Execution of the Namoa Pirates at Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
These old (and graphic) photographs shows the beheading of 6 out of the total 15 Namoa pirates in Kowloon City in … On the 3rd of December, , the Douglas, Lapraik, and Co’s coasting steamer, the ‘Namoa’ (commanded by Captain Thomas Guy Pocock) left for Swatow, Amoy, and Foochow. On board were several Europeans and a large number of Fuhkien Chinese passengers returning home from California. The Namoa was attacked by daring Chinese pirates who poured out of a hatch in their dozens and – armed with revolvers – killed Captain Pocock. In a carefully planned raid, they ransacked luggage and robbed passengers of their treasured US dollars which each had been saving through years of toil. After debating whether to burn the Namoa, the pirates instead abandoned ship, allowed the hostages to live and transferred their booty to getaway ships. The public, however, were furious as the ship returned to Hong Kong… The pirates were arrested by the Chinese government and were sent to Kowloon city for execution. The beheadings occurred on April 17th and May 11th of . It appears both the local and mainland governments welcomed their demise. Captain Thomas Guy Pocock has a memorial dedicated to him at Happy Valley Cemetery. The photos themselves are original Albumen photographs that have been framed which makes the pictures stand out against the clear white frame. The actual photographs are 10" x 7" excluding the frame so you could either re-frame them or leave them in these stunning frames. Please note that any reflection on the glass is just from the camera and is not on the photos as they are perfectly clear. Read More