Browsing: Medieval History

Ching Shih was a former prostitute who became the leader of a massive pirate fleet in the South China Sea. She commanded over 50,000 pirates, defied the Chinese, British and Portuguese navies, and retired with a pardon and a fortune. Learn how she rose from a brothel to a pirate queen and what happened to her after her success.

Our story takes us to the island of Zanzibar, a picturesque paradise located off the East African coast in the Indian Ocean. During the late 19th century, Zanzibar was a British protectorate, and the Sultanate of Zanzibar was under the control of a pro-British ruler, Sultan Hamad bin Thuwaini.