SCOTT, Beresford.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

An Account of the Destruction of the Fleets of the Celebrated Pirate Chieftains Chui-Apoo and Shap-Ng-Tsai, on the Coast of China, in September and October, 1849, First edition, describing the Royal Navy's ruthless 1849 campaign against China's most notorious swashbucklers, who harassed British shipping from bases near Hong Kong and extorted protection money from foreign traders. This work is scarce in commerce and held by the National Maritime Museum only in the UK."In the mid-nineteenth century, as war and rebellion weakened the Chinese state, piracy waxed again. The opening of Hong Kong and the treaty ports offered fresh opportunities... 'No matter what they want, whether to buy, sell, victual, or refit, here they are welcome; no papers are asked or given', said the China Mail" (Munn, p. 76). The 1849 anti-piracy campaign, the largest of its kind, saw the destruction of 23 of Chui-Apoo's ships and 400 of his men, while Shap-Ng-Tsai was ambushed off Hainan, losing almost 60 vessels and 1,700 crew. Finally captured in Canton in 1851, Chui was taken to Hong Kong, tried, and hanged. "These displays of British naval power pleased merchants in Hong Kong, who feted officers with dinners and presents of silver plate. But the wholesale massacres that accompanied them made no distinction between pirates and their hostages, among whom were women and children. Official rewards paid in head money for each pirate killed or captured caused controversy. Those for the campaign against Shap

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