The most successful pirate in history was a 19th-century Chinese woman who commanded tens of thousands of outlaws and lived to enjoy a wealthy retirement. Born around 1775 into the marginalized boat-dwelling Tanka people, Zheng Yi Sao married pirate Zheng Yi in 1801 and helped unite fractured Cantonese pirate groups into a color-coded confederation.

This deep dive treats her as the chief executive of a maritime corporation, examining the accounting system that held the fleet together, her rise to power after her husband's 1807 death, and the negotiated 1810 surrender that let her keep her wealth and ships.

• How the 80 percent collective fund turned a chaotic mob into a structured force
• Her use of Zhang Bao as outward commander while she directed strategy
• The blockade at Tung Chung Bay against a joint Qing-Portugues ...