The most successful pirate of all time was a woman

Forget Blackbeard and Captain Jack Sparrow, the most successful pirate of all time was a female. Ching Shih, a Chinese citizen born into poverty in 1785, quickly rose to power in the pirate world and cemented her case as the most successful pirate of all time. She started off by marrying the infamous pirate Zheng Yi. After he died in a tsunami, Ching Shih took his throne and controlled his fleet of ships. At her peak, she commanded more than 1800 ships and 80,000 pirates.