Ching Shih the Pirate Queen

I have never feared more for my life then I did on this particular day. On a Wednesday afternoon, I was walking home from the market when some men took me and my sister. They took us aboard a ship in which they communicated with, what sounded like Chinese. I could hear a woman's voice talking to them; it sounded like she was in command.

My sister and I were separated as they dragged us to separate parts of the ship, and I could hear the men arguing and laughing among each other. I thought I knew how this was going to play out, but I was absolutely wrong. 

Rumor was, that when women were kidnapped by pirates, they became slaves and were raped by all the men on board. But this was going differently than expected. An Asian woman approached me and with one look I knew she was not going to let anything happen to me. She seemed strict with all the men on board and the men seemed quite scared of their captain. 

As time went by, I witnessed many men being whipped and some were even beheaded if they disobeyed the captain’s orders. I hated to be in the position I was in, but I tried to not lose hope of returning home one day with my beloved family along with my sister.

I began to lose track of the days but weird enough I began to feel inspired by the captain of the fleet, Ching Shih. I thought about how woman back home could never be in the position in which they could rule over men, yet Ching Shih was. She seemed so powerful and listened to, which made me want to feel the same way. 

I took it upon myself that if I ever made it back home, I would one day be powerful and listened to. Even though I did not aspire to be a pirate I did want to help empower woman one day. I unfortunately never made it back home, but I hope that in the future woman can have more roles in society like men do today.

Henry Morgan

Henry Morgan was a known legendary Welsh Privateer. He raided many cities in his time and successfully captured Panama. Morgan was an owner of plantations and was a married man as well.  According to David Cordingly, "Henry Morgan was no ordinary buccaneer. He had received a knighthood and been appointed Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica by King Charles the second" (43). Morgan's methods of attack are explained in many ways as well as the stories told about his many exploits because of the different points of views of writers in which some state facts while others state fiction. 

In Buccaneers and Pirates, it is said that Henry Morgan came from parents who were farmers and he disliked farming so much, that he ran away to become a sailor. And since he had no money, he had to work in plantations for three years. On the other hand, Under the Black Flag explains the events that led up to his legendary raids in more detail. Cordingly explains that very little is known about Henry Morgan parents, but he had two uncles who were soldiers in which he wanted to follow in their footsteps and became a soldier too. Henry Morgan then joined the expeditionary force with General Venables and Admiral Penn in aim of capturing Hispaniola, which was not successful. He then spent the next few years part taking in other raids, one of which he had the responsibility of being the captain of the one of the ships. This is where he established his leadership role and his journey began.

The sacking of Porto Bello was one of the most famous exploits led by Captain Morgan. Buccaneers and Pirates states, “Porto Bello was one of the strongest towns possessed by the Spaniards” (Stockton 145). Stockton also mentions that Captain Morgan "was helped" by the religious people, which were the monks and nuns of Porto Bello. Henry Morgan and his men used these people as human shields by using them to put up their ladders that would help them climb over the wall of Porto Bello and lead them inside the town. Because of the men defending their town of Porto Bello, they were told to shoot their own people if it meant keeping the privateers and pirates out. Once they were over the wall Henry Morgan asked for a ransom from the Governor of Panama to not burn the town down, so after sending a messenger back and forth the Governor paid the ransom and Henry Morgan and his men abandoned the place.

Under the Black Flag puts the event differently and is based off facts. "Morgan had learned that the forts which defended the town from the sea were poorly manned" (Cordingly 45). Although this was true, there was times when the towns ships were at their ports and the towns had significant defenses. Also mentioned is the fact that Morgan’s men did use ladders to climb the walls but did not use the people as human shields in this manner. But Morgan then made the decision to drag the Mayor, women, old men, and some friars and nuns to precede the buccaneers as human shields in this manner. 

Captain Henry Morgan then proceeded to ask for a ransom, like mentioned in both readings but in Under the Black Flag, Henry Morgan asks the President of Panama for a payment of 350,000 pesos for Porto Bello in which the President proceeds to pay only a part of, after three weeks of negotiations. Captain Henry Morgan left Porto Bello with his men and with 250,000 pesos in his possession.

Sources Consulted:
Cordingly, David. Under the Back Flag- The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates. Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2006.

Stockton, Frank. Buccaneers and Pirates. Dover Publications, 2007.

Pieces of Eight

Being a pirate means traveling over seas in search of treasure to plunder. Over the centuries pirates have sailed all over world accomplishing just that. There have been many seaports that have lead the pirates to find many treasures and some have lead them to find none at all. The seaports that have lead them to treasure are extremely important to these pirates because they have made these pirates rich, and have gave them the reputation they have today.

Nombre de Dios, which lies in the corner of a bay in Isthmus of panama was an important port for Francis Drake. Although, Drake wasn't a pirate, he committed many piracy acts. Before planning an attack he visited Nombre de Dios disguised as a Spanish merchant in 1571. He found that there was the Kings treasure-house along with sheltered coves where the treasure would be placed for any future expeditions. 

In 1572, he returned to Nombre de Dios with his men and attacked the harbor but was unsuccessful in finding treasure because the treasure houses were empty. Drake did not give up though. He planned a second attack, but this time it was on the mule train that transported all the goods to Nombre de Dios but again his attack was unsuccessful because his men got drunk and set off the train.

About a month later he raided the small town of Venta Cruces and met a group of French Huguentos which informed him about a mule train heading to Nombre de Dios and along side the Frenchmen, and the blacks, the Englishmen pounced on the mule train and found much treasure.These 190 mules in the mule train were carrying 300 pounds weight of silver each. This was exactly what Drake had been waiting for. 

Another important port to Drake was the port of Valparaiso in which he plundered, 8,000 Euro in gold and 1,770 jars of wine. And he didn't stop there. Drake then intercepted Cacafuego and that where Drake plundered the most treasure. This included 13 chest of royals of plate, 80 pounds of gold, and 26 tons of uncoined silver. This took his men six days to transfer onto his ship. 

Drake then returned to England to meet with Queen Elizabeth in which she knighted him and let him keep 10,000 Eros ad split 8,000 Euros among his crew. 

These ports were important to Francis Drake because they provided him with lots of treasure and made a name for him back in England. And also gave a kick start to his plundering.