|thumb The
Dutch East India Company, also called the VOC, wished to gain free trade rights with China and to control and commerce routes to Japan. To accomplish these goals, they collaborated with some Chinese pirates to pressure the
Ming dynasty in China to allow trade. Zheng Zhilong initially worked as a translator, although there is debate if he was engaging pirate activities simultaneously. Regardless, most scholars agree that he joined with other Chinese pirates, probably
Li Dan or
Yan Shiqi. In 1624, Zheng officially became a privateer for the Dutch East India Company after they colonized
Taiwan. During this time, he was still aligned with Li Dan. The Dutch did not like how powerful Li Dan was becoming, so they used Zheng Zhilong to weaken Li Dan's position. However, Li Dan died before they could fully complete their plan. With Li Dan dead, Zheng Zhilong became the unopposed leader of the Chinese pirates. Zheng prospered and by 1627 he was leading four hundred junks and tens of thousands of men, including Chinese, Japanese, and even some Europeans. He had a bodyguard of former black slaves who ran away from the Portuguese. By 1630, he controlled all shipping in the South China Sea. In addition to attacking shipping in the South China Sea, Zheng Zhilong also increased his power by selling protection passes to fisherman and merchants. At the height of his power, no one dared sail without one of his passes for fear of retribution. However, he was not universally hated. He was actually loved by many peasants in the southern provinces of China. He earned their respect by refraining from unnecessary attacks on their towns and giving some stolen grain to them during famines. After joining the Ming navy, Zheng and his wife resettled on an island off the coast of Fujian, where he operated a large armed pirate fleet of over 800 ships along the coast from Japan to
Vietnam. He was appointed by the Chinese Imperial family as "Admiral of the Coastal Seas". In this capacity he defeated an alliance of
Dutch East India Company vessels and junks under renegade Shibazhi pirate
Liu Xiang () on October 22, 1633, in the
Battle of Liaoluo Bay. The spoils that followed from this victory made him fabulously wealthy. He bought a large amount of land (as much as 60% of
Fujian), and became a powerful landlord. After eliminating Liu Xiang in 1640s, Zheng Zhilong become one of the richest men in China, with his annual income estimated at three to four times that of the whole Dutch East India Company. Zheng would continue to serve the Ming dynasty after the fall of the Ming capital
Beijing in June 1644. His brother
Zheng Zhifeng was made a marquis under the
Southern Ming, although he was forced to abandon his post at
Zhenjiang by a superior Qing force. After the capture of
Nanjing in 1645, Zheng accepted an offer to serve as commander-in-chief of the imperial forces and was ordered to defend the newly established capital in
Fuzhou under the
Prince of Tang.
Surrender to Qing In 1646, Zheng decided to defect to the Manchus and thusly left the passes of
Zhejiang unguarded, allowing Manchu forces to capture Fuzhou. His defection was facilitated by Tong Guozhen and Tong Guoqi. His brothers who still controlled most of the Zheng army, and his son
Koxinga refused to defect to the Qing and asked him to not surrender. Zheng Zhilong did not listen and the Qing noticed his followers and army had not followed him in his defection, so he was placed under house arrest and taken to Beijing. His bodyguard of former African slaves all died trying to stop the arrest and protect their leader. The Qing then marched to one of his castles in
Anhai to humiliate his Japanese wife
Tagawa Matsu. Different accounts say that Tagawa was raped by Qing forces and then committed suicide or that she committed suicide while directing the fight against the Qing. The Qing did not trust Zheng afterwards due to their role in Tagawa's death. == Death ==