It’s a man’s world – or is it? The current state of politics and the world can leave a girl feeling defeated and depressed, uncomfortable or just plain unsafe. While this may not be new to history, the Women’s March in January was just the latest in a long line of movements where women refused to sit down and take it. In honor of Women’s History Month, Her Campus Pitt has written a series of articles to showcase a taste of notable, unknown ladies who shouldn’t be forgotten. Up first: Queens, politicians and warriors galore!
Sophia Duleep Singh
Sophia Duleep Singh was Queen Victoria’s goddaughter, an exiled Indian princess and one of the most committed suffragettes in Britain. Her father was one of Queen Victoria’s favorites, and the Singh family was given certain privileges while the British Empire proceeded to steal their kingdom. On this favor, Sophia and her siblings were raised in the lap of British Aristocratic luxury, growing up in Hampton Court Palace. She would eventually sell feminist newspapers in front of the palace. As a young woman, she became an active member of the Women’s Social and Political Union, working closely with Emmeline Pankhurst – a hero of the British suffragette movement. On November 18, 1910, Sophia and Pankhurst lead the “Black Friday” protest – a legendary demonstration where 400 women marched on London, and 150 of them would be assaulted by the police. As a notable representative of the Indian women’s branch of suffragettes, Sophia was also a part of the 60,000 women protest in 1911.
For more information, check out Stuff You Missed in History Class.
Mabel Walker Willebrandt
At the height of Prohibition, the U.S. government had seen too many lawbreakers walk free. To make sure the “nation of scofflaws” obeyed the new dry-laws, they appointed Mabel Walker-Willebrandt as U.S. Assistant Attorney General in 1921. Despite her love of the occasional drink, Willebrandt was the logical choice. During her years holding this position, she was known as the “First Lady of Law” and “Mrs. Firebrand” for her strict adherence to the Volstead Act – the main piece of Prohibition legislation. Uncompromising in the face of a severely unpopular law, Willebrandt’s office prosecuted 48,734 cases in 1925 and 1925 alone – resulting in 39,000 convictions. She submitted 278 cases to the Supreme Court, arguing more than 40 herself. Upon her death, her longtime friend Judge John Sirica said: “If Mabel had worn trousers, she could have been president.”
For more information: Kens Burns’ Prohibition.
Isabella I of Castile
“In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue” – and he couldn’t have done it without Queen Isabella. Forget everything you learned in elementary school. From 1474 until 1504, the Kingdom of Castile (the largest in Spain at the time) was ruled by Isabella alone. Ferdinand, who ruled Aragon, was off on military campaigns, staying home only long enough to resupply and have marital relations. At 23 years old, Isabella declared herself Queen of Castile in an elaborate ceremony involving a jewel-encrusted red dress and a massive sword pointed straight into the sky. As a devout Catholic with a mind for statecraft, she was one of the first women to rule a European kingdom outright – as in, she was the power on the throne, not behind it. Isabella propelled her kingdom into the future by sponsoring voyages of discovery and encouraging innovative art and architecture. However, she is best known for her hand in the Spanish Inquisition, Reconquista, and exiling the Jewish from Spain.
For more information: on Isabella’s life; on the Spanish Inquisition; the Expulsion from Spain.
Dowager Empress CiXi
Also known as “the Dragon Lady,” Empress CiXi (pronounced “suh-she”) effectively ruled China for 47 years. Granted, she spent a lot of that time sitting behind a folding screen while her son held court, but in the end, she was the brain that lead the country. She is credited with pushing China into the 19th century – building railroads across the landscape, engaging in trade with both Europe and the United States, and being a force of nature when it came to protecting China’s interests. She held back the British, who wanted to control certain ports and certain goods.
For more information: Stuff You Missed in History Class or Empress Orchid; The Opium Wars.
Caterina Sforza, countess of Forli
Caterina Sforza was a tigress among men. Married three times into some of the most powerful families in Italy, she proved herself stronger than all those families combined. Caterina was the illegitimate daughter of the Duke of Milan in a time when “outside children” were raised alongside their half brothers and sisters. She was an accomplished hunter, horseback rider, and well-read for a woman of the Renaissance. She even insulted Machiavelli, one of the most prominent men of the age. As an adult, she would be locked in a furious battle of ideology and self-rule with the Vatican state. She would be forever remembered for her battle against the pope’s son, Cesare Borgia, where she launched a surprise attack from her castle on Christmas morning. Caterina would ultimately be defeated by Borgia, but not after months of the man underestimating her military mind and unwavering resolve.
For more information: The Tigress of Forli and Rejected Princesses.
Alice Paul
Alice Paul was the architect of second-wave women’s suffrage. Building on the legacies of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Paul led the struggle for a women’s right to vote like a well-oiled machine. Militant, outspoken, and unhampered by her pacifist upbringing, she was the first of the “iron-jawed angels” – women who had been arrested during protests who went on hunger strikes during their jail time – and went so far as to picket presidential events. Making enemies was the least of Paul’s worries. Her commitment was entirely to her cause, her devotion laying totally in voting rights, women’s rights and a new interpretation of feminism.
For more information: The Alice Paul Institute.
Inez Millholland
Described as the embodiment of “all the things which make the Suffrage Movement something more than a fight to vote,” Inez Milholland was a woman leagues ahead of her time. A champion of woman and children, the poor, incarcerated, hardworking and disenfranchised, this Vassar graduate made it her mission to create a world fit for every person in it. Milholland was a labor lawyer, public speaker, and active participant in the National Women’s Party. She wrote on World War I and attended the 1913 Woman Suffrage Procession on horseback, leading her troops into battle. She was a close colleague of the Iron Jawed Angels, Lucy Burns and Alice Paul. Unfortunately, Inez Milholland was not long for this world. She died in Los Angeles at the age of 33.
For more information: Time Magazine and Vassar College.
Kandake Amanirenas
Amanirenas was the queen, or kandake, of Meroe/Kush/Nubia (they’re all the same place) from the year 40 to the year 10 BC. A warrior of great renown, Amanirenas reportedly dressed like a man and had only one eye. She launched fierce attacks on both Egypt and the Romans, emerging victorious from each. Upon her defeat of the encroaching Roman army, the kandake took a bronze statue of Emperor Augustus and buried it at the foot of her throne. Anyone who came to an audience with Amanirenas had to step on the head of the Roman emperor before speaking to the woman who defeated his army. Fun fact: the title “kandake,” meaning queen, is the origin of the name “Candace.”
More Information: Rejected Princesses.
Queen Anna Nzinga of Matamba
Beware to all European colonists: African queens are not to be underestimated. Queen Nzinga was no exception. The ruler of Ndongo-Matamba in what is now Angola, she was a master of diplomacy in an age where would-be conquerors waited at every door. From 1624 to 1663, she primarily dealt with the Portuguese, inviting them into her palace to negotiate their limits in the kingdom. To further keep the men in their place – commoners before a queen – Nzinga made the Portuguese sit on the floor in front of her during all proceedings. They took her seriously, too. It wasn’t for another 200 years after Nzinga’s death that the Portuguese colonized the area.
For more information: Stuff You Missed in History Class.