April 16, 1604 - Zheng Zhilong
At his peak, Zheng Zhilong commanded a maritime empire so vast that it controlled more sea than land, effectively dictating the terms of all trade and security across the southern waters of China. His career traced an arc through piracy, commerce, military power, and political alliance — accumulating influence through each — before ending in the contradictions of his own defection, when the Qing dynasty he joined eventually executed him for the resistance his son refused to abandon.
From Wikipedia
Zheng Zhilong (Chinese: 鄭芝龍; pinyin: Zhèng Zhīlóng; Wade–Giles: Ching Chih-lung; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tēⁿ Chi-liông; April 16, 1604 – November 24, 1661), baptismal name Nicholas Iquan Gaspard, was a Chinese admiral, merchant, translator, military general, politician, and pirate leader of the late Ming dynasty who later defected to the Qing dynasty. He was the founder of the Zheng clan and the father of Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga), who would later establish the pro-Ming Kingdom of Tungning in Taiwan, thus making him an ancestor of the House of Koxinga.
During his reign, he controlled a massive and capable fleet of pirates that later united with the Ming dynasty's navy, thereby becoming the Ming admiral that controlled all trade and security in the southern waters off mainland China. He held a powerful maritime empire which controlled more sea than land. After his defection, he was given noble titles by the Qing government, but was eventually executed because of his son's continued resistance against the Qing dynasty.
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