Heroine of the month

Chinh Shih is probably the most successful pirate in history because she died in her own bed as a free woman. A former prostitute, she married a pirate and turned out to be incredibly good at, well, pirating, commanding over 300 ships manned by 20,000 to 40,000 pirates and terrorising the China seas in the early 19th century. Despite her salty lifestyle, this formidable woman passed away at the ripe old age of 69.