Eli Boggs is a young pirate from America.

In the nineteenth century, the emergence of British merchants in East Asia turned piracy into a particularly lucrative profession by targeting the huge, super-profitable opium sold to mainland China.

China was then ruled by the Qing dynasty with leaders who were extremely distrustful of foreigners and trade with them abroad.

As foreign merchants flocked to Guangzhou in the seventeenth century and shipping routes to the rest of Asia formed, the opportunities for pirates increased.

According to experts, while many pirates simply target ships carrying drugs and then sell the "booty" obtained.

The victims' friends, relatives and business associates are often quick to pay, as pirates in the South China Sea are known for their severity of cruelty and violence.

According to a pirate record published in 1966 by British captain A.G.

British sailor John Turner also wrote about the pirate's brutal tactics after he was once kidnapped for ransom.

Turner later recorded what he witnessed of how pirates took new prisoners every day.

He watched in horror as the pirates nailed an inmate's legs to the deck while the man was still alive.

Taylor had to live on a pirate ship for five and a half months before his ransom was paid.

Boggs is not the most notorious of the pirates raging near China in the nineteenth century.

Cheng I Sao quit being a prostitute to marry a pirate in 1801 and after just a few years, she became a pirate captain, commanding a fleet of 70,000 minions and about 1,200 ships.

Shap Ng Tsai, who is believed to have led a crew of 3,000 and 60 ships, and Chui A Poo were the two most notorious pirates operating around Hong Kong around the time of the Opium War.

However, Boggs is curious to the public because he is a young American pirate with a handsome appearance but extremely violent.

It is not clear how and why Boggs came to China.

According to Captain Course's record, an American opium smuggler named William Henry "Bully" Hayes captured Boggs near Shanghai and rewarded him.

No matter how he was arrested, in 1857, Boggs, over 20 years old, was also facing trial on charges of piracy and murder.

One witness said that Boggs had been seen participating in the raid on an opium carrier that killed 24 people.

The Boggs trial in Hong Kong is filled with thrilling details and authentic stories about murder, looting, and kidnapping at sea.

Boggs accused the top colonial official, Daniel Caldwell, and another notorious pirate Ma Chow Wong of secretly cooperating to protect each other's interests.

Boggs says that Wong is expanding his power through an "umbrella" from Caldwell and in return, Caldwell receives a lot of money from Wong.

Cooke, in charge of reporting the trial, denied Boggs' allegations in his posts.

Anstey believes that Boggs's statements were "too detailed to be completely false".

The confrontation between Anstey and Caldwell ended with both losing their jobs.

The accuracy of Boggs's testimony is still a mystery.

Albert Smith, a tourist to Hong Kong, once wrote that he saw Boggs in prison about a year after being sentenced.

The name Boggs is not mentioned much after his return to America.