by Jason Porath
* A similar rumor persists to the current day: that carrots improve one’s eyesight. This myth was spread by the English to attack German morale and to hide the existence of a secret technology that helped them shoot down German fighters. Since the German diet was low in carrots, they spread the idea that the British soldiers simply had better eyesight due to their carrot-rich diet.
* A contemporary of the Prophet Muhammad, al-Khansa was considered one of the greatest poets of her age. When a man told her she was the greatest poet among those with breasts, she replied, “I’m the greatest poet among those with testicles too.” Unfortunately, in the mid-2010s her name was co-opted by ISIS/ISIL/Islamic State on the banner for an all-female “moral police” unit. Lame.
* He was either Marguerite’s uncle, brother, or cousin, depending on who you ask.
* The lover’s name is unknown. From his training, one can assume he was a soldier or nobleman, and the fact that his name was kept from official records indicates he was probably of some social standing.
* She likely became pregnant after being stranded, not before.
* Myeongseong was a title bestowed on her in death (similar to Wu Zetian, who went by “Wu Zhao” in life). The name most often used for Myeongseong, and the one used in life, is Queen Min. Her birth name, believe it or not, is unknown. The closest we have to something to go on is Min Jae-yong, which comes from fictional sources and is unverified.
* Daewongun is a title, usually given to a king’s father when he reigns in the king’s stead. Heungson Daewongun did just that until King Gojong was 22.
* The facts of the matter are, as you can imagine, just a bit more complex than “Spaniards suck!” Much of the friction boils down to that classic one-two punch of overwork/taxation by a distant government and underrepresentation in that government. Túpac Amaru tried working within the system for years, petitioning the government and trying to advocate for reform. After that proved as effective as a water balloon in a forest fire, he changed his official stance from “let’s work together” to “screw all y’all,” forced a local magistrate (at gunpoint) to requisition money for the rebellion, and started killing Spaniards.
* Okay, he wasn’t actually Túpac Amaru II. The first one was the actual last Incan king. Micaela’s husband just renamed himself Túpac Amaru II for PR purposes and may not have been related to Túpac Amaru I at all. Micaela’s husband’s actual name was José Gabriel Condorcanqui. May that unruffle the feathers of you Latin America historians out there.
* The racial politics of this period are nightmarishly difficult to summarize. Suffice to say, at one point or another, every ethnicity was trying to kill every other ethnicity. Micaela and Túpac envisioned a pan-ethnic coalition of people, but had a hard time getting everyone else on board.
* This was particularly hard for her, as she was a devout Catholic. The church sided with the Spanish, officially excommunicated Micaela, and published notes decrying the rebellion. Regardless, she kept the faith.
* Wu Zetian is her post-death name; she was known as Wu Zhao in life (similar to how Empress Myeongseong of Korea was renamed after her death and was known by another name in life). “Zetian” means “emulator of heaven,” a claim that, if true, would indicate that there’s a wild time going on behind the pearly gates.
* Namely, her sister, her niece, and possibly her son Li Hong (although some historians maintain Li Hong died of natural causes).
* According to one source, Wu caught the eye of Gaozong’s father early on. An anecdote about this period relates how, when she found that the emperor had a stubborn horse whom nobody could tame, she stepped up to the plate. Asking for an iron whip, an iron mace, and a dagger, she said that she would first whip the horse, and then, if that didn’t work, hit the horse in the head with the mace. If it still didn’t obey, she would slit its throat. The anecdote does not relay the fate of the horse. According to another source, Gaozong’s father ignored her and she had to survive independent of his favor. She eventually developed a relationship with Gaozong, who seemed unlikely to take the throne. After many of his older brothers proved unsuitable, however, Gaozong ascended, and brought Wu with him.
* This appears to have been conflated in numerous write-ups with the “human swine” torture associated with Lu Zhi, another Chinese empress. The torture, inflicted by Lu Zhi on Consort Qi, involved (gore warning!) cutting the victims’ arms and legs off, removing the tongue, and then force-feeding the victims and leaving them to wallow in their own excrement. It is worth noting that copies of the Manual of Entrapment that are available online (and thus of questionable validity) do not contain references to extreme torture.
* Shortest-lived dynasty in Chinese history! 690–705.
* One telling says that she made him become a monk so that he could be around her quarters without the need for castration. Which actually sounds like it could be true.
* The man stuff in question is never specified. Since this book is providing yet another telling, let’s say they were playing the world’s longest game of Duck Duck Goose. It’s in a book now, so it must be true.
* Yes, that’s a pun. No, not apologizing for it.
* In some versions, she’s even BFFs with Makeda, the Queen of Sheba—who’s generally considered to be a 10th-century figure. History is difficult!
* A day after this entry was written, outgoing Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan officially banned the practice. Clearly this entry should have been written sooner.
* This was actually not the middle finger, but a Renaissance equivalent called “the fig.” You do it by balling your fist up and sticking your thumb between your index and middle fingers. While it’s fallen into disuse, certain countries still find it obscene—try it with your friends and see which ones react!
* This account—one of the things everyone loves best about her—is, tragically, almost certainly inaccurate, as Elisabeth Lev points out in The Tigress of Forlì. In reality, Caterina probably refused to see them at all, and most firsthand accounts paint her as severely distressed over her kids. The anecdote was probably invented by Caterina’s detractors, like Machiavelli, to make her seem like an outrageous woman.
* One of the chief sources of punishable gossip was her secret marriage to the new commander of Ravaldino—a much, much younger man. She was so besotted with him that she became uncharacteristically subservient, deferring to his opinions in matters of government. His de facto reign ended abruptly when he was brutally murdered by a cadre of assassins that included Caterina’s own son. In that instant, Caterina’s old self came back with a vengeance: she crushed the assassins and imprisoned her own son. Mother and son eventually patched things up, but it took a while.
* Although the term has been used to signify a number of different groups, in this case, it refers to a series of organizations that mobilized the southern black vote.
Table of Contents
DEDICATION
INTRODUCTION
HOLD UP A SECOND!
Khutulun (1260–1306, MONGOLIA)
Tatterhood (NORWEGIAN FAIRY TALE)
Agnodice (4TH CENTURY BCE, GREECE)
Te Puea Herangi (1883–1952, NEW ZEALAND)
Moremi Ajasoro (12TH CENTURY, NIGERIA)
Sybil Ludington (1761–1839, UNITED STATES)
Kurmanjan Datka (1811–1907, KYRGYZSTAN)
Andamana (C. 14TH CENTURY, CANARY ISLANDS)
Mary Seacole (1805–1881, JAMAICA/CRIMEA) and Florence Nightingale (1820–1910, ENGLAND/CRIMEA)
Gráinne “Grace O’Malley” Ní Mháille (1530–1603, IRELAND)
“Stagecoach” Mary Fields (1832–1914, UNITED STATES)
Yennenga (EARLY 12TH CENTURY, BURKINA FASO/GHANA)
Annie Jump Cannon (1863–1941, UNITED STATES)
Wilma Rudolph (1940–1994, UNITED STATES)
Alfhild (5TH CENTURY, DENMARK)
Calafia (16TH-CENTURY SPANISH MYTH)
Keumalahayati (16TH–17TH CENTURY, INDONESIA)
Marie Marvingt (1875–1963, FRANCE)
Iara (BRAZILIAN LEGEND)
Jane Dieulafoy (1851–1916, FRANCE/PERSIA)
Tin Hinan (C. 4TH–5TH CENTURY, ALGERIA)
Hatshepsut (1508–1458 BCE, EGYPT)
Emmy Noether (1882–1935, GERMANY)
Ka’ahumanu (C. 1768–1832, HAWAII)
Katie Sandwina (1884–1952, AUSTRIA/UNITED STATES)
Gracia Mendes Nasi (1510–1569, PORTUGAL/ITALY/TURKEY)
Sayyida al-Hurra (C. 1482–1562, MOROCCO)
Matilda of Tuscany (1046–1115, ITALY)
Moll Cutpurse (1584–1659, ENGLAND)
Nellie Bly (1864–1922, UNITED STATES) and Elizabeth Bisland (1861–1929, UNITED STATES)
Trung Trac and Trung Nhi (1ST CENTURY CE, VIETNAM)
Yaa Asantewaa (C. 1830–1921, GHANA [ASANTE CONFEDERACY])
Gertrude Bell (1868–1926, IRAQ [MESOPOTAMIA]/ENGLAND)
Eustaquia de Souza and Ana Lezama de Urinza (1639–C. 1661, BOLIVIA)
Mary Bowser (19TH CENTURY, UNITED STATES)
Pope Joan (9TH CENTURY, VATICAN CITY)
Nwanyeruwa (EARLY 20TH CENTURY, NIGERIA)
Mary Lacy (1740–1801, ENGLAND)
Josefina “Joey” Guerrero (1918–1996, PHILIPPINES)
Chiyome Mochizuki (16TH CENTURY, JAPAN)
Nana Asma’u (1793–1864, NIGERIA [SOKOTO CALIPHATE])
Julie “La Maupin” d’Aubigny (1670–1707, FRANCE)
Nanny of the Maroons (C. 1680–C. 1750, JAMAICA)
Xtabay (MESOAMERICAN MYTH)
Tomoe Gozen (1157–1247, JAPAN)
Empress Theodora (C. 497–548, TURKEY)
Rani Lakshmibai (1828–1858, INDIA)
Mariya Oktyabrskaya (1905–1944, RUSSIA)
Yael (C. 13TH CENTURY BCE, KINGDOM OF ISRAEL)
Wallada bint al-Mustakfi (C. 1000–1091, SPAIN [ANDALUSIA])
Ada Lovelace (1815–1852, ENGLAND)
Laskarina Bouboulina (1771–1825, GREECE)
Ching Shih (1775–1844, CHINA)
Christine de Pizan (1364–C. 1430, FRANCE)
Harriet Tubman (1822–1913, UNITED STATES)
Anne Hutchinson (1591–1643, UNITED STATES)
Petra “Pedro” Herrera (LATE 19TH CENTURY–EARLY 20TH CENTURY, MEXICO)
A’isha bint abi Bakr (614–678, SAUDI ARABIA [ARABIA])
Olga of Kiev (890–969, UKRAINE)
Agontime and the Dahomey Amazons (19TH CENTURY, BENIN)
Mata Hari (1876–1917, FRANCE)
Josephine Baker (1906–1975, UNITED STATES/FRANCE)
Dhat al-Himma (8TH-CENTURY ARABIAN MYTH)
Alice Clement (1878–1926, UNITED STATES)
Shajar al-Durr (C. 1220–1257, EGYPT)
Amba/Sikhandi (INDIAN MYTH)
Khawlah bint al-Azwar (7TH CENTURY, SYRIA/JORDAN/PALESTINE [ARABIA])
Princess Caraboo (1791–1864, ENGLAND)
Anita Garibaldi (1821–1849, BRAZIL/URUGUAY/ITALY)
Tomyris (6TH CENTURY BCE, KAZAKHSTAN)
Emmeline Pankhurst (1858–1929, ENGLAND)
Marjana (ARABIAN MYTH)
Mai Bhago (LATE 17TH CENTURY–MID-18TH CENTURY, INDIA)
Hortense Mancini (1646–1699, FRANCE/ITALY/ENGLAND) and Marie Mancini (1639–1715, FRANCE/ITALY/SPAIN)
Nzinga Mbande (1583–1663, ANGOLA [NDONGO])
Hypatia (350 [370]–415, EGYPT)
Jezebel (9TH CENTURY BCE, KINGDOM OF ISRAEL)
Qiu Jin (1875–1907, CHINA)
Yoshiko Kawashima (1907–1948, CHINA/JAPAN)
Joan of Arc (1412–1431, FRANCE)
Osh-Tisch (LATE 19TH CENTURY–EARLY 20TH CENTURY, CROW NATION/UNITED STATES)
The Night Witches (C. 1940, RUSSIA)
Sita (INDIAN MYTH)
Kharboucha (19TH-CENTURY MOROCCAN LEGEND)
Marguerite de la Rocque (MID-16TH CENTURY, CANADA/FRANCE)
Noor Inayat Khan (1914–1944, FRANCE)
Empress Myeongseong (1851–1895, KOREA)
Micaela Bastidas (1744–1781, PERU/BOLIVIA)
Neerja Bhanot (1963–1986, INDIA)
Boudica (C. 20–60 CE, ENGLAND)
Artemisia Gentileschi (1593–1653, ITALY)
Wu Zetian (624–705, CHINA)
Arawelo (C. 15 CE, SOMALIA)
Caterina Sforza (1463–1509, ITALY)
Elisabeth Báthory (1560–1614, HUNGARY)
Malinche (1496 [1501]–1529, MEXICO)
Ida B. Wells (1862–1931, UNITED STATES)
Phoolan Devi (1963–2001, INDIA)
IT DOESN’T HAVE TO STOP HERE!
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
CREDITS
COPYRIGHT
ABOUT THE PUBLISHER
