Sadie the Goat

Ruthless street mugger and river pirate in New York, who earned her nickname attacking men by charging and headbutting them in the stomach, like a goat.

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Ching Shih

Considered by many to be the most successful pirate in history, Ching Shih led the Red Flag Fleet of 80,000 pirates and more than 1,800 ships, ruled the Chinese seas for two decades, and managed to retire happily – after extorting a very agreeable pension from the Chinese government.
After working as a prostitute in her early life, Ching Shih married into a pirate family in 1801, becoming an equal partner to her husband, Zheng Yi. Together, they built a massive coalition by unifying small groups of pirates into a federation of 70,000 pirates and 400 junk ships, and by 1804, they led one of the most powerful pirate fleets in all of China. After her husband died in 1807, Ching Shih navigated the politics of such a large force to become sole leader, and by 1809, she commanded over 800 large junks and 1,000 smaller ships. The fleet dominated the coast from Macau to Canton; it is reported that in the coastal Sanshan village, they beheaded 80 men and abducted the women and children and held them for ransom until they were sold in slavery.
The code of laws in the Red Flag Fleet was merciless. Insubordination was punished by immediate beheading. Withholding any goods taken held a severe whipping for a first-time offence, with the death penalty for large amounts, and no stealing was tolerated from either the public fund or villagers who supplied the pirates. Ching Shih’s code had unusual rules for female captives. In general, the pirates made their most beautiful captives their concubines or wives, and if a pirate took a wife he had to be faithful to her. Those deemed unattractive were released and any others were ransomed. Pirates who raped female captives were put to death and if pirates had consensual sex with captives, the pirate was beheaded and the woman he was with had cannonballs attached to her legs and was thrown over the side of the boat. Other violations of different parts of the code were punishable by flogging, clapping in irons, or quartering. Deserters or those who had left without official permission had their ears chopped off and were then paraded around their squadron.
In January 1808, the Chinese government tried to destroy her fleet in a series of fierce battles, but after defeats in which Ching Shih captured and comandeered several of their ships, the government had to revert to using fishing vessels for battle. At the same time, Ching Shih faced a bigger threat from other pirate fleets, including O-po-tae, a former ally who began working with the Qing government. The government also hired European bounty hunters, who were also defeated. She also challenged European power when she captured the East India Company merchantman The Marquis of Ely in 1809.
In September and November 1809, the fleet suffered a series of defeats from the Portuguese Navy at the Battle of the Tiger’s Mouth. In their final battle at Chek Lap Kok in 1810, Ching Shih surrendered to the Portuguese Navy on 21 January. The amnesty agreement the fleet accepted from the Qing Imperial government applied to all pirates who agreed to surrender, ending their career and allowed to keep the loot. It meant that only 60 pirates were banished, 151 exiled, and only 126 put to death out of her whole fleet of 17,318 pirates. The remaining pirates only had to surrender their weapons.
Ching Shih negotiated for Cheung Po, her second husband and second-in-command, to retain several ships, including approximately 120 to be used for employment on the salt trade. She also arranged for many of her pirates in the fleets to be given positions in the Chinese bureaucracy; Cheung Po became a captain in the Qing’s Guangdong navy. Ching Shih was also able to secure official government recognition her as Cheung Po’s wife, despite the restrictions against widows remarrying.
After Cheung Po died at sea in 1822, Ching Shih moved with their children to Macau and opened a gambling house; she was also involved in the salt trade there. In her 60s, she served as an advisor to head of state Lin Zexu during the First Opium War (1839-1842). In 1844, she died in bed surrounded by her family in Macau, at the age of 69.

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Rusla

Viking lore has long indicated that not all warriors were men. One 10th-century Irish text tells of Inghen Ruaidh (“Red Girl”), a female warrior who led a Viking fleet to Ireland. Numerous Viking sagas, such as the 13th-century Saga of the Volsungs, recount stories of skjaldmö (“shield-maidens”) fighting alongside male warriors. According to Saxo, Rusla was the daughter of a 5th or 6th century king of Telemark called Rieg, and sister of Tesandus (Thrond). Rusla formed a pirate fleet to attack Danish ships as revenge for removing her brother from his throne. Rusla was always accompanied by another woman (some sources identify her as Rusla’s sister) Stikla, who was her second-in-command in all raids. Stikla turned to piracy to avoid marriage, and her name is the origin of the Norwegian city Stiklestad (as recorded in the 13th century Gesta Danorum, or “The History of the Danes,” by Saxo Grammaticus; Stikla would have settled in the area some time after Rusla and Stikla’s participation in the Battle of Clontarf in 1014.).
Rusla indiscriminately attacked ships and towns along the coasts of Iceland, Denmark and the British Isles. During a battle arrising from a Danish king tricking her brother out of his throne, she sank Tesandus’ ship. Although she saved his life, this loss caused Tesandus to seek revenge on his sister. Tesandus pursued her fleet on ships of his own and eventually captured his sister Rusla, grabbing her by the braids while his crew killed her with blows from rowing oars.
Her nickname comes from the Gaelic “Ingean Ruagh”, and she had a reputation for being bloodthirsty and taking no prisoners. Irish documents also note Rusla and Stickla’s participation in the Battle of Clontarf. They were some of the mercenaries hired by the Vikings who fought against Brian Boru. Rusla went down in history as the most cruel of all warrior Norse women.

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