User blog:SkullinBones1/Francis Drake vs Wang Zhi

Through most of history there have been pirates. We first found record of them in the later 1200s bc, when we got records of the Sea people from the areas controlled by the egyptians and Hittites. Since then we have found many records of people commiting piracy in some form or another. We hear records of the ancient Greeks and Romans dealing with pirates during the ancient and classical eras. We later heard records of Scandinavian raiders and traders called Viking/Vikingum, who opperated as a form a pirate, but it is contested if you could classify them as pirates. But most people know of pirates from who opperated in the Caribbean and south America between 1650 and 1730. Many famous pirates like Black Bart Roberts, Calico Jack and Ambiral Henry Morgan. But their are lesser known pirates in history, who while know by many aren't as glorifed as others. Today I will be comparing 2 sea faring killers and raiders who lived during the 16th century.

Sir Francis Drake: The scourge of the new world and destroyer of the Spanish.

Wang Zhi: The infamous leader of many Wokou pirate during the 16th century.

Francis Drake
Born in Devon England around 1540, Francis Drake is known as being a great enemy of th Spanish in the new world. Early in his like he worked as a merchant sailor and explorer, often working along side his cousins. His first real interaction with the Spanish ended poorly. As he planned out trading with the Spaniards in a port in modern Mexico, his fleet was attacked. In the end only 2 ships escaped and Drake and his allie John Hawkins were forced to swim to safty. As he grew older, he eventually was hired out by the royal crown as a privateer. His dislike for the Spanish prompted him to target them primarily, taking dozens of their ships and sacking many of their ports. He was in his time sent to do many things by the members of the royal family, most famously being sent to travel the Pacific ocean and from their circumnavigated the world. Upon his return he was Knighted for his actions. He eventually died from dysentery at around age 53.

Wang Zhi
Born in She County in Ming china, Wang Zhi was known for his great naval talent and for being a great warrior. Very little is known about his younger life, But we do know that his father was a salt merchant and that his family was forced into poverity not long after he was born. He was later mentioned as being a big force in the transportation of European guns into Japan, his merchant fleet being the main group too transport these guns from china too Japanese. This action was soon discovered by the Ming court, who sent an armed fleet to take him out. This fleet failed catch, but effectively destroyed his entire merchant fleet. He would later reappear as an associate of the many Wokou pirate factions in the sea of Japan. He would later become a large member of a very big player in the Jiajing Wokou raids along the Chinese coasts. These raids effectively attacked the entire eastern coast of China, taking large somes of plunder and goods and leading to thousands of deaths. Eventually, Zhi was taken captive by the Ming government and executed.

Drakes men and munitions
Most of Drakes men were former members of the Navy and army at the time. Many of these men were trained in combat and were in their own rights skilled sailors and warriors. They knew how to follow orders and how to preform military actions. They knew how to many function well under pressure. Many of these would have carried a variety of weapons.

At long range, these men would have either opperated cannons or handled Arquebus muskets. During a boarding action, they would have carried small arms like Hangers, Side swords, Rapiers and other types of sword and small melee weapons. When opposing a boarding action they would have mainly used either Halberds or Naval pikes, with both of these weapons having been used as lesser weapons while boarding. While not all of these men would have worn much armor, most of these men would have worn a Morion helmet and a Padded Gambeson. The Richer troops and Junior officers would have worn metal breastplates.

Zhi's men and Munitions
Most of Zhi's men were normal pirates. Many Wokou would have come from a variety of different places and a variety of different paths. Many Wokou were poor farmers or merchants who joined a Wokou crew so that they could make more money. A good number of Wokou were former criminals, forced to leave their country and join a Wokou crew due to a lack of options. Some of these were even former soldiers, with former Chinese infantry and Japanese Ashigaru filling the ranks on a semi regular basis. These men came from all over the place, with the majority of them coming from China and Japan.

Most of these men were Equipped with Japanese and Chinese weaponry. At long range most men carried Tanegashima Matchlocks. When boarding enemy ships, they would carry swords like Katanas, Dao's, Jians and other short swords and blades. When opposing a boarding actions, they would have used weapons like Qiang's, Yari's, Naginatas and Podao. Many of these weapons would have also been used during boarding as well. In terms of armor many of these men used Auxiliary kit which would have been looted from their. Most of these men would have worn the Cuirass elements of Kozane armor, with some wearing either a Kasa or Kabuto helmet.

Ships
Sloop: A sloop was a common light weight and mobile ship used by most European nations of the time. They were used for a variety reasons, its usages varying from war to cargo movement. Most sloops were between 60 and 70 feet, with this specific ship being about 65 feet long. A Sloop generally travelled at around 9 knots, but weren't unknown to travel at well over 11. Sloops often weighed about 100 tons, with some either being a little under of over depending the ships length.

Junk: A Junk was a very common type of ship used by the Chinese and many other peoples who inhabited the sea of Japan. They were used for for several reasons, often being used for cargo and travel but also being used for war. Junks varied in size greatly, with the largest going over 400 feet and the smallest being only about 70. For this fight, the Junk being used will only be about 85 to 90 feet. A Junk generally travelled at around 6 knots on average, with some going at around 8 or 9 knots. Junks were generally around 125 to 130 tons in weight for a ship of the listed length.

X-factors
Training: Drake 70/Zhi 50. While most of Drake's men were trained soldiers and would have known how too preform well in battlefield scenarios, Zhi's were not as skilled. While some of the Wokou were trained soldiers, many of their numbers were only lightly trained if they were trained at all. While these Wokou weren't incompetant and would put up a fight, it doesn't change hte fact that most of these men weren't professional. This fact is damning for the Wokou in the end, when considering the fact that nearly all of Drake's men were trained professionals.

Training and Experience: Drake 80/ Zhi 70. While neither of these men were trained officers in their repsective militaries (as far as we know), Its obvious that Drake had more expierence in combat. While Zhi did fight in a good number of combat engagements, Drake ended up fighting on both a more regular basis and against a much more powerful enemy. So while I'd that Zhi is a highly skilled warrior and was for sure a great leader in his own right, Drake simply had more experience in his time.

Charisma: Drake 75/ Zhi 100. While Drake as a Charismatic and skilled leader, nothing he ever did had the same effect. On many occasions we have records of Zhi's men having the option to either likely die defending him or live and give him up, and every sinlge time they chose to die to assure him escape. We see him do this even before his piracy days, the biggest example of this happening during his days as a Merchant and Smuggler. So in the end, while Drake's men might love him and respect him, Zhi's men were willing to risk everything so that he could survive while in the face of certain death.