Pirates: Battle of the Sexes - RESOLVED!

Since I can remember I have been fascinated by the age old tales of Pirates, their brilliant ships and the treasure that goes with it, or even just the quest thereof.

Today I learned that the pirate that has proven to be the most successful in the reign of piracy was not as we have been stereo-typically spoon-fed as the ruthless robust male figure standing at the hull of the canon flaring ship) be it as the captain barking out orders or the deck hands eagerly slaving away at the list of orders received.

NOPE!

The pirate that is considered to be the most successful, was actually a WOMAN
Cheng I Sao was amazing at what she did, she commanded either respect or fear from those whom she crossed paths or swards with.
And more than that, she was actually a Chinese prostitute.

Cheng managed to successfully command 80000 sailors combined with a fleet bigger than most of the countries navies!

So how exactly did it happen that Lady Cheng managed to rise to the power that she had become?
A: There was a Mr. Cheng!

In 1801 Mr. Cheng, a Chinese pirate, married his beloved prostitute. Mrs. Cheng was beside herself with joy, and married Mr. Cheng on the devious condition; All of his pirate power would be shared equally with her, above that she also asked permission to amass more wealth and power on his behalf! For six years this ‘Bonnie & Clyde’ way of life served them both well almost as well as they served and complimented each other as a team. Somewhere around their six year mark, Mr. Cheng passed away. It was at this point that Cheng I Sao took over the reigns’ of the entire combined fleet.
There was one slight problem though; Mrs. Cheng was still a woman. And in piracy it was a very well known fact that a woman in command would not sit well with the greater pirate masses.

However this did not deter Mrs. Cheng for one given moment. She immediately devised a cunning plan to appoint her now deceased husbands ‘Second in Command’ named Chang Pao as the official captain of the fleet. Where he would serve under her and execute her order as if it was his own!

Cheng I Sao saved up her loot over the years, and managed to collect quite the retirement package. She invested a great deal of this retirement fund into a fixed asset in her favor. You see there comes a time in every womans wife when the biological workings kicks in and insist that we settle down. And despite the fact that Cheng I Sao’s clock was slightly delayed, she was bound to her desire to settle. And I am sure that you might have noticed a slight differentiating uniqueness in Mrs Cheng which would explain why she bought a casino in stead of a house to retire and spend the last of her golden years in!

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