During China's Qing Dynasty, a fearsome female pirate queen named Ching Shih ruled the South China Sea. She led the Red Flag Fleet, commanding over 1,800 pirate ships and around 80,000 pirates.

For the next six years, they built up a coalition of local pirate fleets, called the "Red Flag", and in 1804 ... immediately cemented her position as fleet commander. In particular, she secured ...