Pirates of the South China Coast
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Pirates of the South China Coast (
They were called Ladrones by Richard Glasspoole.
History
Since the late 18th century, with the increase of the population, land annexation was becoming serious day by day. Many farmers lost their land, they became brigands or pirates. Giang Bình (present-day Jiangping town in Dongxing, Fangchenggang, Guangxi, China) was known as a pirate hotbed at that time.
In early times, most of Chinese pirates were fishermen. They came to Giang Bình by boats to do business, though the private maritime trade was restricted by Chinese government. Giang Bình located near China–Vietnam border; it belonged to Vietnam since Lý dynasty, later, it was ceded to China after the end of the Sino-French War. Giang Bình was a melting pot of Vietnamese and Chinese, it was a strategically located; however, this area was neglected by Vietnamese government.
In 1801, Nguyễn navy reached
Tây Sơn dynasty was overthrown by Nguyễn dynasty. Unlike Tây Sơn emperors, the new crowned Gia Long started to suppress the pirates. In September 1802, Nguyễn army destroyed the pirates' lair in Giang Bình, captured Zheng Qi and had him executed.
After this incident, Chinese pirates had to flee to Guangdong. To compete for turf, they attacked each other. Finally, they found it would just destroy themselves. In 1805, seven pirate leaders made an agreement, a pirate alliance was founded. Seven leaders were: Zheng Yi (Red Flag Fleet), Guo Podai (Black Flag Fleet), Liang Bao (White Flag Fleet), Jin Guyang (Green Flag Fleet), Wu Shi'er (Blue Flag Fleet), Wu Zhiqing (Yellow Flag Fleet) and Zheng Laotong. Not long after, Zheng Laotong surrendered to Chinese government, actually there were six gangs joined the alliance. The Red Flag Fleet led by Zheng Yi was the strongest gang in the alliance, as a matter of course, he was selected the leader of the alliance. Ladrones Islands (present-day Wanshan Archipelago), Hong Kong and Leizhou Peninsula became pirate hotbeds.
Zheng Yi died suddenly in Vietnam on 16 November 1807. His widow
Now Red Flag Fleet had 30,000 men and several hundred vessels, it became a big threat to
Hearing the news, Cheung refused to surrender. However, more and more pirates surrendered. In January 1810, Cheung was persuaded to surrender. He delivered his fleet and weapons on 20 April. Cheung became a Chinese naval officer. On 24 May, Chinese-Vietnamese navy were dispatched to suppress the remnants of pirates. Cheung and Guo took part in the battle. The main part of pirate fleet was destroyed in the battle. It marked the end of Chinese pirates' era.
On 26 June, 1857, Chinese pirates defeated the Portuguese in the Ningpo massacre.
Battles
- Ningpo massacre (26 June 1857) - battle between Chinese pirates and Portugal during the Qing dynasty, Chinese victory
Prominent pirates
- Chen Tien-pao
- Mo Kuan-fu
- Cheng Chi
- Liang Wen-keng
- Fan Wen-tsai
- Ho Hsi-wen
- Lun Kuei-li
- Zheng Yi
- Zheng Yi Sao
- Cheung Po Tsai
- Shap-ng-tsai
- Ah Pak
See also
References
- ISBN 0-8047-1376-6.