Data 1: Piracy activities in Hainan Island in the Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty: Hainan became an important base for piracy activities
In the Ming Dynasty, with the development of private overseas trade, maritime smuggling, which was both commercial and piracy, intensified. In order to resist the government's maritime ban policy, pirates from all over the country rose up and worked together, and then many pirate strongholds appeared along the southeastern coast where they established themselves and stored their plunder. At that time, Hainan Island was also one of the important bases for piracy activities in the South China Sea.
By the Ming Dynasty, Haikou had become the gateway to Qiongjun. There were Baisha Port, Puqian Port, Qinglan Port, Yulin Port, Linchuan Port, Baoping Port, Baoluo Port, Dongshui Port, Bopu Port and Yangpu Port around the island. Wudi Port, etc. Pirates used these harbors to park in secret, or attack cities and ponds, kill people and set fires, or rob passing merchant ships, doing whatever they wanted and disrupting the place. In the Ming Dynasty, almost all the big pirate groups in Fujian and Guangdong were related to Hainan. For example, the famous pirates Zhang Lian, Wu Ping, Zeng Yiben, Lin Daoqian, and Lin Feng all appeared in Hainan one after another. Pirates from all walks of life interacted in series, causing piracy activities in Hainan to last for a particularly long time.
At that time, Southeast Asia was also the center of Eastern pirates' stolen goods trade. Hainan was not only a transit point to and from Southeast Asia, but also a tribute road from Southeast Asian countries to Guangzhou stipulated by the Ming Dynasty. The so-called "most tributes passed through Qiongzhou." On the other hand, The Southeast Asian archipelago in the Ming Dynasty was an ideal refuge and safe base for pirates. In order to escape the pursuit of government troops, many pirates fled to various parts of Southeast Asia via Hainan. Because "Qiong was bordered by Annan and the barbarians from Champa", so at that time, Hainan Island has become one of the pirate fortresses leading to Southeast Asia.
Invading pirates, thieves and merchants
Pirates, also known as sea pirates, refer to sea pirates who come by boat on the island and the southeast coast. In August of the third year of Hongwu [1370], Hainan local bandits Chen Zhiren, Lin Gongwang and others captured Lingshui and other counties. In the sixth year of Hongwu [1370] In May of 1373, Chen Kunliu and others from Yilun County in Danzhou captured the prefecture. In June of the same year, the Ming Dynasty destroyed the Danzhou pirates, captured 18 ships, killed more than 2,270 pirates, and captured five alive. One hundred and twenty-four people. In March of the following year, the Ming Dynasty "attacked the Danzhou bandit Chen Fengyan with troops and beheaded him. He captured his party Yang Xuanlao and more than 560 people alive, and captured more than 1,400 of his family members." It can be seen that there were a lot of pirates on the island at that time. In the first year of Chenghua (1465), "the pirates invaded Chengmai County and all the houses in the county were burned down." In October of the third year of Chenghua (1467), "the pirates entered the port of Lingao County He plundered the people's wealth, and the county magistrate hurriedly led the people to fight against it, and was killed." At that time, piracy activities on the island were concentrated mainly in Danzhou, Yazhou and Wanzhou.
Most of the pirates who invaded the southeast coast were maritime smuggling groups that were both merchants, pirates and anti-government. Since the middle period of Jiajing, pirates from the Fujian and Guangzhou areas have come to Hainan one after another, such as Wu Ping, the giant leader of Fujian households, and the "Thief Flame" in the late Jiajing period. "Gai Chi, the power has greatly increased", with tens of thousands of people, hundreds of merchant ships, and domination of the sea. The imperial court urgently ordered Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou to lead their troops to suppress it. Wu Ping fled to Annan and attacked Baisha, Hainan in the first month of the forty-fifth year of Jiajing (1566). , attacked Changhua in February, but were defeated by the participating general Tang Kekuan; in May, "The pirate Wu Ping invaded Yazhou, and the commander-in-chief Tang Kekuan chased and defeated him, and captured his wife and chieftain Chen Zhier and others." In December of the same year, Wu Ping and his party "the thieves He Qiao, Lin Rong and others invaded Yazhou again, broke into Dadan Port, caused commotion from far and near, killed many people, and took dozens of people captive." In the first year of Longqing (1567), Zeng Yiben once again gathered tens of thousands of people. , attacked Fujian and Guangzhou, and in December they teamed up with Lin Rong to harass Wenchang in Hainan. At the same time, Su Da, Chen Gaofan and others also appeared frequently.
In September of the third year of Longqing (1569), Lin Feng, another pirate leader from Fujian and Guangzhou, led 18 ships into Qinglan, Hainan to harass; in April and May of the second year of Wanli (1574), Lin Feng led 120 giant ships. After capturing Qinglan, thousands of local households led troops to resist, resulting in more than 2,000 casualties. After reinforcements arrived, they retreated calmly. In the winter of the same year, Lin Feng moved to Penghu, Taiwan, and Luzon to attack Manila. Spanish garrison. Another giant in the sea, Lin Daoqian, was originally a member of Wu Ping's group. He mainly operated in Fujian, Guangdong and Indochina, and often went to Hainan to harass. For example, in the sixth year of Wanli (1579), Lin Daoqian "arrived at Qiongya. They went to Fujian to go to Gushu, and Qian then plundered their gold and silver, as well as 200 men and women, and left."
From Jiajing to Wanli, Hainan was mainly harassed by foreign pirates, and the most serious pirates who occupied the island were Li Mao and his gang who emerged in the early years of Longqing (1568). Li Mao was from Xiaolin, Qiongshan, and was raped when he was young. The pirates robbed and sold him to other places, and then returned to Hainan to join Lin Rong's group. At the beginning of Longqing, Li Mao had raided Chengmai, Wenchang, Yazhou and other places many times. According to "Yazhou Chronicles": "In the fifth year of Longqing In May, the pirate Li Mao led his troops south to invade Yazhou. It was not until "leap month of the sixth year that Li Mao led his large boat away from the cliff." Later, he invaded Wanzhou, entered Boao Port, and attacked Lehui. , the meeting was the same. At that time, the pirate Xu Wanzai invaded Lingao, and the situation in Hainan was very serious. The imperial court ordered Fujian Governor Jin Shi Xu Fuyuan to lead troops to encircle and suppress. At this time, Li Mao pretended to beg for peace from the government, and externally assisted Xu Fangzai, who was invading Lingao. etc., but in fact it continues to expand its strength. Li Mao's power in Hainan has developed rapidly. In just a few years, he has become the leader "who is regarded as superior by the bandits in Guangdong", and even has the ability to "fight with one call, and the group of ships will respond" The huge power of Li Mao's piracy activities was mainly engaged in the pearl trade, which was both business and stealing. At that time, Hainan produced small pearls of very high quality, which became a best-selling item in the Southeast Asian market. The pearl trade earned Li Mao and his gang huge wealth. According to "Yazhou Chronicles": "Sanya Slope is full of silver, which is often obtained by passers-by. According to legend, it is called Mao Yun". It may be that after Li Mao occupied Yazhou, he buried a large amount of silver in the Sanya Slope area. Later Li Mao After being recruited, he took advantage of his position and stole the pearl pool wantonly.
In the first month of the seventeenth year of Wanli (1589), Governor Liu Jiwen sent troops to conquer. Although Li Mao was captured, the rest of the party "sailed into the sea, attacked Qinglan City, invaded Wanzhou and Lingshui, and destroyed civilian residences, warships and merchant ships." Although the Ming Dynasty annihilated Li Mao's gang with powerful troops, the piracy activities in Hainan did not subside. Only in Yazhou, in February of the 31st year of Wanli [1603], thieves broke into Dadan Harbor and burned two warships. Looting people's property. Until the fifteenth year of Chongzhen (1642), Lin Ba and others from Fujian started a rebellion. Not only did they attack and rob Yazhou Gangfanrentang and other villages, but even Qu Han, the governor of Yazhou Prefecture, was robbed by Lin Ba on the way.
In the Ming Dynasty, Japanese pirates invaded Qiong 17 times
Japanese pirates. Literally interpreted, Japanese pirates refer to invaders from Japan. The early Japanese pirates were mainly Japanese, so they were called "real Japanese". However, in the later period, Japanese pirates referred to Japanese and southern Chinese. The pirate group formed.
During the more than two hundred years of the Ming Dynasty, Japanese pirate activities against Qiong were recorded 17 times in the "Qiongzhou Fu Zhi". For example: in April 1378, Japanese pirates invaded the coastal villages of Danzhou; in May 1386, Japanese pirates invaded Danzhou Zhouzhou, Xinying, Yangpu and other ports; in 1387, invaded Haikou; in 1411, invaded Changhua; in 1433, invaded Danzhou; in 1434, occupied Qinglan; in 1491, invaded Lingshui; in 1503, plundered East Road to the ocean; in 1517, they invaded Chengmai and Lingao, but were repulsed by the Ming army; in 1558, they invaded Chengmai, Tiaochen and other ports; in 1571, they invaded Lingao and Haikou; in early 1572, they invaded with pirates; 1573 In 1411, Japanese pirates arrived at Xinpu from Haibei and were captured by the Ming army. The above-mentioned Japanese pirate activities were particularly heavy in the invasion in the ninth year of Yongle (1411): "The Japanese captured Changhua and commanded Xu Mao to lead the army to defend it. Thousands of families died in the battle. The soldiers suffered many casualties, and the city's population, food, and weapons were all plundered."
Fan bandits. Specifically refers to pirates from Southeast Asia. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, bandits from Southeast Asia also continued to invade Hainan and harass them. At that time, bandits often landed in Yazhou, Wanzhou, Qinglan and other places. For example: "Hongzhi Qi"
In the year [1494], bandits captured people and captured ships at Dongsan Station. These Dongsan Stations are the Qinglan Qianhu Station, Wanzhou Qianhu Station and Nanshan Qianhu Station where the Ming Dynasty stationed troops in Hainan. Especially Yazhou.
In Yulingang, whenever the southeast wind blows, there will be large muds (in today's southern Thailand) that come ashore to rob the residents.
They invaded the bandits and landed at Yulingang. The governor of the state, Chen Yaoen, commanded Gu Zhengchun and other military governors, and captured Luo Chaotian and 24 others."
In addition, Annan bandits often raided Hainan. For example, in June of the seventh year of Chenghua (1471), "someone sent a two-masted ship to cross Hainan to steal pearl ponds, rob passengers and goods, and Binhai Qiong, Lei, etc."
The government also reported that pirates would come ashore from time to time to kill people and animals, etc.
According to local chronicles of Hainan, from the Qing Dynasty to the early Republic of China, piracy activities that intruded on the coast of Hainan and surrounding sea areas were still rampant. "Qiongzhou Prefecture Chronicle" records that this occurred in Hainan between the eighth year of Shunzhi [1651] and the fifteenth year of Jiaqing [1810].
There were 24 piracy incidents in various places. "Yazhou Chronicle" records that from 1658 to 1865, there were more than 10 piracy incidents in the Yazhou area alone.