Cheng I Sao (a.k.a Ching Yih Saou), 1775–1844, was a Chinese pirate leader who terrorized the China Seas in the early 19th-century.

A former prostitute who married a sea robber, she and her husband, Cheng I, organized a confederation of pirates that said to have numbered between 30,000 and 50,000 strong. They ransomed captives and their ships while extorting payment from people who lived along the coast to not attack their villages.

When her husband dies in 1807 she quickly took over power and also wrote a code of rules for her pirate navy to follow.
From Wikipedia :

1 Anyone giving their own orders (ones that didn't come down from Cheng I sao) or disobeying those of a superior was beheaded on the spot.

2 No one was to steal from the public fund or any villagers that supplied the pirates.

3 All goods taken as booty had to be presented for group inspection. The booty was registered by a purser and then distributed by the Fleet Leader. The original seizer received 20% and the rest was placed into the public fund.

4 Actual money was turned over to the Squadron Leader, who only gave a small amount back to the seizer, so the rest could be used to purchase supplies for unsuccessful ships. According to Philip Maughan, the punishment for a first-time offense of withholding booty was severe whipping of the back. Large amounts of withheld treasure or subsequent offenses carried the death penalty.

Cheng I Sao's code had special rules for female captives. Standard practice was to release women. Pirates that raped female captives were put to death, but if pirates had consensual sex with captives, the pirate was beheaded and the woman he was with had cannonballs attached to her legs and was thrown over the side of the boat.

In 1810 the Chinese government enlisted the help of the British and Portuguese navies to bring Cheng I Sao to justice. When she found this out she promptly negotiated for her freedom and amnesty for any of her pirate army that chose to reknowce their pirate ways. Amazing!

Mrs. Cheng retired as one of history’s most successful pirates, and went on to run a gambling house until her death in 1844 at the age of 69