1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:13,800 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:16,600 Speaker 1: I'm to blamey Chuck reboarding and I'm fair daddy. And 4 00:00:16,640 --> 00:00:19,639 Speaker 1: if you know the myth of the Amazon women, that 5 00:00:19,880 --> 00:00:24,520 Speaker 1: race of women warriors, it's probably in connection with Hercules labors. 6 00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:28,240 Speaker 1: In his ninth labor, the famous strong man is ordered 7 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:32,000 Speaker 1: to bring back the girdle of Hipolita, the queen of 8 00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:36,760 Speaker 1: the Amazons. Yeah, and even Hercules knows that he's not 9 00:00:36,800 --> 00:00:39,320 Speaker 1: going to be able to handle the women alone, and 10 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:42,880 Speaker 1: so he brings friends along his back up for his mission, 11 00:00:42,920 --> 00:00:45,760 Speaker 1: and it's lucky for him he does. But that's a 12 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:48,600 Speaker 1: pretty serious reputation. I mean, I know it's a legend, 13 00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:52,760 Speaker 1: but still it's a serious reputation. And it makes sense though, 14 00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:56,480 Speaker 1: considering that in Greek myth, the Amazons were also believed 15 00:00:56,480 --> 00:00:59,240 Speaker 1: to be descended from Aries, the god of war. I 16 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:04,319 Speaker 1: think Aries even gave Hipolita that stolen girdle. But there 17 00:01:04,319 --> 00:01:06,760 Speaker 1: are a lot of stories about where this race of 18 00:01:06,800 --> 00:01:11,199 Speaker 1: women came from, and most of them have the women 19 00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:15,679 Speaker 1: living in what is today Turkey Um. But probably they're 20 00:01:15,720 --> 00:01:18,760 Speaker 1: more famous for the stories about their their fighting and 21 00:01:18,760 --> 00:01:21,000 Speaker 1: the things they would do to themselves and the things 22 00:01:21,040 --> 00:01:24,880 Speaker 1: they do as a as a group. Yeah, that's absolutely true. 23 00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:27,720 Speaker 1: I think that everyone thinks of them as a force 24 00:01:27,760 --> 00:01:30,560 Speaker 1: to be reckoned with. And their name actually indicates that. 25 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:33,120 Speaker 1: I think their name came from a Greek word that 26 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:36,679 Speaker 1: means breastless, since legend had them cutting off or burning 27 00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:38,959 Speaker 1: their right breasts and youth so that they could handle 28 00:01:38,959 --> 00:01:42,840 Speaker 1: a bow easier. Pretty extreme length to go to just 29 00:01:42,880 --> 00:01:44,920 Speaker 1: to be able to use a weapon. But and the 30 00:01:44,959 --> 00:01:47,240 Speaker 1: bow wasn't the only weapon they used. They also carried 31 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:51,560 Speaker 1: swords and double sided axes. Yeah, and to ensure a 32 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:54,639 Speaker 1: constant supply of new warriors, because they were, of course 33 00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:58,559 Speaker 1: and all women group, they'd couple up with nearby men 34 00:01:58,880 --> 00:02:02,280 Speaker 1: or or may old prisoners and raise the girl babies 35 00:02:02,320 --> 00:02:05,720 Speaker 1: as amazons and either kill or name the boys or 36 00:02:06,120 --> 00:02:09,640 Speaker 1: raise them as servants or return them to their father's 37 00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:13,160 Speaker 1: probably the best course there um. But of course, the 38 00:02:13,240 --> 00:02:16,840 Speaker 1: Amazon women of Greek legend or mythical, even if there 39 00:02:16,880 --> 00:02:21,760 Speaker 1: may have been some female fighters who existed, but fortunately 40 00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:26,040 Speaker 1: the ladies of our podcasts are not mythical. They did 41 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:29,400 Speaker 1: very much exist, and we're gonna be talking about several 42 00:02:29,440 --> 00:02:32,200 Speaker 1: of them today from around the world, and some of 43 00:02:32,200 --> 00:02:34,960 Speaker 1: them may be ones that you suggested or told us about. 44 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:38,800 Speaker 1: We have mentioned this on previous podcasts, the possibility of 45 00:02:38,800 --> 00:02:40,680 Speaker 1: doing this list, and so we've been excited about it 46 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:45,400 Speaker 1: for a while and solicited some some nominations on Facebook 47 00:02:45,480 --> 00:02:50,160 Speaker 1: kind of are like big blowout for Women's History Month, 48 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:53,840 Speaker 1: are big celebration um even though we should we should 49 00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:57,280 Speaker 1: mention before we start, we don't wish to glamorize violence. No, 50 00:02:57,720 --> 00:03:01,160 Speaker 1: we're going to talk about some really tough, cool ladies 51 00:03:01,240 --> 00:03:05,600 Speaker 1: who did some kind of violent, sometimes terrible, sometimes really 52 00:03:05,639 --> 00:03:09,160 Speaker 1: not so great things, and so definitely no, we're not 53 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:14,120 Speaker 1: condoning this behavior. We're just celebrating women and looking a 54 00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:16,200 Speaker 1: little more into the history of some of these women 55 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:18,240 Speaker 1: that a lot of there's not really a lot of 56 00:03:18,320 --> 00:03:21,080 Speaker 1: definitive information out there about some of them, so we 57 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:23,240 Speaker 1: had to dig dig some up. Yeah, but we're going 58 00:03:23,280 --> 00:03:27,639 Speaker 1: to start off in Japan with a lady who's probably 59 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:31,720 Speaker 1: one of the few true female famirai in Japanese histories 60 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:34,399 Speaker 1: and at the very least one of the most famous 61 00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:37,880 Speaker 1: yes um and her name is Nicana ta Keiko. Her 62 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:41,760 Speaker 1: most well known warrior encounter took place during Japan's Boshing 63 00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:45,320 Speaker 1: Civil War in eighteen sixty eight. Now, during this period, 64 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:49,160 Speaker 1: Japan was engulfed in battles between supporters of the old 65 00:03:49,240 --> 00:03:53,880 Speaker 1: Tokugawa showgun regime, which was the military style government, and 66 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:58,040 Speaker 1: the newly established imperial government. And I think we're all 67 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:01,440 Speaker 1: pretty familiar with the idea of samurai, right, Yeah, Katy 68 00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:04,200 Speaker 1: and I even did an episode on Samurai and the 69 00:04:04,280 --> 00:04:06,320 Speaker 1: Rhone and if you want to go refresh your memories 70 00:04:06,320 --> 00:04:08,960 Speaker 1: a little bit. Yeah, it was the warrior class up 71 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:11,119 Speaker 1: to this point, and most of the time we see 72 00:04:11,120 --> 00:04:14,520 Speaker 1: them depicted as men. But author Diana E. Wright, who 73 00:04:14,560 --> 00:04:17,080 Speaker 1: wrote about female combatants of this time for the journal 74 00:04:17,080 --> 00:04:19,960 Speaker 1: War in History, she says that women of the warrior 75 00:04:20,040 --> 00:04:23,159 Speaker 1: class and Ezoo, which is the domain that Nicana was from, 76 00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:26,120 Speaker 1: we're actually expected to learn some hand to hand combat 77 00:04:26,120 --> 00:04:29,400 Speaker 1: skills themselves. They at least had to know the basics, 78 00:04:29,880 --> 00:04:32,919 Speaker 1: and this was to quote, protect their awards and prevent 79 00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:36,080 Speaker 1: their families from being dishonored. So they weren't just weak 80 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:40,320 Speaker 1: women hiding in the household every time someone a threat came. Yeah, 81 00:04:40,360 --> 00:04:43,320 Speaker 1: but Nicana took it a step beyond that. She definitely 82 00:04:43,360 --> 00:04:45,640 Speaker 1: got a little bit more than the basic. She was 83 00:04:45,680 --> 00:04:48,760 Speaker 1: born in eighteen forty seven and she was adopted out 84 00:04:48,839 --> 00:04:52,760 Speaker 1: to Aka Yoka Ayana Suke, who was a master of 85 00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:57,280 Speaker 1: martial arts and calligraphy too, and he taught halberd skills 86 00:04:57,320 --> 00:04:59,720 Speaker 1: to the Lady of the Domain, who was the lord 87 00:04:59,760 --> 00:05:02,320 Speaker 1: of the the main adopted sister kind of the chief 88 00:05:02,400 --> 00:05:05,400 Speaker 1: noble woman in the in the area, and he also 89 00:05:05,440 --> 00:05:10,280 Speaker 1: trained Kano and twenty other girls in combat technique. So, um, 90 00:05:10,480 --> 00:05:12,960 Speaker 1: just to give you an idea about what the halberd 91 00:05:13,040 --> 00:05:16,560 Speaker 1: is too, Like, this is serious combat techniques. Halberd is 92 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:20,520 Speaker 1: a long staff with I think an axe head attached 93 00:05:20,560 --> 00:05:22,960 Speaker 1: to it, So you had to be very strong and 94 00:05:23,160 --> 00:05:26,400 Speaker 1: very agile to to manage it. Yeah, and you definitely 95 00:05:26,400 --> 00:05:28,039 Speaker 1: wouldn't want to see one of these coming at you, 96 00:05:28,160 --> 00:05:30,960 Speaker 1: So if you were fighting with one, you met business. 97 00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:34,360 Speaker 1: And these skills that these girls were using really came 98 00:05:34,400 --> 00:05:36,719 Speaker 1: in handy around the time that we're talking about when 99 00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:40,880 Speaker 1: Imperial forces invaded Aizu in late fall eighteen sixty eight. 100 00:05:41,279 --> 00:05:44,680 Speaker 1: So by October eighth, the situation had gotten so bad 101 00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:48,400 Speaker 1: for Warrior family members that the official watchbell sounded and 102 00:05:48,480 --> 00:05:51,440 Speaker 1: this prompted women of the warrior class to do one 103 00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:54,919 Speaker 1: of a few things. One was mass suicide. They didn't 104 00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:57,599 Speaker 1: want to be taken alive. They didn't want to fight, 105 00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:01,000 Speaker 1: so they decided to kill themselves rather than face this 106 00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:03,400 Speaker 1: terrible fate. Or they could decide to do that right, 107 00:06:03,440 --> 00:06:06,680 Speaker 1: they could make the decision themselves. The other option was 108 00:06:06,720 --> 00:06:11,440 Speaker 1: withdrawing within Crane Castle, which was pretty fortified castle, and 109 00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:13,520 Speaker 1: they could help out with the defense there, so they 110 00:06:13,560 --> 00:06:16,760 Speaker 1: could help defend their community. But what Nicano did was 111 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:20,400 Speaker 1: the last option, which was to take part in direct combat. 112 00:06:20,960 --> 00:06:22,919 Speaker 1: So she became part of what was known as the 113 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:26,599 Speaker 1: Joe She Gun, which was an ad hoc volunteer platoon 114 00:06:26,760 --> 00:06:30,280 Speaker 1: organized by women of warrior families and had about twenty 115 00:06:30,320 --> 00:06:33,560 Speaker 1: to thirty women. This is what historians think, and Nicano's 116 00:06:33,600 --> 00:06:36,680 Speaker 1: mom was the leader, but Wright says that Nicano Takeiko 117 00:06:36,839 --> 00:06:39,479 Speaker 1: was actually the driving force of the group. And these 118 00:06:39,480 --> 00:06:42,159 Speaker 1: women all sort of they dressed in men's clothing, they 119 00:06:42,240 --> 00:06:45,200 Speaker 1: cut their hair so they had the appearance of young men. Yeah, 120 00:06:45,279 --> 00:06:48,440 Speaker 1: And so this group of women heard that the lady 121 00:06:48,440 --> 00:06:51,440 Speaker 1: of the domain Tero he May, had been taken to 122 00:06:51,520 --> 00:06:55,039 Speaker 1: a post station to the northwest of Aizu. So they 123 00:06:55,080 --> 00:06:57,479 Speaker 1: decided they were going to go rescue her, go to 124 00:06:57,560 --> 00:07:00,320 Speaker 1: her aid, and once they were there they got there 125 00:07:00,440 --> 00:07:03,680 Speaker 1: later that same night, they asked permission from the commander 126 00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:07,320 Speaker 1: of the grade that was there if they could join 127 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:11,560 Speaker 1: his of course, all male forces. He refused though, He 128 00:07:11,640 --> 00:07:15,720 Speaker 1: said that, well, you women are of course well equipped, 129 00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:20,920 Speaker 1: and you're impressive looking, but you would embarrass this. Essentially, 130 00:07:21,040 --> 00:07:24,960 Speaker 1: if our enemy saw I EU women participating in combat, 131 00:07:25,360 --> 00:07:27,720 Speaker 1: they might take it as a sign of weakness. So 132 00:07:27,760 --> 00:07:30,920 Speaker 1: he refuses them. Yeah, they're kind of upset about this, 133 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:34,240 Speaker 1: but they've learned that the lady of the domain is 134 00:07:34,280 --> 00:07:36,280 Speaker 1: probably back at the castle at this point, she's not 135 00:07:36,280 --> 00:07:38,080 Speaker 1: there at the post station, so they sort of agree 136 00:07:38,120 --> 00:07:41,000 Speaker 1: to hang out for a night. By the next day, though, 137 00:07:41,280 --> 00:07:45,360 Speaker 1: they are given audience with another commander at Takaku Post station, 138 00:07:45,560 --> 00:07:48,560 Speaker 1: and he also rejects them, although he's very impressed by 139 00:07:48,560 --> 00:07:51,040 Speaker 1: them as well, and he decides that they should go 140 00:07:51,080 --> 00:07:55,520 Speaker 1: back to Cranecastle and he sends them with another troop 141 00:07:55,560 --> 00:07:59,040 Speaker 1: of soldiers, but the commander of that troop, who was 142 00:07:59,080 --> 00:08:04,120 Speaker 1: actually charged with escorting them back to the castle, he says, okay, no, 143 00:08:04,280 --> 00:08:06,640 Speaker 1: you guys can be an actual unit. He designates the 144 00:08:06,640 --> 00:08:09,720 Speaker 1: women as a separate squad and Nicana ta Keiko as 145 00:08:09,760 --> 00:08:12,320 Speaker 1: the leader of that squad. So they're allowed to fight. 146 00:08:12,360 --> 00:08:14,520 Speaker 1: You kind of get to do it. Fortunes are changing, 147 00:08:14,720 --> 00:08:17,200 Speaker 1: and their chance to fight comes really soon. In fact, 148 00:08:17,200 --> 00:08:21,080 Speaker 1: it comes the next day on October tenth. Imperial forces 149 00:08:21,160 --> 00:08:25,960 Speaker 1: had positioned themselves at Yanangi Bridge, which was basically along 150 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:28,960 Speaker 1: the road between the post station and the castle, the 151 00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:32,520 Speaker 1: road they were taking, and the Auzu troops came at 152 00:08:32,520 --> 00:08:35,720 Speaker 1: the Imperial forces from three sides, so they were mixed 153 00:08:35,720 --> 00:08:39,000 Speaker 1: with the men's group at this point, and um they 154 00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:42,840 Speaker 1: split up two men's divisions coming at the sides. The 155 00:08:42,920 --> 00:08:46,280 Speaker 1: women's squad was part of the one that attacked the 156 00:08:46,360 --> 00:08:48,520 Speaker 1: enemy head on. Yeah, there were some men mixed in 157 00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:50,199 Speaker 1: as well, but most of the women were. All of 158 00:08:50,240 --> 00:08:51,840 Speaker 1: the women in fact, were part of this group that 159 00:08:51,880 --> 00:08:54,520 Speaker 1: was taking him head on, and their goal was to 160 00:08:55,440 --> 00:08:59,520 Speaker 1: sort of strike suddenly and break through the enemy's forces 161 00:08:59,600 --> 00:09:01,680 Speaker 1: rather than trying to engage them in a long battle, 162 00:09:01,720 --> 00:09:04,040 Speaker 1: because they knew they probably didn't have great chances there 163 00:09:04,080 --> 00:09:07,280 Speaker 1: since the Imperial army had better weapons than they did, 164 00:09:07,640 --> 00:09:10,440 Speaker 1: and they just wanted to get back to the castle 165 00:09:10,520 --> 00:09:13,720 Speaker 1: to their destiny. They could actually defend it right, but 166 00:09:14,360 --> 00:09:18,000 Speaker 1: combat did devolve into hand to hand battle, and once 167 00:09:18,040 --> 00:09:20,880 Speaker 1: the Imperial army determined that they were fighting women, they 168 00:09:20,880 --> 00:09:23,520 Speaker 1: started to spread the word and try that they should 169 00:09:23,520 --> 00:09:25,960 Speaker 1: try to take the women alive. And that was, as 170 00:09:25,960 --> 00:09:28,440 Speaker 1: we mentioned, the one thing the women absolutely did not want. 171 00:09:29,240 --> 00:09:31,600 Speaker 1: This was for a lot of reasons. I think that 172 00:09:31,679 --> 00:09:34,200 Speaker 1: they just had no illusions about their fate if they 173 00:09:34,200 --> 00:09:36,280 Speaker 1: were to be captured, and they were afraid that they 174 00:09:36,280 --> 00:09:39,240 Speaker 1: would be sold to quote occidentals so told off to 175 00:09:39,240 --> 00:09:42,280 Speaker 1: the west somewhere, and they just didn't want that to happen. 176 00:09:42,320 --> 00:09:44,880 Speaker 1: They wanted to decide their own fate, so they charged 177 00:09:44,920 --> 00:09:49,920 Speaker 1: directly into the fire. Yeah, and many they performed pretty well. 178 00:09:50,040 --> 00:09:51,920 Speaker 1: I mean, of course it was it was brave to 179 00:09:51,960 --> 00:09:56,040 Speaker 1: make this direct charge, but they also took many imperial lives, 180 00:09:56,120 --> 00:09:59,520 Speaker 1: Nakano Takiko in particular, And we want to sort of 181 00:09:59,520 --> 00:10:02,960 Speaker 1: paint a sure for you of what Nicano looked like 182 00:10:03,040 --> 00:10:07,400 Speaker 1: in battle. Um she was described as having tied back hair, trousers, 183 00:10:07,400 --> 00:10:12,040 Speaker 1: and steely eyes, and she's supposedly radiated an intense male 184 00:10:12,120 --> 00:10:15,079 Speaker 1: spirit and engaged the enemy troops, killing five or six 185 00:10:15,120 --> 00:10:19,199 Speaker 1: with her hall bard Um, but she was eventually shot 186 00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:21,840 Speaker 1: through the chest at the height of that battle. Yeah, 187 00:10:22,080 --> 00:10:26,440 Speaker 1: her little sister Masuko had to sever her head with 188 00:10:26,520 --> 00:10:29,760 Speaker 1: the help of an Aisu soldier. So this was to 189 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:33,000 Speaker 1: prevent it from becoming a trophy for the other side 190 00:10:33,040 --> 00:10:35,640 Speaker 1: and taken back to the other side. So they wrapped 191 00:10:35,679 --> 00:10:38,280 Speaker 1: it in a scarf and cremated it after the battle. 192 00:10:38,480 --> 00:10:40,959 Speaker 1: So gave her a little bit of honor later. And 193 00:10:41,040 --> 00:10:43,000 Speaker 1: I think to Billian and I have been kind of 194 00:10:43,120 --> 00:10:46,360 Speaker 1: horrified by this image for most of the day. Yes, 195 00:10:46,840 --> 00:10:49,840 Speaker 1: I think Mosco was about sixteen years old at this time, 196 00:10:49,880 --> 00:10:52,320 Speaker 1: so having to cut off her older sister's head, that 197 00:10:52,760 --> 00:10:55,120 Speaker 1: she saw this as her duty, you know, to preserve 198 00:10:55,160 --> 00:10:59,160 Speaker 1: her family's honor. Yeah, so another Amazon woman in the making, 199 00:10:59,640 --> 00:11:02,360 Speaker 1: and I ius that brings us to the next entry 200 00:11:02,440 --> 00:11:06,560 Speaker 1: on our list. We're gonna change continents entirely and talk 201 00:11:06,640 --> 00:11:09,600 Speaker 1: about one of the famous female pirates of all time, 202 00:11:09,840 --> 00:11:13,719 Speaker 1: Grace O'Malley. Yeah. We talked about another pirate lady a 203 00:11:13,760 --> 00:11:17,800 Speaker 1: few weeks ago in another podcast, Chungy Sou, and this one, 204 00:11:17,840 --> 00:11:20,800 Speaker 1: Grace O'Malley, is actually known to many as the pirate 205 00:11:20,920 --> 00:11:23,439 Speaker 1: Queen of Ireland. So kind of has her own little nickname. 206 00:11:23,559 --> 00:11:26,720 Speaker 1: She's also known. Sometimes you might see her named as Granya, 207 00:11:26,840 --> 00:11:30,920 Speaker 1: her Irish name. Either way, Grace O'Malley was born around 208 00:11:30,920 --> 00:11:34,240 Speaker 1: fifteen thirty. Her father was chieftain of the O'Malley clan, 209 00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:37,680 Speaker 1: so around this time there really wasn't a central government. Instead, 210 00:11:38,120 --> 00:11:41,679 Speaker 1: there were about sixty clans which were ruled individually by 211 00:11:41,720 --> 00:11:45,720 Speaker 1: chieftains and they, as you might guess, they settled most 212 00:11:45,720 --> 00:11:48,360 Speaker 1: disagreements at that time over land or whatever it was, 213 00:11:48,520 --> 00:11:53,280 Speaker 1: through clan warfare. Contentious time, so the O'Malley clan controlled 214 00:11:53,440 --> 00:11:55,840 Speaker 1: a large part of the western coast of Ireland and 215 00:11:55,880 --> 00:11:59,280 Speaker 1: they owned a large fleet of ships, and initially they 216 00:11:59,280 --> 00:12:03,200 Speaker 1: had a legit it living going on. They traded with 217 00:12:03,280 --> 00:12:07,360 Speaker 1: other countries and um you know, made made money in 218 00:12:07,400 --> 00:12:12,120 Speaker 1: an honest way. But eventually merchants in Galway banned clans 219 00:12:12,160 --> 00:12:14,960 Speaker 1: who lived outside the city from trading there, so they 220 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:17,439 Speaker 1: were out of money and out of work. So to compensate, 221 00:12:17,640 --> 00:12:21,120 Speaker 1: the O'Malley started to charge a toll to all the 222 00:12:21,200 --> 00:12:23,880 Speaker 1: ships that entered a bay that was one of the 223 00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:27,600 Speaker 1: popular routes to Galway. So if you couldn't pay the toll, 224 00:12:27,760 --> 00:12:30,440 Speaker 1: too bad for you. Your ship would get plundered, so 225 00:12:30,679 --> 00:12:36,040 Speaker 1: it's it's non negotiable. Um. And Grace O'Malley was obviously 226 00:12:36,160 --> 00:12:40,160 Speaker 1: interested in joining this family business. Yeah, But at first 227 00:12:40,240 --> 00:12:43,640 Speaker 1: her dad, as many dads would, he refused and maybe 228 00:12:43,679 --> 00:12:46,480 Speaker 1: jokingly said to her, no, your long hair is gonna 229 00:12:46,480 --> 00:12:50,520 Speaker 1: get tangled in the ship's ropes. So she cut her 230 00:12:50,559 --> 00:12:54,120 Speaker 1: hair off, and that's how she became known by probably 231 00:12:54,120 --> 00:12:57,560 Speaker 1: her most famous nickname, Grace the Bald. After that, her 232 00:12:57,640 --> 00:13:00,280 Speaker 1: dad gave in and let her join his little pirate 233 00:13:00,360 --> 00:13:02,760 Speaker 1: team that he had going. Yeah, and she proved a 234 00:13:02,880 --> 00:13:06,120 Speaker 1: very able pirate of sorts. She could read currents and 235 00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:09,360 Speaker 1: tides and the weather. She was good on on board 236 00:13:09,400 --> 00:13:12,520 Speaker 1: the ship. She could manage the sales and anchors and navigate, 237 00:13:13,040 --> 00:13:16,280 Speaker 1: and she was She was good at the pirate work too. 238 00:13:16,400 --> 00:13:19,640 Speaker 1: She could raid cargo and helped defend her clan shoes. 239 00:13:19,760 --> 00:13:23,280 Speaker 1: So she proved to be a very able member of 240 00:13:23,320 --> 00:13:27,400 Speaker 1: the O'Malley clan. She did, however, give it up briefly, right. 241 00:13:27,480 --> 00:13:30,320 Speaker 1: She gave it up when she married Donald O'Flaherty, who 242 00:13:30,360 --> 00:13:32,960 Speaker 1: was chieftain of the Aflarerty clan, and she married him 243 00:13:32,960 --> 00:13:36,160 Speaker 1: in fifteen forty six and became a mother to three 244 00:13:36,200 --> 00:13:40,200 Speaker 1: of his children. Oh Flaherty was an interesting character in himself. 245 00:13:40,320 --> 00:13:44,400 Speaker 1: He was his clan was enemies with another clan called 246 00:13:44,400 --> 00:13:47,720 Speaker 1: the Joyce clan, and they gave him the nickname Donald 247 00:13:47,760 --> 00:13:51,880 Speaker 1: the Cock, and his castle therefore was known as Cox Castle. 248 00:13:52,840 --> 00:13:56,760 Speaker 1: So after Donald dies in fifteen sixty while battling the 249 00:13:56,840 --> 00:14:00,640 Speaker 1: Joyce clan, the Joyces immediately tried to overpower, but she 250 00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:05,560 Speaker 1: surprised them by fighting back. She successfully defends her property 251 00:14:05,600 --> 00:14:07,840 Speaker 1: with the help of her followers, and just an example 252 00:14:07,880 --> 00:14:11,200 Speaker 1: of the ingenuity she uses in her battling, she had 253 00:14:11,200 --> 00:14:14,560 Speaker 1: her men dismantle the castle towers, lead roof melted down 254 00:14:14,640 --> 00:14:19,480 Speaker 1: and pour it on her attackers. It's pretty scary. Yeah again, 255 00:14:19,600 --> 00:14:23,160 Speaker 1: don't try this at home. And the castle then became 256 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:26,800 Speaker 1: known as Hen's Castle, So definitely a shift and who's 257 00:14:26,840 --> 00:14:30,440 Speaker 1: in charge here, right, letting everybody know. So the Auflorities 258 00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:35,080 Speaker 1: were definitely impressed by Gray successfully defending the castle, and 259 00:14:35,160 --> 00:14:37,600 Speaker 1: she really proved by doing so that she could fight 260 00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:40,960 Speaker 1: not only at sea but on land as well, and 261 00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:44,080 Speaker 1: by the fifteen seventies she was directing a fourth of 262 00:14:44,200 --> 00:14:47,160 Speaker 1: hundreds of men in both types of battles, so it 263 00:14:47,240 --> 00:14:50,000 Speaker 1: was her full time business by this point. Yeah, and 264 00:14:50,040 --> 00:14:52,720 Speaker 1: when her father died it became even bigger. She inherited 265 00:14:52,760 --> 00:14:55,400 Speaker 1: his fleet and for a while was the O'Malley clan's 266 00:14:55,440 --> 00:14:59,960 Speaker 1: new chieftain too. But she also participated in some political 267 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:02,840 Speaker 1: coal stuff as well. She fought the English Tutor dynasty's 268 00:15:02,920 --> 00:15:06,720 Speaker 1: encroachment into Ireland, which ended up being kind of her downfall. 269 00:15:06,920 --> 00:15:11,080 Speaker 1: She was arrested on multiple occasions and her fleets were raided. 270 00:15:11,920 --> 00:15:15,560 Speaker 1: She eventually petitioned Queen Elizabeth the First directly for some support, 271 00:15:15,560 --> 00:15:19,080 Speaker 1: which she received, but her business was closely monitored after that, 272 00:15:19,360 --> 00:15:22,960 Speaker 1: and she ended up dying impoverished in her early seventies. Yeah. 273 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:27,480 Speaker 1: But interestingly, that relationship with Queen Elizabeth is why we 274 00:15:27,520 --> 00:15:30,920 Speaker 1: know so much about Grace today, because the Queen got 275 00:15:30,920 --> 00:15:33,800 Speaker 1: Grace to fill out a document called eighteen Articles of 276 00:15:33,840 --> 00:15:37,600 Speaker 1: Interrogatory and she had to answer all these questions about 277 00:15:37,640 --> 00:15:41,840 Speaker 1: her marriages or children or properties, and um put it 278 00:15:41,880 --> 00:15:44,240 Speaker 1: all down on paper. And that's why we know so 279 00:15:44,400 --> 00:15:48,640 Speaker 1: much about Grace the Ball today. Fortunately. Yeah, thanks Queen Elizabeth. 280 00:15:49,280 --> 00:15:51,240 Speaker 1: The next group of women were going to talk about 281 00:15:51,280 --> 00:15:54,600 Speaker 1: didn't have a very clear cut survey like that for 282 00:15:54,720 --> 00:15:57,120 Speaker 1: us to go off of. Did they Sarah, Yeah, Because 283 00:15:57,160 --> 00:15:59,200 Speaker 1: the other entries on the life so far have been 284 00:15:59,360 --> 00:16:04,120 Speaker 1: individual women who took up arms for personal reasons. This 285 00:16:04,160 --> 00:16:07,320 Speaker 1: group of women, they were actually an army, so we're 286 00:16:07,320 --> 00:16:10,040 Speaker 1: gonna treat them as such and not focus on any 287 00:16:10,160 --> 00:16:13,920 Speaker 1: specific people. Um, they were an army though they weren't 288 00:16:13,920 --> 00:16:17,920 Speaker 1: a last resort. They weren't these accidental warriors. They were chosen, 289 00:16:18,040 --> 00:16:20,720 Speaker 1: and they were trained, and they were deployed as any 290 00:16:20,840 --> 00:16:24,280 Speaker 1: army would be. So they're really kind of a standalone 291 00:16:24,320 --> 00:16:28,040 Speaker 1: group for this podcast. So the Domey Kingdom in West 292 00:16:28,080 --> 00:16:32,680 Speaker 1: Africa needed highly trained warriors for for many reasons. Everybody 293 00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:35,200 Speaker 1: needs a group of highly trained warriors, I guess, but 294 00:16:35,520 --> 00:16:37,760 Speaker 1: in part it was because of its own actions. The 295 00:16:37,880 --> 00:16:42,080 Speaker 1: king would launch annual raids, slave raids on nearby areas 296 00:16:42,160 --> 00:16:44,920 Speaker 1: and by the captured prisoners and sell them to European 297 00:16:44,960 --> 00:16:50,480 Speaker 1: slave traders. So obviously that didn't win many neighborhood friends. No, 298 00:16:50,640 --> 00:16:52,800 Speaker 1: not at all. But the women, actually the warrior women, 299 00:16:52,800 --> 00:16:56,200 Speaker 1: they weren't originally set up to defend the kingdom. They 300 00:16:56,240 --> 00:16:59,760 Speaker 1: were originally formed as a group of elephant huntresses. Actually, 301 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:03,520 Speaker 1: WHI is a surprise. Yeah, and they were trained as 302 00:17:03,600 --> 00:17:06,600 Speaker 1: royal guards and warriors after that. Yeah. So the women 303 00:17:06,600 --> 00:17:11,919 Speaker 1: were drafted from non Dahomian slaves and therefore they were 304 00:17:11,960 --> 00:17:16,240 Speaker 1: considered very reliable and trustworthy because they didn't have tribal 305 00:17:16,240 --> 00:17:20,520 Speaker 1: connections and families like the men the male recruits might, 306 00:17:20,640 --> 00:17:23,880 Speaker 1: so they were you could you could rely on your 307 00:17:24,240 --> 00:17:28,160 Speaker 1: your Dahomian women force. But by eighteen fifty a king 308 00:17:28,280 --> 00:17:32,959 Speaker 1: named Gizo shook up this process of selecting the troops 309 00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:36,280 Speaker 1: a little bit and he made it kind of a draft. 310 00:17:36,359 --> 00:17:40,600 Speaker 1: Almost every three years, families would present their daughters to 311 00:17:40,840 --> 00:17:44,320 Speaker 1: a royal board and the prettiest of the young women 312 00:17:44,400 --> 00:17:48,560 Speaker 1: would enter the harem and the strongest would enter the service. 313 00:17:48,760 --> 00:17:53,000 Speaker 1: And some were actually not selected this way that, but 314 00:17:53,040 --> 00:17:57,040 Speaker 1: they were turned over by their husbands for being unruly 315 00:17:57,200 --> 00:17:59,919 Speaker 1: or something that if the husbands couldn't handle them, they 316 00:18:00,040 --> 00:18:03,119 Speaker 1: would perhaps recommend them to the king or more likely 317 00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:06,000 Speaker 1: complain about them to the king, and the king would 318 00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:10,400 Speaker 1: take them into the elite fighting group. Really puts a 319 00:18:10,440 --> 00:18:14,479 Speaker 1: different spin on marital relations with that. But by the 320 00:18:14,520 --> 00:18:18,240 Speaker 1: eighteen eighties, the Dahomie women became a political power as well, 321 00:18:18,280 --> 00:18:21,120 Speaker 1: since their officers were noble women. Yeah, so we're gonna 322 00:18:21,240 --> 00:18:24,440 Speaker 1: talk a little bit about life as one of these 323 00:18:24,520 --> 00:18:27,880 Speaker 1: dahomie women. It was a major step up from from 324 00:18:27,920 --> 00:18:31,720 Speaker 1: the average life of a woman in the kingdom. Um, 325 00:18:31,760 --> 00:18:34,760 Speaker 1: they got a lot more privileges on a lot more respect, 326 00:18:34,840 --> 00:18:38,119 Speaker 1: but they were sworn to celibacy. An interesting point there. 327 00:18:38,160 --> 00:18:41,800 Speaker 1: If they were exceptionally brave, they might be able to 328 00:18:41,880 --> 00:18:47,160 Speaker 1: make a match marry a nobleman after they retired, essentially, 329 00:18:47,520 --> 00:18:50,119 Speaker 1: so you could there was a lot of social rising 330 00:18:50,200 --> 00:18:55,320 Speaker 1: potentially if you were an exceptional warrior and they trained rigorously. 331 00:18:55,640 --> 00:18:58,800 Speaker 1: Eventually they fought alongside the Royal Guard as the kingdom 332 00:18:58,880 --> 00:19:01,840 Speaker 1: standing army, so on, with the men too, and there 333 00:19:01,880 --> 00:19:05,520 Speaker 1: were about four thousand, five hundred men and women together. Yeah, 334 00:19:05,520 --> 00:19:07,360 Speaker 1: and it eventually got to be even more than that. 335 00:19:07,720 --> 00:19:10,600 Speaker 1: They were also notorious for their violence. They were known 336 00:19:10,680 --> 00:19:14,520 Speaker 1: to torture and mutilate people who they had killed and um. 337 00:19:14,800 --> 00:19:18,000 Speaker 1: They were also well known for their marksmanship. By the 338 00:19:18,040 --> 00:19:21,960 Speaker 1: eighteen forties, according to an article by Jeffrey Skelton in 339 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:25,320 Speaker 1: Military History, they could load and fire a flint lock 340 00:19:25,480 --> 00:19:30,080 Speaker 1: musket in thirty seconds, while their their male counterparts were 341 00:19:30,080 --> 00:19:33,680 Speaker 1: said to take fifty seconds. There's some agility going on there, 342 00:19:33,720 --> 00:19:38,080 Speaker 1: I guess, yeah, agility and some fashion too. They cut 343 00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:41,200 Speaker 1: quite a figure. I would say. They wore white with 344 00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:44,400 Speaker 1: blue crocodile badges on their hats, which when I saw 345 00:19:44,520 --> 00:19:46,439 Speaker 1: a photo of the Sarah sent me an image of it, 346 00:19:46,440 --> 00:19:48,520 Speaker 1: and I think it looked like bows initially, so I 347 00:19:48,600 --> 00:19:50,640 Speaker 1: was surprised to find out that they were crandodile badges. 348 00:19:50,760 --> 00:19:54,080 Speaker 1: We should mention the picture I sent to Blina was 349 00:19:54,119 --> 00:19:57,520 Speaker 1: an engraving of a woman actually holding a decapitated head. Too. 350 00:19:57,640 --> 00:20:01,199 Speaker 1: Into Blina, I think you said, if she's wearing a 351 00:20:01,240 --> 00:20:04,080 Speaker 1: little blue bow on her head, that makes this image 352 00:20:04,119 --> 00:20:08,040 Speaker 1: so much more disturbing. Definitely, um, but now you know 353 00:20:08,160 --> 00:20:11,400 Speaker 1: it was a crocodile badge. Now I know, now it's 354 00:20:11,440 --> 00:20:15,160 Speaker 1: a little more fitting. Maybe I don't know, you decide, 355 00:20:15,680 --> 00:20:17,720 Speaker 1: but there was a little style change. If they were 356 00:20:17,760 --> 00:20:20,639 Speaker 1: elephant hunters. Also, they got to wear antelope porns. The 357 00:20:20,680 --> 00:20:23,000 Speaker 1: whole head dress made out of antelope porns, so that 358 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:25,679 Speaker 1: would have been scary too, I would say so, but 359 00:20:26,200 --> 00:20:29,120 Speaker 1: in one with this going to give you a good 360 00:20:29,600 --> 00:20:31,760 Speaker 1: idea of what they looked like. They were described in 361 00:20:31,840 --> 00:20:35,760 Speaker 1: three months in captivity into homie like this. There they 362 00:20:35,800 --> 00:20:39,800 Speaker 1: are four thousand warriors, the four thousand black virgins of Dahomie, 363 00:20:40,080 --> 00:20:44,040 Speaker 1: the monarch's bodyguard, motionless in their war garments, with gun 364 00:20:44,160 --> 00:20:46,840 Speaker 1: and knife in hand, ready to leap forward at the 365 00:20:46,920 --> 00:20:50,600 Speaker 1: master's signal. Old or young, ugly or beautiful, they are 366 00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:53,480 Speaker 1: wonderful to look at. They're as well built as the 367 00:20:53,520 --> 00:20:57,280 Speaker 1: male warriors, and their attitude is just as disciplined and correct, 368 00:20:57,640 --> 00:21:00,840 Speaker 1: lined up as though against a rope. Yeah, with a 369 00:21:00,880 --> 00:21:03,440 Speaker 1: description like that, it's no wonder that they became known 370 00:21:03,480 --> 00:21:05,760 Speaker 1: as amazons. And it was actually the French who took 371 00:21:05,800 --> 00:21:08,800 Speaker 1: to calling them amazon's originally, right, yes, Yeah, And it 372 00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:10,440 Speaker 1: was the French who kind of got schooled by them. 373 00:21:10,520 --> 00:21:13,639 Speaker 1: Right In two, when the colonial forces fought up to 374 00:21:13,680 --> 00:21:17,439 Speaker 1: four thousand Amazons in the jungle, several fights took place, 375 00:21:17,520 --> 00:21:20,600 Speaker 1: one in which these Amazons supposedly had been driven into 376 00:21:20,600 --> 00:21:23,920 Speaker 1: a frenzy by English Jigin of all things, and would 377 00:21:23,960 --> 00:21:27,439 Speaker 1: continue to fight even after being bayonetted with their hands, feet, 378 00:21:27,520 --> 00:21:30,760 Speaker 1: and teeth. Yeah, so they just didn't quit, and ultimately 379 00:21:30,960 --> 00:21:34,240 Speaker 1: the French prevailed and took to Homei, which is today 380 00:21:34,359 --> 00:21:39,280 Speaker 1: part of benin Um but the Amazon troops they were disbanded. 381 00:21:39,800 --> 00:21:44,440 Speaker 1: They didn't totally go away though, obviously their troops disbanded, 382 00:21:44,480 --> 00:21:47,080 Speaker 1: But the women themselves are still around. And I found 383 00:21:47,160 --> 00:21:51,480 Speaker 1: postcards from long after the fact, I mean as late 384 00:21:51,520 --> 00:21:55,800 Speaker 1: as the nineteen twenties of pictures of the women, you know, 385 00:21:55,840 --> 00:21:59,600 Speaker 1: obviously middle aged by this point, but also still kind 386 00:21:59,600 --> 00:22:02,400 Speaker 1: of scared are you looking and tough to posing. And 387 00:22:02,760 --> 00:22:06,040 Speaker 1: I think they visited Europe at one point to show 388 00:22:06,080 --> 00:22:08,680 Speaker 1: off their fighting skills with with some of the male 389 00:22:08,720 --> 00:22:13,680 Speaker 1: warriors as well. So a very strange and i'd say 390 00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:18,200 Speaker 1: for this group of elite fighting women who existed for centuries. Yeah, 391 00:22:18,280 --> 00:22:23,800 Speaker 1: sort of becoming a novelty. Conveniently, our next subject also 392 00:22:24,760 --> 00:22:28,040 Speaker 1: did become somewhat of a novelty herself later in life, 393 00:22:28,119 --> 00:22:31,840 Speaker 1: maybe not through postcards, not through postcards, but that was 394 00:22:32,040 --> 00:22:37,640 Speaker 1: long after a very adventurous, very impressive military career. Yes, 395 00:22:37,640 --> 00:22:41,680 Speaker 1: our next subject is Catalina di aerro Uso, who is 396 00:22:41,720 --> 00:22:44,440 Speaker 1: also known as the Lieutenant Nun, and she has been 397 00:22:44,680 --> 00:22:47,920 Speaker 1: frequently requested by listeners. I think we've gotten at least 398 00:22:47,920 --> 00:22:50,480 Speaker 1: two or three requests just in the past couple of 399 00:22:50,480 --> 00:22:52,920 Speaker 1: months when I've been working on the podcast, and one 400 00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:56,520 Speaker 1: recently that was a very interesting It was from a 401 00:22:56,560 --> 00:23:00,760 Speaker 1: listener named Marcia in California, and she suggested, actually she 402 00:23:01,119 --> 00:23:04,159 Speaker 1: begged us to do a podcast on this topic and 403 00:23:04,200 --> 00:23:06,399 Speaker 1: said that she would make a deal with us, right, Sarah, 404 00:23:06,560 --> 00:23:09,119 Speaker 1: she did. It was an offer we couldn't refuse. Yeah, 405 00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:12,440 Speaker 1: she said that she would UM, as a professor in California, 406 00:23:12,520 --> 00:23:18,320 Speaker 1: she would have her students do a podcast style research project. Yeah, 407 00:23:18,359 --> 00:23:21,720 Speaker 1: in exchange for us doing a podcast on Catawina. So 408 00:23:21,800 --> 00:23:23,480 Speaker 1: here you go. I hope it. I hope it still 409 00:23:23,520 --> 00:23:25,920 Speaker 1: counts even though she's part of a list. Even though 410 00:23:25,960 --> 00:23:27,439 Speaker 1: she's part of a list, will still cover a lot 411 00:23:27,480 --> 00:23:30,400 Speaker 1: of details about her and UM, hopefully your students will 412 00:23:30,440 --> 00:23:33,080 Speaker 1: thank us. Hopefully they'll have fun with their project. So 413 00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:34,919 Speaker 1: to go ahead and get into her life. She was 414 00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:38,080 Speaker 1: born in San Sebastian and Northern Spain on February tent 415 00:23:39,680 --> 00:23:42,520 Speaker 1: and right off the bat, we have sort of a 416 00:23:42,640 --> 00:23:45,760 Speaker 1: questionable date there because in her autobiography I think she 417 00:23:45,840 --> 00:23:48,359 Speaker 1: lists a different year. She lists fifteen eighty five, but 418 00:23:48,440 --> 00:23:51,080 Speaker 1: fifte two is the recorded year of her baptism. So 419 00:23:52,040 --> 00:23:53,639 Speaker 1: right away we can see that some of the details 420 00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:55,960 Speaker 1: throughout this are going to be kind of sketchy conundrum, 421 00:23:56,359 --> 00:23:59,440 Speaker 1: keep it in mind. So some say her family was 422 00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:01,840 Speaker 1: middle class. Others say that her family was pretty wealthy, 423 00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:04,800 Speaker 1: which is probably more accurately the case, which we'll see 424 00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:07,800 Speaker 1: later on, but either way, Catalina ended up in a 425 00:24:07,840 --> 00:24:11,119 Speaker 1: Dominican convent at about age four, along with three of 426 00:24:11,119 --> 00:24:14,240 Speaker 1: her sisters. Yeah, and her four brothers, on the other hand, 427 00:24:14,280 --> 00:24:17,159 Speaker 1: headed off to join the Spanish military in the America's 428 00:24:17,280 --> 00:24:19,640 Speaker 1: but you could tell pretty early on that Catalina would 429 00:24:19,640 --> 00:24:21,960 Speaker 1: have rather been doing what her brothers were doing and 430 00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:25,280 Speaker 1: going off to the America's. She supposedly wanted to quote 431 00:24:25,280 --> 00:24:28,080 Speaker 1: travel and see the world, so she escaped from the 432 00:24:28,119 --> 00:24:32,600 Speaker 1: convent around sixteen o three, And again, that date sounds 433 00:24:32,640 --> 00:24:35,000 Speaker 1: a little weird depending on when you calculate her birth 434 00:24:35,040 --> 00:24:38,359 Speaker 1: from that just assumed she was around fifteen years old 435 00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:41,680 Speaker 1: at the time she cut her hair. She made these 436 00:24:41,840 --> 00:24:46,199 Speaker 1: mannish looking clothes for herself, um cutting up a blue 437 00:24:46,240 --> 00:24:49,840 Speaker 1: skirt in order to create a pair of breeches. Another 438 00:24:49,920 --> 00:24:52,359 Speaker 1: example of cross dressing. I know, it keeps them coming 439 00:24:52,440 --> 00:24:56,359 Speaker 1: up in the in the episodes recently, but she apparently 440 00:24:56,880 --> 00:25:00,560 Speaker 1: passed off pretty well when she had her new pants. Yeah, 441 00:25:00,600 --> 00:25:03,480 Speaker 1: she was really effective after she made these changes in 442 00:25:03,760 --> 00:25:06,520 Speaker 1: passing as a man. And I think we should stop 443 00:25:06,560 --> 00:25:08,359 Speaker 1: right here to reflect on the fact that this makes 444 00:25:08,359 --> 00:25:10,480 Speaker 1: her maybe a little different from some of the other 445 00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:12,400 Speaker 1: women on this list and some of the other women 446 00:25:12,440 --> 00:25:16,600 Speaker 1: we've talked about recently, in that she lived her life 447 00:25:16,600 --> 00:25:18,439 Speaker 1: which we're going to discuss in a in a minute, 448 00:25:18,720 --> 00:25:21,400 Speaker 1: as a man. So, yeah, she wasn't dealing with some 449 00:25:21,520 --> 00:25:25,200 Speaker 1: of the adversities. For instance, Nicano was dealing with men 450 00:25:25,280 --> 00:25:27,480 Speaker 1: not wanting to fight with her because hey, they just 451 00:25:27,520 --> 00:25:30,560 Speaker 1: thought she was another guy. Yeah, And I mean I 452 00:25:30,560 --> 00:25:34,679 Speaker 1: think that that was so even to the point that 453 00:25:34,720 --> 00:25:37,120 Speaker 1: when you read about her nowadays and you're talking about 454 00:25:37,160 --> 00:25:39,440 Speaker 1: her years as a man, many people will use a 455 00:25:39,480 --> 00:25:42,480 Speaker 1: male personal pronoun to describe her. But you'll notice that 456 00:25:42,520 --> 00:25:45,000 Speaker 1: we keep using she a lot throughout this podcast, just 457 00:25:45,040 --> 00:25:47,159 Speaker 1: because we tried to keep it consistent. But just a 458 00:25:47,160 --> 00:25:50,320 Speaker 1: little explanation for that. So she's passing as a man. 459 00:25:50,800 --> 00:25:53,760 Speaker 1: She stays in Spain for more than about three years 460 00:25:53,800 --> 00:25:57,280 Speaker 1: after that, wandering around serving a variety of masters, just 461 00:25:57,359 --> 00:25:59,960 Speaker 1: doing jobs here and there. Then she sets out for 462 00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:03,640 Speaker 1: the America's where she travels around a bit eventually heads 463 00:26:03,680 --> 00:26:07,359 Speaker 1: to Peru, where she joins the Spanish military, so helping 464 00:26:07,440 --> 00:26:10,159 Speaker 1: the Spanish crown and its efforts to colonize the America's 465 00:26:10,200 --> 00:26:13,159 Speaker 1: and she did that for about fifteen years. And she's 466 00:26:13,400 --> 00:26:16,959 Speaker 1: changed her name at this point too. Yep, she is 467 00:26:17,119 --> 00:26:21,560 Speaker 1: Antonio Romerez de Gusman, a brave soldier in the colonial army. 468 00:26:21,640 --> 00:26:24,520 Speaker 1: That's how she's known. It was a battle in Chili, though, 469 00:26:24,560 --> 00:26:28,919 Speaker 1: fighting the Aricano Indians, in which Catalina, then known as Antonio, 470 00:26:29,240 --> 00:26:32,080 Speaker 1: was promoted to lieutenant. She risks her life in this 471 00:26:32,160 --> 00:26:35,880 Speaker 1: battle to recover a royal flag, and she describes going 472 00:26:35,960 --> 00:26:38,840 Speaker 1: after it right into the enemy mob along with two 473 00:26:38,920 --> 00:26:42,440 Speaker 1: other soldiers who were on her side, and they were 474 00:26:42,520 --> 00:26:46,119 Speaker 1: killed in the process. She herself took three arrows and 475 00:26:46,200 --> 00:26:49,760 Speaker 1: a spear, but still survived to be promoted. Yeah, and 476 00:26:49,920 --> 00:26:53,320 Speaker 1: even after that military glory, though, she wasn't made permanent 477 00:26:53,400 --> 00:26:57,880 Speaker 1: commander of the company because she hung an Aracano chief 478 00:26:58,040 --> 00:27:00,199 Speaker 1: when she was supposed to take him alive. And so 479 00:27:00,680 --> 00:27:04,320 Speaker 1: that brings us to another side of Catalina. She was 480 00:27:04,560 --> 00:27:09,320 Speaker 1: a bloodthirsty conquistador, and I mean conquistadors already have a 481 00:27:09,359 --> 00:27:12,240 Speaker 1: reputation for that she was a gambler, she had a 482 00:27:12,320 --> 00:27:15,880 Speaker 1: quick temper. Uh she took part in a lot of duels, 483 00:27:16,280 --> 00:27:19,679 Speaker 1: and sometimes she killed her opponents in them. Sometimes she 484 00:27:19,800 --> 00:27:22,520 Speaker 1: ended up in prison, and she would always find a 485 00:27:22,520 --> 00:27:25,720 Speaker 1: way out, always found a way to escape punishment. And 486 00:27:25,840 --> 00:27:30,080 Speaker 1: one of her strategies, strangely enough, was to hide in churches. 487 00:27:30,280 --> 00:27:34,640 Speaker 1: Kind of a throwback to her time in the Constant right, 488 00:27:34,720 --> 00:27:38,840 Speaker 1: maybe she knew the INDs analysis on one of those 489 00:27:38,880 --> 00:27:42,600 Speaker 1: occasions is when she confessed her biological sex. Though she 490 00:27:42,720 --> 00:27:45,800 Speaker 1: confessed to a friar, who then told the bishop in 491 00:27:45,840 --> 00:27:48,639 Speaker 1: the area, so the secret is out at this point. 492 00:27:48,720 --> 00:27:50,679 Speaker 1: After that, she spends a couple of years in a 493 00:27:50,720 --> 00:27:53,760 Speaker 1: convent at Lima, where she has to start wearing female 494 00:27:53,760 --> 00:27:57,280 Speaker 1: attire again, until finally she's sent back to Spain in 495 00:27:57,359 --> 00:28:00,479 Speaker 1: sixty four for an audience with Philip the Fourth, and 496 00:28:00,520 --> 00:28:03,600 Speaker 1: he actually rewards her for her many years of service 497 00:28:03,640 --> 00:28:06,760 Speaker 1: with a pension and the right to continue wearing mail attire. 498 00:28:06,920 --> 00:28:09,560 Speaker 1: So she kind of pleads her case to him both 499 00:28:09,600 --> 00:28:12,520 Speaker 1: from a far and in person, and he he agrees 500 00:28:12,640 --> 00:28:15,119 Speaker 1: that she deserves this. Then she goes to see the 501 00:28:15,160 --> 00:28:18,360 Speaker 1: Pope and he also says that she can keep dressing 502 00:28:18,359 --> 00:28:22,960 Speaker 1: like a man, which is so bizarre. I don't usually 503 00:28:22,960 --> 00:28:25,640 Speaker 1: imagine the pope being okay with that. Well, she did 504 00:28:25,680 --> 00:28:28,119 Speaker 1: remain a virgin and all. I mean, and apparently that 505 00:28:28,280 --> 00:28:31,480 Speaker 1: was kind of crucial, wasn't it. That was something that 506 00:28:31,560 --> 00:28:34,280 Speaker 1: made it legitimate that she had been dressing like a 507 00:28:34,320 --> 00:28:37,840 Speaker 1: man and fighting alongside men for for so long. Yeah. 508 00:28:37,880 --> 00:28:40,120 Speaker 1: I think that we were discussing it a little bit, 509 00:28:40,120 --> 00:28:42,600 Speaker 1: and a lot of people who cross dressed have been 510 00:28:42,600 --> 00:28:45,440 Speaker 1: thought of over the years as sexual deviance in a way, 511 00:28:45,480 --> 00:28:47,400 Speaker 1: But she proved that she wasn't. I think when she 512 00:28:47,520 --> 00:28:50,440 Speaker 1: was back in South American all of this first started 513 00:28:50,480 --> 00:28:54,000 Speaker 1: to come out, the bishop there actually had her examined 514 00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:56,400 Speaker 1: by a couple of nuns and she was found to 515 00:28:56,440 --> 00:28:58,920 Speaker 1: be a virgin. Yeah, And I mean it also didn't 516 00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:02,920 Speaker 1: hurt that she did have decent family connections, that perhaps 517 00:29:03,000 --> 00:29:06,000 Speaker 1: her family was well off. That was another point in 518 00:29:06,040 --> 00:29:09,720 Speaker 1: her favor for being allowed to continue, uh living a 519 00:29:09,760 --> 00:29:13,240 Speaker 1: life that was quite different from the standards at the time. Yeah. 520 00:29:13,280 --> 00:29:15,080 Speaker 1: And I think that is a point that she made 521 00:29:15,080 --> 00:29:17,000 Speaker 1: to the king also when she was kind of pleading 522 00:29:17,040 --> 00:29:20,520 Speaker 1: her her case. And and I think, as we mentioned 523 00:29:20,520 --> 00:29:23,600 Speaker 1: before about her becoming a novelty. That was an aspect 524 00:29:23,600 --> 00:29:26,240 Speaker 1: of it too. She wasn't really viewed as a man 525 00:29:26,440 --> 00:29:28,560 Speaker 1: or a woman. She was some kind of hybrid that 526 00:29:28,560 --> 00:29:31,800 Speaker 1: nobody knew of, and they were. She became very popular 527 00:29:31,800 --> 00:29:35,080 Speaker 1: in that respect. Nobles like to invite her places, and 528 00:29:35,200 --> 00:29:37,240 Speaker 1: she was well thought of at the time, or at 529 00:29:37,280 --> 00:29:40,400 Speaker 1: least interesting. Yeah, and she she runs with that. She 530 00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:44,880 Speaker 1: writes an autobiography between sixteen and sixteen thirty, knowing that 531 00:29:45,160 --> 00:29:48,840 Speaker 1: people wanted to hear her story, and in sixteen thirty 532 00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:52,240 Speaker 1: she also moved back to the Americas and died about 533 00:29:52,280 --> 00:29:57,360 Speaker 1: twenty years later in Mexico, having led a very impressive, 534 00:29:57,880 --> 00:30:02,080 Speaker 1: if very strange life. Yeah, she's an interesting character because 535 00:30:02,080 --> 00:30:04,600 Speaker 1: she was one who, you know, like we were talking 536 00:30:04,600 --> 00:30:06,440 Speaker 1: about at the beginning of the podcast, you definitely can't 537 00:30:06,440 --> 00:30:08,840 Speaker 1: say she was always a likable character, but she was 538 00:30:08,880 --> 00:30:14,560 Speaker 1: just a fascinating Yes. So our final entry for this 539 00:30:14,600 --> 00:30:18,000 Speaker 1: list is also a lady who who kind of rocks 540 00:30:18,160 --> 00:30:21,440 Speaker 1: on the one hand, and it's kind of terrifying and 541 00:30:21,600 --> 00:30:25,120 Speaker 1: murderous on the other hand. And she is one of 542 00:30:25,200 --> 00:30:30,800 Speaker 1: the most popularly requested topics, especially for this series of 543 00:30:30,920 --> 00:30:34,320 Speaker 1: women Warriors. I think somebody even wrote on Twitter recently, 544 00:30:34,960 --> 00:30:38,200 Speaker 1: when are you going to do a podcast on Boudica 545 00:30:38,400 --> 00:30:44,280 Speaker 1: surprise subject. So Boudica is Britain's original queen Victoria because 546 00:30:44,360 --> 00:30:49,400 Speaker 1: Boudica means victory and she's regarded as something of a 547 00:30:49,480 --> 00:30:53,520 Speaker 1: national hero. But the comparison between the two queens definitely 548 00:30:53,640 --> 00:30:59,080 Speaker 1: ends there. Boudhica is not starting wedding traditions or Christmas traditions, obviously, 549 00:30:59,440 --> 00:31:05,240 Speaker 1: she was out crucifying Romans instead, different kind of reputation entirely, yes, 550 00:31:05,480 --> 00:31:09,040 Speaker 1: I should say so. In her background is also pretty hazy, 551 00:31:09,080 --> 00:31:11,959 Speaker 1: but here is what we know. She was born around 552 00:31:12,760 --> 00:31:16,560 Speaker 1: and Celtic Britain to a royal family. She eventually married Purseudicus, 553 00:31:16,600 --> 00:31:19,440 Speaker 1: who was probably her cousin, who became king or the 554 00:31:19,480 --> 00:31:22,240 Speaker 1: elected chief of the I c n I tribe. So 555 00:31:22,400 --> 00:31:25,360 Speaker 1: Boudica's queen kind of and her husband is on okay 556 00:31:25,480 --> 00:31:29,480 Speaker 1: terms with Rome until that is Roman leadership betrays the 557 00:31:29,520 --> 00:31:32,239 Speaker 1: family and the tribe. But we're gonna go back a 558 00:31:32,240 --> 00:31:35,600 Speaker 1: little bit before that and give you the background on 559 00:31:35,640 --> 00:31:38,400 Speaker 1: what was going on with the Romans in Britain at 560 00:31:38,400 --> 00:31:41,080 Speaker 1: this time and even a hundred years before that's when 561 00:31:41,120 --> 00:31:45,120 Speaker 1: they had gotten there and Interestingly, the icn I Boudica's 562 00:31:45,160 --> 00:31:48,160 Speaker 1: tribe had been one of the first to welcome Caesar 563 00:31:48,240 --> 00:31:52,360 Speaker 1: in fifty five or b C. But that first stage 564 00:31:52,400 --> 00:31:55,800 Speaker 1: of Roman contact wasn't that bad. It was more about 565 00:31:56,040 --> 00:32:00,080 Speaker 1: establishing trade and it proved to be quite profitable for 566 00:32:00,320 --> 00:32:03,920 Speaker 1: some of the tribes that participated of Caesar left and 567 00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:09,040 Speaker 1: stead of the Roman military, and it wasn't colonized rule 568 00:32:09,160 --> 00:32:13,640 Speaker 1: or anything like that. But things changed in forty one 569 00:32:13,720 --> 00:32:17,400 Speaker 1: a d. When our old friend Emperor Claudius, who he's 570 00:32:17,440 --> 00:32:21,240 Speaker 1: another one who always pops up in random episodes, he 571 00:32:21,400 --> 00:32:25,480 Speaker 1: decided that Britannia would make a really nice addition to 572 00:32:25,600 --> 00:32:28,680 Speaker 1: his empire. And he was he was especially thinking this 573 00:32:28,760 --> 00:32:31,480 Speaker 1: because he had something to prove, you know, he he 574 00:32:31,640 --> 00:32:35,240 Speaker 1: needed to make his name in getting Britannia as a 575 00:32:35,560 --> 00:32:38,040 Speaker 1: colony would be a really good way to do it. Yeah, 576 00:32:38,080 --> 00:32:41,120 Speaker 1: and it seems like he's going to get that fairly smoothly. 577 00:32:41,160 --> 00:32:44,240 Speaker 1: In the beginning, the Romans invade any icn I, along 578 00:32:44,240 --> 00:32:48,360 Speaker 1: with ten other British tribes offer their formal submission to him. Yeah, 579 00:32:48,400 --> 00:32:51,960 Speaker 1: and they're probably thinking, well, maybe it'll be like last time, 580 00:32:52,160 --> 00:32:56,640 Speaker 1: and will submit, will establish trade relations and the Romans 581 00:32:56,640 --> 00:32:59,840 Speaker 1: will go back home. Not so much. No, that's not 582 00:33:00,040 --> 00:33:02,760 Speaker 1: all that happens this time. The Romans don't leave. They 583 00:33:02,840 --> 00:33:06,000 Speaker 1: stay and they set up fortresses. They also installed a 584 00:33:06,040 --> 00:33:09,920 Speaker 1: governor and they ordered the Brits to surrender their weapons, 585 00:33:09,960 --> 00:33:12,760 Speaker 1: which is the first big thing. Yeah, the Ice and 586 00:33:12,800 --> 00:33:15,760 Speaker 1: I are not okay with this at all. They rebel 587 00:33:15,880 --> 00:33:20,000 Speaker 1: at this point. They're defeated and Presidicus Boudica's husband is 588 00:33:20,040 --> 00:33:22,760 Speaker 1: installed as their new king. So so he had not 589 00:33:22,840 --> 00:33:25,400 Speaker 1: been the ruler up until this point. This is why 590 00:33:25,440 --> 00:33:30,680 Speaker 1: we said early on that Presidicus Boudica and Rome had 591 00:33:30,680 --> 00:33:34,280 Speaker 1: an okay relationship with each other. He was essentially governing 592 00:33:34,400 --> 00:33:38,280 Speaker 1: as a client king. But things do not get better 593 00:33:38,480 --> 00:33:41,880 Speaker 1: for the British. Yeah. The governor establishes a colonial for 594 00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:46,080 Speaker 1: retired legionaries, which is just a hot dead for violence 595 00:33:46,160 --> 00:33:49,120 Speaker 1: and trouble. It's supposed to be a model Roman settlement, 596 00:33:49,200 --> 00:33:51,240 Speaker 1: but that is not the case. And of course it's 597 00:33:51,280 --> 00:33:55,040 Speaker 1: also eating up local land too. Yeah. And then the 598 00:33:55,120 --> 00:33:58,920 Speaker 1: new emperor Nero commission's attemple to his uncle Claudius and 599 00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:01,800 Speaker 1: has his financial off certain Britain call in debts issued 600 00:34:01,840 --> 00:34:07,280 Speaker 1: as grants, so just getting more money trouble the British. Yeah, 601 00:34:07,400 --> 00:34:10,520 Speaker 1: and in sixty one, the new governor of Britain, a 602 00:34:10,560 --> 00:34:16,600 Speaker 1: guy named Suetonius paulin Us, desmates this Druid stronghold at 603 00:34:16,600 --> 00:34:19,640 Speaker 1: the Isle of Mona, which is defended, Just to give 604 00:34:19,680 --> 00:34:22,440 Speaker 1: you an idea of what the Romans were up against. 605 00:34:22,440 --> 00:34:26,439 Speaker 1: Its defended by quote, black robed women with disheveled hair, 606 00:34:26,560 --> 00:34:31,520 Speaker 1: like furies brandishing torches and druids raising their hands to 607 00:34:31,600 --> 00:34:36,040 Speaker 1: heaven and screaming dreadful curses. Pretty scary stuff. But the 608 00:34:36,160 --> 00:34:39,280 Speaker 1: Romans end up winning, and after the victory they cut 609 00:34:39,360 --> 00:34:43,880 Speaker 1: down the island Sacred Grove, so a real slap in 610 00:34:43,920 --> 00:34:48,960 Speaker 1: the face to the Britons. But Budhica's beef starts after 611 00:34:49,040 --> 00:34:52,440 Speaker 1: all of this, and it's it's personal. Yeah, it starts 612 00:34:52,440 --> 00:34:55,720 Speaker 1: after her husband dies and leaves half of his estate 613 00:34:55,840 --> 00:34:58,960 Speaker 1: to the Emperor Nero and half to his daughters. And 614 00:34:59,080 --> 00:35:01,839 Speaker 1: you've said, Sarah that this mostly a symbolic thing, right, 615 00:35:01,880 --> 00:35:03,799 Speaker 1: I mean, he was. It was the last ditch kind 616 00:35:03,800 --> 00:35:06,759 Speaker 1: of effort for him. He knew he was a client king, 617 00:35:06,840 --> 00:35:10,120 Speaker 1: he ruled at the pleasure of Emperor Nero, but he 618 00:35:10,200 --> 00:35:13,680 Speaker 1: was hoping that by making this sort of goodwill gesture 619 00:35:14,360 --> 00:35:17,200 Speaker 1: he might be able to secure a little bit of 620 00:35:17,239 --> 00:35:20,440 Speaker 1: his fortune for his wife and his two daughters. It 621 00:35:20,520 --> 00:35:25,320 Speaker 1: does not work, though it completely backfire. No, the Roman 622 00:35:25,320 --> 00:35:29,600 Speaker 1: financial officer doesn't honor the will. His estate is seized 623 00:35:30,000 --> 00:35:33,239 Speaker 1: pseudocus his estate, that is, Boudica is flogged and her 624 00:35:33,320 --> 00:35:37,560 Speaker 1: daughters are raped. So Budica is pretty unhappy about the situation, 625 00:35:37,600 --> 00:35:40,839 Speaker 1: and she starts gathering other angry tribes, many of which 626 00:35:40,840 --> 00:35:44,560 Speaker 1: have been secretly hoarding weapons all the while. So before 627 00:35:44,560 --> 00:35:46,600 Speaker 1: we go any further, just to give you a little 628 00:35:46,640 --> 00:35:50,040 Speaker 1: description of Boudica. She is described much later in a 629 00:35:50,080 --> 00:35:53,920 Speaker 1: much later account as being very tall and grim in appearance, 630 00:35:53,960 --> 00:35:56,920 Speaker 1: with a piercing gaze and a harsh voice. She had 631 00:35:56,960 --> 00:35:59,200 Speaker 1: a mass of very fair hair which she grew down 632 00:35:59,200 --> 00:36:02,080 Speaker 1: to her hips, and wore a great gold torque and 633 00:36:02,280 --> 00:36:04,960 Speaker 1: multi colored tunic folded around her over which was a 634 00:36:05,000 --> 00:36:09,799 Speaker 1: thick cloak fastened with a broach. Yeah, so an imposing 635 00:36:09,880 --> 00:36:13,800 Speaker 1: figure and a note to ladies don't normally wear torqus, 636 00:36:13,880 --> 00:36:18,759 Speaker 1: which are giant gold necklaces, but Buddhica does so. The 637 00:36:18,880 --> 00:36:23,360 Speaker 1: first strike is Kemolodonum, which is the Roman capital in Britain, 638 00:36:23,520 --> 00:36:26,760 Speaker 1: and they don't just charge right in. They have people 639 00:36:26,760 --> 00:36:30,320 Speaker 1: on the inside, presumably Britain's who are who are living 640 00:36:30,360 --> 00:36:33,879 Speaker 1: and working there, who sort of set the stage by 641 00:36:33,920 --> 00:36:37,839 Speaker 1: wigging out the superstitious Romans. And they do that by 642 00:36:38,120 --> 00:36:41,000 Speaker 1: making the statue of Victory fall, so it looks like 643 00:36:41,040 --> 00:36:45,280 Speaker 1: it's been running out of the settlement and just gossiping too, 644 00:36:45,320 --> 00:36:49,000 Speaker 1: you know, talking about oh I saw a ruined phantom 645 00:36:49,080 --> 00:36:52,640 Speaker 1: settlement in the mouth of the Thames, and women acting 646 00:36:52,760 --> 00:36:57,600 Speaker 1: hysterically and talking about destruction and just getting everybody sort 647 00:36:57,600 --> 00:37:00,520 Speaker 1: of on edge before the attack comes, as if they 648 00:37:00,560 --> 00:37:03,319 Speaker 1: really needed to have that little intro pre scare going on. 649 00:37:03,480 --> 00:37:07,200 Speaker 1: Budica's army crushes the town, they destroyed the temple and 650 00:37:07,239 --> 00:37:11,080 Speaker 1: they kill everybody, and archaeological evidence even supports that this 651 00:37:11,160 --> 00:37:14,200 Speaker 1: destruction actually occurred. There are shards of the clay wall 652 00:37:14,280 --> 00:37:17,240 Speaker 1: that have been found that were essentially fired and hardened. 653 00:37:17,239 --> 00:37:19,640 Speaker 1: But he, I mean, it was a mud wall and 654 00:37:19,719 --> 00:37:23,000 Speaker 1: now it's like a pottery wall. That kind of blows 655 00:37:23,040 --> 00:37:27,719 Speaker 1: my mind. Um, but there are levels of ash everywhere. 656 00:37:28,040 --> 00:37:32,319 Speaker 1: Total destruction took place. So after that they took out 657 00:37:32,400 --> 00:37:35,680 Speaker 1: the infantry of the Ninth Legion, just sort of pretty 658 00:37:35,760 --> 00:37:39,319 Speaker 1: quickly the cavalry managed to escape, and from there they 659 00:37:39,360 --> 00:37:42,400 Speaker 1: moved on to lyndeni Um, which at this point was 660 00:37:42,440 --> 00:37:45,920 Speaker 1: only about fifteen years old and it was unwalled. The 661 00:37:46,000 --> 00:37:49,160 Speaker 1: Romans were feeling pretty cocky about it, I guess, and 662 00:37:49,719 --> 00:37:53,360 Speaker 1: Governor sweet Tonius, who has been off fighting those druids 663 00:37:53,360 --> 00:37:57,640 Speaker 1: in Mona, has just now returned and he realizes that 664 00:37:57,719 --> 00:38:01,080 Speaker 1: the town can't be defended, so he orders evacuated. A 665 00:38:01,120 --> 00:38:05,399 Speaker 1: lot of the women and the elderly stay behind, and 666 00:38:05,480 --> 00:38:09,399 Speaker 1: basically everyone who does stay behind is slaughtered by Boudica's 667 00:38:10,040 --> 00:38:13,400 Speaker 1: angry Britain's and this is what we meant before, but 668 00:38:13,920 --> 00:38:17,319 Speaker 1: we can't condone all the actions that are reported on 669 00:38:17,360 --> 00:38:20,200 Speaker 1: this podcast, because that's that's pretty bad. But from there 670 00:38:20,200 --> 00:38:23,200 Speaker 1: she just keeps going. Um. They move on to another 671 00:38:23,280 --> 00:38:26,359 Speaker 1: town which had close association with Rome, and once again 672 00:38:26,480 --> 00:38:32,359 Speaker 1: total destruction. They're punished for their association, but finally Sutnia 673 00:38:33,120 --> 00:38:37,040 Speaker 1: meets Boudica with and the twentie at least part of 674 00:38:37,040 --> 00:38:41,640 Speaker 1: the twentieth legion, and this time he chooses the ground 675 00:38:42,000 --> 00:38:47,040 Speaker 1: and invites the attack, and the Romans are severely outnumbered 676 00:38:47,080 --> 00:38:50,680 Speaker 1: ten thousand to Boudica's two hundred and thirty thousand, but 677 00:38:50,920 --> 00:38:54,000 Speaker 1: they are better trained and they have a little more 678 00:38:54,040 --> 00:38:57,680 Speaker 1: military expertise. This, after all, is not just coming into 679 00:38:58,239 --> 00:39:04,560 Speaker 1: unwalled Londinium and killing everyone. So Boudica's troops charge and 680 00:39:04,680 --> 00:39:07,520 Speaker 1: they are immediately showered with javelins. I feel like that 681 00:39:07,640 --> 00:39:11,759 Speaker 1: happens a lot in a lot of these battles. We 682 00:39:11,840 --> 00:39:15,520 Speaker 1: talk about. Showering of javelins never something you want to see. 683 00:39:16,040 --> 00:39:20,239 Speaker 1: The Brits chariots don't prove very useful because they're in 684 00:39:20,320 --> 00:39:24,040 Speaker 1: a very tight space, and their long swords aren't good either, 685 00:39:24,160 --> 00:39:27,640 Speaker 1: because they're fighting in close quarters. The Romans have much 686 00:39:28,000 --> 00:39:33,400 Speaker 1: shorter swords. They're easier to navigate in this cramped quarter. 687 00:39:34,120 --> 00:39:36,239 Speaker 1: And the other problem is when they moved to retreat 688 00:39:36,480 --> 00:39:40,319 Speaker 1: after they realized, oh no, we're in this, we're actually losing. Yeah, 689 00:39:40,440 --> 00:39:43,839 Speaker 1: they realize that they're blocked by their own wagons, which 690 00:39:43,880 --> 00:39:46,399 Speaker 1: they've brought along with them so their women folk could 691 00:39:46,440 --> 00:39:51,560 Speaker 1: watch the slaughter. And Boudica herself arrived in a chariot 692 00:39:51,600 --> 00:39:54,360 Speaker 1: with her two daughters. So this was really this wasn't 693 00:39:54,440 --> 00:39:58,439 Speaker 1: just a battle where all the men folk went off 694 00:39:58,440 --> 00:40:01,239 Speaker 1: to fight. It was kind of a family affair and 695 00:40:01,880 --> 00:40:05,560 Speaker 1: I guess they were. They were feeling pretty confident going 696 00:40:05,600 --> 00:40:08,560 Speaker 1: into it with such strong numbers, but in the end, 697 00:40:08,760 --> 00:40:13,680 Speaker 1: eighty thousand Brits die and only four hundred Romans. Boudica 698 00:40:13,800 --> 00:40:19,160 Speaker 1: manages to escape somehow. She dies of poison um potentially 699 00:40:19,200 --> 00:40:23,360 Speaker 1: poisoned herself soon afterwards, but she's given a lavish funeral, 700 00:40:23,480 --> 00:40:26,799 Speaker 1: She's treated as a hero and a queen, and all 701 00:40:26,800 --> 00:40:29,720 Speaker 1: of a sudden done. It seems like about seven thousand 702 00:40:29,880 --> 00:40:32,520 Speaker 1: Roman troops were killed during the course of the rebellion 703 00:40:32,960 --> 00:40:38,080 Speaker 1: and a remarkable seventy thousand civilians were killed in the city, 704 00:40:38,280 --> 00:40:43,200 Speaker 1: So pretty big damage from Budica. Yeah, and though the 705 00:40:43,400 --> 00:40:48,400 Speaker 1: rebellion was followed by heavy Roman suppression violence famine, Britain 706 00:40:48,440 --> 00:40:52,040 Speaker 1: eventually became one of the more orderly Roman colonies. So 707 00:40:52,280 --> 00:40:56,239 Speaker 1: no thanks to Buddica. She did not did not contribute 708 00:40:56,280 --> 00:41:00,279 Speaker 1: to that state of being. So I guess that ups 709 00:41:00,400 --> 00:41:03,359 Speaker 1: up our list of women warriors, And of course we've 710 00:41:03,400 --> 00:41:07,040 Speaker 1: done a few earlier episodes throughout them up on other 711 00:41:07,320 --> 00:41:10,560 Speaker 1: famous women fighters, and we hope you've enjoyed it. A 712 00:41:10,600 --> 00:41:14,319 Speaker 1: little treat for the month of March um if you 713 00:41:14,360 --> 00:41:16,319 Speaker 1: have any more. I mean, we're always maybe we'll take 714 00:41:16,360 --> 00:41:19,879 Speaker 1: a break for a while. Let peace prevailed. But um, 715 00:41:19,920 --> 00:41:23,680 Speaker 1: if you have more suggestions, definitely feel free to email 716 00:41:23,800 --> 00:41:26,759 Speaker 1: us at History podcast at how stuff works dot com 717 00:41:26,920 --> 00:41:30,480 Speaker 1: or to comment on Twitter where at missed in history 718 00:41:30,600 --> 00:41:33,600 Speaker 1: or on fadsbook Yeah. And you can also find us 719 00:41:33,719 --> 00:41:36,919 Speaker 1: on how stuff Works blog. Sarah and I blog every week, 720 00:41:37,000 --> 00:41:40,000 Speaker 1: and sometimes we blog about these podcast topics that you 721 00:41:40,040 --> 00:41:43,200 Speaker 1: may see a little more about women warriors there. Sometimes 722 00:41:43,200 --> 00:41:46,080 Speaker 1: we blog about history news if you don't think that's 723 00:41:46,120 --> 00:41:48,640 Speaker 1: too much of a paradox, but you can check them 724 00:41:48,640 --> 00:41:52,840 Speaker 1: out on our homepage by visiting www duck how stuff 725 00:41:52,840 --> 00:41:59,560 Speaker 1: works dot com For more on this and thousands of 726 00:41:59,560 --> 00:42:02,040 Speaker 1: other talks, fix visit how stuff works dot com to 727 00:42:02,160 --> 00:42:05,000 Speaker 1: learn more about the podcast. Click on the podcast icon 728 00:42:05,120 --> 00:42:08,160 Speaker 1: in the upper right corner of our homepage. The how 729 00:42:08,200 --> 00:42:11,040 Speaker 1: Stuff Works iPhone app has a ride. Download it today 730 00:42:11,280 --> 00:42:17,080 Speaker 1: on iTunes. M hmm.