Chui A-poo

☆ Save On Wikipedia ↗
Chui A-poo
徐亞保
Born
Stanley, Hong Kong
Died1851 (1852)
Victoria Prison, British Hong Kong
Piratical career
TypePirate
Years activemid-1800s
Rankfleet commander
Base of operationsSouth China Sea
Commands50 ship Chinese fleet
Destruction of Chuiapoo's Pirate Fleet, 30 September 1849

Chui A-poo[1] (Chinese: 徐亞保;[2] died 1851), also referred to as Chui Apo[3], was a 19th-century Qing Chinese pirate who commanded a fleet of over 50 junks in the South China Sea.[4] He was regarded as one of the two most notorious South China Sea pirates of the era, along with Shap-ng-tsai.[5]

He is said to have lived in Wong Ma Kok village of Stanley, where Wong Ma Kok Road lies now, for more than a decade.[3] On 25 February 1849, Chui killed two British officers, Captain Da Costa and Lieutenant Grantham.[3] A bounty of £500 was placed on his capture.[6][7]

From September to early-October 1849,[3] his fleet, based in Bias Bay east of Hong Kong, was defeated by British warships.[8] John Dalrymple-Hay led the British fleet included HMS Columbine, HMS Hastings, and HMS Fury, along with Canton, a borrowed ship from P&O.[3] More than 400 pirates were killed in the Battle of Tysami. Although he and Shap-ng-tsai managed initially to escape to Haikou, Hainan, John Dalrymple-Hay continued the pursuit after searching ports south of Hong Kong.[3] British warships then cooperated with the Chinese navy, and on 20 October, 58 pirate ships were destroyed and Chui was severely wounded in the Battle of Tonkin River.[3] Shap-ng-tsai subsequently surrendered. In 1851, Chui was captured by other pirates near Hong Kong and handed over to the British authorities on 17 February.[3]

He was convicted of manslaughter.[3] His sentence was lifelong exile to Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania), but he hanged himself in his cell before it could be carried out.[9] His trial was a milestone for the judiciary system of Hong Kong. George Bonham hired a defense attorney with public fund for Chui, a first in Hong Kong's history.[10]

See also

Notes and references

  1. Also spelt Chui-Apoo.
  2. Piracy & the world of Zhang Baozai : first anniversary exhibition at the Hong Kong Maritime Museum, Hong Kong Maritime Museum, 2006. p.36 ISBN 988-98611-3-5
  3. Choi, Sze Hang Henry (2012). 香港史100件大事(上) [100 Major Events in Hong Kong History, Vol. 1] (in Traditional Chinese) (2nd ed.). Hong Kong: Chung Hwa Book Company (Hong Kong) Limited. pp. 57–63. ISBN 978-988-8148-99-8.
  4. Grace Estelle Fox (1940), British Admirals and Chinese Pirates, 1832-1869 (in German), London: K. Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co. Ltd., pp. 107
  5. Martin Booth. Opium: A History. New York: Thomas Dunne, 1996. p. 143. ISBN 978-0-312-20667-3
  6. The Chinese Repository: From January to December 1849 (in German), Adamant Media, 2005, pp. 667, ISBN 1-4021-5159-4, Unabridged translation of the Cantonese original
  7. Christopher Munn (2001), Anglo-China: Chinese People and British Rule in Hong Kong (in German), London: Routledge, pp. 205, ISBN 0-7007-1298-4
  8. Tim Travers (30 May 2012). Pirates: A History. History Press. pp. 53–. ISBN 978-0-7524-8827-1.
  9. Solomon Bard (2002), Voices from the Past: Hong Kong 1842-1918 (in German), Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, pp. 28, ISBN 962-209-574-7
  10. Choi, Sze Hang Henry (2012). 香港史100件大事(上) [100 Major Events in Hong Kong History, Vol. 1] (in Traditional Chinese) (2nd ed.). Hong Kong: Chung Hwa Book Company (Hong Kong) Limited. p. 11. ISBN 978-988-8148-99-8.
  • Is the namesake of the One Piece character Scratchman Apoo.

Further reading

  • Beresford Scott (1851), 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 (in German), London{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Magazine, University (January–June 1850), "Expedition against the Chinese Pirates", The Dublin University Magazine. A Literary and Political Journal (in German), no. XXXV, Dublin, pp. 521-531, retrieved 18 May 2008