The Islands of Thieves

When the Portuguese first reached the South China Sea in the 16th century, they named the rugged islands surrounding the Pearl River Delta the Ilhas dos Ladrões (Islands of Thieves), which Spanish cartographers later translated as the Ladrones. Although the archipelago—since renamed the Wanshan Archipelago (萬山羣島)—lies directly south and southwest of Hong Kong, it is actually administered by Zhuhai.

This name stems directly from the somber reputation associated with the islands. Long before the Portuguese and British arrived to establish their respective colonies of Macau and Hong Kong, these waters were arguably the pirate capital of the world, far outmatching the Caribbean in operational scale. The archipelago's countless hidden coves, rocky inlets, and complex waterways made it the perfect base of operations for smugglers and buccaneers.

Operating in these waters, the Guangdong Pirate Confederation is widely recognized as the most formidable pirate alliance ever founded. Structured into six color-coded fleets, the confederation was led by the female pirate commander Zheng Yi Sao. At its peak in 1809, it operated as a parallel state commanding over 1,800 junks and between 70,000 and 80,000 men. They successfully paralyzed regional trade, ran widespread protection rackets, and repeatedly defeated the naval forces of the Qing Dynasty, the Portuguese Empire, and the British East India Company. However, a joint offensive by the Portuguese and the Qing eventually brought an end to their operations in January 1810.

Yet, after Great Britain took possession of Hong Kong Island in 1841, it would still take the colonial government and China nearly a century of combined efforts to totally quell piracy in the South China Sea.