensual sex with captives, the pirate was beheaded and the woman he was with had cannonballs attached to her legs and was chucked off the side of the boat. In 1806 a British officer reported on the terrible fate of those who resisted Ching Shih's pirates; the pirates nailed an enemy's feet to the deck and then beat him senseless. Contemporary reports from the British admiralty called her "The Terror of South China". Under Ching Shih's reign, the Red Flag Fleet ruled the South China Sea. However, a combination of famine, Qing naval opposition, pressure from the British Empire and internal rifts crippled piracy in China around the 1820s, and it has never again reached the same status. Ching Shih retired with her entire loot, one of very few pirates of such prominence to successfully do so, and opened a gambling house in Canton. She died in 1844, aged 69.

Thanks for reading folks, see you next week for more pirate facts! - Captain