Ng Akew

Ng Akew (Chinese: 吳亞嬌; died 1880), was a Chinese opium smuggler and house owner in Hong Kong. She was the central figure in a pirate scandal in 1849, which attracted great attention as a cause célèbre.^[1]

Ng Akew was a Tanka slave of the American opium smuggler James Bridges Endicott (1814–1870) who operated in Hong Kong; Ng Akew appears to have been involved in his business. Additionally, Ng Akew gave birth to 5 children fathered by Endicott.^[2]

In 1849, he gave her a share of his cargo, which she sold along the coast from her own boats. She proved herself to be a capable tradesperson.^[3]

When her boat and cargo was stolen by pirates, she traveled herself to the pirate base and negotiated compensation. Shortly after, an American ship was attacked and its cargo stolen by a pirate ship with Ng Akew present. The stolen cargo was later discovered in her own ship. It was assumed that she had negotiated with the pirates that the cargo from their next pirate attack would go to her as compensation for the cargo they stole from her. Her guilt could not be proven in court and she was therefore freed, but the case became famous in her time.

When Bridges Endicott retired to Macao he provided Ng Akew with property in Hong Kong, including two properties which, in 1852, he had placed in a trust for her.^[4]

References

• Lily Xiao Hong Lee, Clara Lau, A.D. Stefanowska: Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women: v. 1: The Qing Period, 1644-1911

1. Kwan, C. Nathan (2020), Aston, Jennifer; Bishop, Catherine (eds.), "In the Business of Piracy: Entrepreneurial Women Among Chinese Pirates in the Mid-Nineteenth Century", Female Entrepreneurs in the Long Nineteenth Century: A Global Perspective, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 195–218, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-33412-3_8, ISBN 978-3-030-33412-3, retrieved 2024-06-07
2. Teng, Emma (2013-07-13). Eurasian: Mixed Identities in the United States, China, and Hong Kong, 1842–1943. Univ of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-27627-7.
3. Pik-wan, Wong; Wu, Ka-ming (2011). "Merchants' Daughters: Women, Commerce, and Regional Culture in South China (review)". China Review International. 18 (2): 240–242. ISSN 2996-8593.
4. Siu, Helen F. (2010-03-01). Merchants' Daughters: Women, Commerce, and Regional Culture in South China. Hong Kong University Press. ISBN 978-988-8083-48-0.