#female revolutionaries

Laskarina Bouboulina (1771-1825) was a Greek revolutionary and naval commander.

AnArvanite Greek born in a Constantinople prison, Bouboulina was the daughter of a ship captain from Hydra island. When she was a child her father died in the Orlov Revolution, a failed Greek rebellion against Ottoman rule. After this her extensive family moved to the island of Spetses. She married twice, first to a wealth shipowner and later to a Captain Bouboulis, whose name she took. When Bouboulis was killed by pirates, Bouboulina took over his trading business and began to amass her own fleet, commissioning the construction of four new ships.

In 1816 the Ottomans tried to seize Bouboulina’s property as her husband had fought with the Russians against them during the Turko-Russian wars. She managed to thwart these attempts with the help of Count Pavel Strogonov, the Russian Ambassador in Constantinople. However she was actively working against the Ottomans as a member of the Filiki Eteria, a secret organisation plotting to overthrow Ottoman control over Greece. Her principal role was as a smuggler, bringing food, weapons, and ammunition into Spetses. She also used her wealth to construct her own personal warship named the Agammennon, one of the largest vessels of the period.

In early 1821 the Filiki Eteria and other revolutionaries began the Greek War of Independence with support from Russia and other European powers. Twelve days before the war started Bouboulina was the first to raise the revolutionary flag, flying a modified Greek flag from the mast of the Agamemnon. She assisted the people of Spetses in their revolt before sailing with eight ships to Nafplion to begin a naval blockade. She later took part in the blockade and capture of the coastal cities of MonemvasiaandPylos. She was also present at the fall of Tripoli in September 1821, and during the subsequent attack on the Ottoman garrison she gave protection to the female members of the sultan’s household. In the aftermath of the battle she bore witness to the creation of the new Greek state, the First Hellenic Republic.

Over the course of the war Bouboulina was considered an equal with other revolutionary commanders and was involved in planning their strategy.  She became good friends with General Theodoros Kolokotronis and their children later married. She settled in Nafplion, the new Greek capital, until 1824 when the Greek factions turned on each other in civil war. Kolokotronis was imprisoned by his former allies and Bouboulina was arrested twice due to her association with him. She was exiled to Spetses, her fortune having been exhausted from fighting for Greek independence.

In 1825 Bouboulina was killed in an argument with the head of the Koutsis family, whose daughter Bouboulina’s son had eloped with. While confronting the family from her balcony she was shot through the head and died instantly. After her death the Emperor of Russia gave her the honorary rank of Admiral in the Russian Navy, at the time the only woman in history to hold the title. Today she is remembered as a Greek national hero without whom the Greeks might never have gained their independence.

Juana Azurduy (1780-1862), also known as Juana Azurduy de Padilla, was a South American guerrilla leader who fought for independence from Spanish rule in the early 19th century.

Azurduy was born in Chuquisaca, in what is now Bolivia but was at the time part of the Viceroyalty of Río de la Plata, a Spanish territory which controlled present day Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay. She was a mestiza by birth, born to a Spanish father and an indigenous mother, however following the death of her father she was raised to be a nun in a convent. She was expelled at the age of 17 for her rebellious behaviour.

Azurduy had a deep appreciation for the indigenous people of Bolivia and in addition to Spanish she spoke the South American languages QuechuaandAymara. In 1805 she married a man who shared this passion, Manuel Padilla, with whom she had four children. When the Bolivian War of Independence began in 1809 both Azurduy and Padilla immediately joined the revolutionary forces and went on to command a 2000-strong guerrilla army in the fight against the Spanish. Padilla was later made civil and military commander for a large area around Chuquisaca and by 1813 their army numbered nearly 10,000 soldiers.

Between 1811 and 1817, Azurduy fought in 23 battles in the effort to liberate the region. During this time Azurduy dressed in male cavalry uniform, keeping her hair under a military cap, and became proficient in fighting with swords, rifles and cannon. On March 8th 1816, her forces captured the Cerro Rico of Potosí, which was the main source of Spanish silver. During the battle Azurduy personally led a cavalry charge which captured the enemy standard. For these acts she was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and was personally honoured by General Manuel Belgrano, who gifted her with his own sword.

However Azurduy’s successes came at great cost. Her children were captured by enemy forces and although she and Padilla launched a ferocious raid to save them, all of the children were killed. Azurduy herself was injured in the attempt and Padilla was captured and killed in late 1816. When the Spanish mounted heavy counter-attacks against Bolivian forces in 1818, Azurduy retreated with her forces into Northern Argentina. Here she continued to fight the Spanish with an army of 6000. She also gave birth to a new daughter in the middle of a battle, returning to the fight shortly after the child had been born.

In 1825 Bolivia declared independence and Azurduy was able to return to Chuquisaca. However her efforts in the wars were largely forgotten and she spent the rest of her life in poverty. She died in obscurity in 1862, however her memory has been resurrected in more recent times. She is now remembered as a national hero of both Bolivia and Argentina, has posthumously been granted the rank of General in the Argentinian army, and a 52-foot high statue of her was unveiled in Buenos Aires in July 2015.