Shap-ng-tsai | |
|---|---|
 Reputed flag of Shap-ng-tsai, c. 1849 | |
| Piratical career | |
| Years active | 1845–1859 |
| Base of operations | Dianbai, China |
| Later work | Officer in Chinese military |
Shap-ng-tsai[1] (Chinese:十五仔[2]) was a Chinese pirate active in theSouth China Sea from about 1845 to 1859. He was one of the two most notorious South China Sea pirates of the era, along withChui A-poo.[1] He commanded about 70junks stationed atDianbai, about 180 miles west ofHong Kong. Coastal villages and traders paid Shap-ng-tsai protection money so they would not be attacked. Chinese naval ships that pursued the pirate were captured and their officers taken captive and held for ransom. The Chinese government offered him apardon and the rank of officer in themilitary[3] at first he did not accept, but he eventually did so to avoid legal ramifications.
Shap-ng-tsai was blamed for sinking anAmerican ship and threeBritish merchant ships in the spring of 1849. That September, a squadron ofRoyal Navy ships sailed toDianbai and found 100 captured ships there held for ransom, but failed to find the main pirate fleet.[3] Then in October, three British ships and eight Qing navy junks pursued the pirates to the islands and channels ofHaiphong, Vietnam andfought the pirates for three days. Afterwards the expedition reported the destruction of fifty-eight piratejunks carrying 1,200cannons and 3,000 crewmen. Shap-ng-tsai escaped the battle with six smaller junks and 400 men.[3] He later surrendered to the Chinese government and accepted the military position.[1]
