#308 - Zheng Yi Sao, Pt. 2: Into the Tiger's Mouth

The Pirate Queen’s Red Flag Fleet reigns supreme, but a three-way battle at Tiger’s Mouth tests even her grip on the seas.

Time Period Covered:

1807-1844 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Red Flag Fleet:

Zheng Yi Sao (AKA Ching Shih, née Shi Yang), Co-Commander of the Red Flag Confederation [1775-1844]

Zhang Baozai, Co-Commander of the Red Flag Fleet, later Qing Navy colonel [1783-1822]

Guo Podai, Commander of the Black Flag Fleet [178?-181?]

Qing Empire:

The Jiaqing Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Yongyan) [r. 1796-1820]

Bailing, Governor-General of Liangguang [d. 1829]

Sun Quanmou, Provincial Fleet Commander

Wen Chengzhi, Qing Chief Official Negotiator

Portuguese Empire:

Captain José Pinto Alcoforado e Sousa, Commander of Macau Flotilla [177?-18??]

Major Sources Cited:

Andrade, Tonio. The Gunpowder Age: China, Military Innovation, and the Rise of the West in World History.

Antony, Robert J. Like Froth Floating on the Sea: The World of Pirates and Seafarers in Late Imperial South China.

Leonard, Jane Kate. "Maritime China in Transition, 1750–1850" in The Cambridge History of China, Volume 9, Part 2: The Ch'ing Dynasty to 1800, Part 2.

Murray, Dian H. Pirates of the South China Coast, 1790–1810.

Van de Ven, Hans J. Breaking with the Past: The Maritime Customs Service and the Global Origins of Modernity in China.

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