Battle of the Tiger's Mouth
| Battle of the Tiger's Mouth | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Piracy in Asia | |||||||
An illustration of the battle by a Portuguese cartographer | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Portugal | Red Flag Fleet | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| José Pinto e Sousa | Cheung Po Tsai | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
1 frigate 5 brigs 1 lorcha | 300–700 junks | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Light | Heavy | ||||||
The Battle of the Tiger's Mouth (Chinese: 虎門之戰; Portuguese: Batalha da Boca do Tigre) was a series of engagements between a Portuguese flotilla stationed in Macau, and the Red Flag Fleet of the Chinese Danka pirate Ching Shih, led by her second-in-command, Cheung Po Tsai - known to the Portuguese as Apocha, Cam Pau Sai or Quan Apon Chay. Between September 1809 and January 1810, the Red Flag Fleet suffered several defeats at the hands of the Portuguese led by José Pinto Alcoforado de Azevedo e Sousa, within the Humen Strait - known to the Portuguese as the Boca do Tigre - until the pirates finally surrendered formally in February 1810. After her fleet surrendered, Ching Shih surrendered herself to the Guangzhou city government in exchange for a general pardon, putting an end to her career of piracy.