Fascinating woman in history: Ching Shih (1775-1844)
Occupation: pirate fleet leader commanding over 300 ships sailed by 20,000-40,000 men and women
Why she’s fascinating: used position of power to implement a worker’s rights constitution. Still, not entirely a great person.
Occupation: pirate fleet leader commanding over 300 ships sailed by 20,000-40,000 men and women
Why she’s fascinating: used position of power to implement a worker’s rights constitution. Still, not entirely a great person.
Shih enforced a strict constitution where all stolen goods were put into a public fund and available for inspection by workers. The fund paid living wages, supported underperforming ships, and bought supplies for the fleet. The penalty for raping captives or crew was death.
Shih was, however, still a pirate, and did a tremendous amount of damage to the Qing Dynasty trading empire. She eventually turned herself in and negotiated amnesty for herself and her entire fleet, including continued employment for many in government and military roles.
