lordaugust

Zheng Yi Sao, The Pirate Queen

@lordaugust

1550 – 2000

Updated 11/10/2026

• The Qing Dynasty

Shi Yang, famously known as Zheng Yi Sao, ruled the Guangdong Pirate Confederation, making her history's most formidable female pirate leader. At the height of her power in 1805, she commanded a colossal fleet of around 400 junks and an army of 40,000 to 70,000 pirates.

London: The Great Stink of 1858

@lordaugust

1770 – 1910

Updated 11/10/2026

• The British Victorian Era

Major event in Victorian London where the overwhelming smell of untreated human waste from the River Thames brought the British government to a literal standstill