Pirate King Coxinga And The Fall Of The Ming Dynasty

The following is an excerpt from my historical biography Pirate King, published in paperback as Coxinga and the Fall of the Ming Dynasty.

The Birth of Coxinga

Tales of Nicholas Iquan recount a wily scoundrel, a pirate and sometime smuggler, a linguist of doubtful ability and a trader prepared to take risks. There are many stories about him, and they seem mostly plausible. They paint a picture of a lucky and charming man of relatively humble birth, who rose swiftly in a troubled society to a position of great power.

Tales of Iquan's eldest son are very different. As a reflection of Coxinga's later fame and achievements, they come accompanied by legends, prophecies and portents. The Historical Novel records a terrible storm that blew up in the days before his birth in August 1624: 'The dawning sky was black, the rain slashed like savage swords, the wind threw sand and stones. Waves fell upon the shore with the sound of drums, such that brave men feared the shaking of the ground.'

Watchers on the shore supposedly saw a giant sea-creature rise from the ocean to dance atop the waves, its eyes glowing in the darkness - for the rest of his life, Coxinga would regard the whale as his guardian spirit, and recorded sightings of the giants as good omens. In a fitful sleep, the pregnant Miss Tagawa dreamt that such a creature leapt from the sea and into her breast. She awoke and, the story goes, walked along the beach at Senrigahama, staring out to sea as the storm finally began to calm. Seized suddenly with birth pangs, she was unable to return to shelter and brought her son into the world alone on the shore, at a spot marked by a stone memorial to this day.

As the child took its first breath, sailors from Captain China's organisation reported golden lights in the sky over Hirado, and the sound of celebrant drums in the air. They eagerly dispatched a message to Iquan, informing him that he was a father, and the proud parent's 'happiness was unsurpassed,' not only at the birth, but also at the omens of future greatness that surrounded it.

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Excerpt 1: Brightness falls

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