FReeper Canteen ~ Part X of Women Warriors: Women Revolutionaries ~ March 23, 2004

GenderGap.com ^ | March 23, 2004 | LaDivaLoca

[LaDivaLoca]

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Part X: Women Revolutionaries

In 1670 Alyona, a former nun, led a troop of rebels who took the Russian town of Temnikov. She was eventually captured by government soldiers and burned at the stake.

In Mexico both Zapata's and Pancho Villa's peasant armies included women revolutionaries called "soldaderas" who originated in the ranks of the camp followers who provided water, food, clothing and medical care for the troops. The soldaderas organized their own units, armed themselves with pistols and rifles and engaged in battle alongside the men. Adelita, heroine of the revolutionary song, fought with Zapata's forces. During the Mexican War of Independence in 1810 Gertrudis Bocanegra raised an army of women and led them in battle. She died in 1817 after being arrested and tortured. (Click on picture for link to additional information)

The two pictures above show very different views of soldaderas. The first artist on the top, Jose Guadalupe Posada, shows the soldadera as a menacing figure, a soldier who is ready to fight; the only thing distinguishing her from a male soldier is her dress. The second artist, Angel Martin, portrays the soldadera as a sexual being, upholding the stereotype that the purpose of a soldadera was to seduce the male soldiers. (Arrizon 22-23)

The view portrayed in the last picture distorted the image of soldaderas because in reality, they were ordinary women that were extraordinary only in their will to fight for what they believed in. Most of them were mestizas or Indian women, including schoolteachers and wives of soldiers who had nowhere to go. They were both educated and uneducated, rich and poor. Many soldaderas went into battle with their children on their backs. Soldaderas showed just as much courage as their male counterparts during combat. They were also important because they had other skills that sustained the troops. They cooked, foraged for food, nursed wounded or sick soldiers, or performed other much-needed tasks. (Arrizon 1-23)

Baltazara Chuiza led a revolt against the Spanish in Ecuador in 1778 ... Micaela Bastidas fought alongside her husband, Tupac Amaru in the Peruvian rebellion of 1780, leading troops of both men and women in battle. (Micaela, picture on the right)

In 1780 Manuela Beltran organized a peasant uprising to protest excess taxation in Columbia and led her forces against government troops. She was the first person to publicly challenge the Spanish exploitation. When the Spanish crown increased taxes,  Manuela took from the tax collector's hand the edict and tore it - something previously unseen. She organized a peasant revolt in the main cities of the north east. The news and success of the revolt served as a catalyst for a revolution throughout the New Granada. But when the word reached the Viceroy, a head-hunt for Manuela was organized, resulting in her decapitation. She was the first seed of defiance against the colonizer and became a national martyr.

Lorenza Avemanay, a South American Indian, led a revolt against the Spanish in Ecuador in 1803.

Juana Azurduy was a guerilla leader in Bolivia in the early 1800s

In 1825 Ana Monterrosso de Lavelleja was the leader of the "Thirty-three Orientales", a guerrilla force which fought the Spanish in Uruguay.

Louisa Battistati, an Italian patriot, defended the town of Milan for 5 days and afterward the nearby town of Bettabia, during the Revolution of 1848.

Mariana Braceti, a Puerto Rican revolutionary in the 1860's, led troops of men and women in battle and was known as the "golden arm" because of her skill with a sword.

Candelaria Figuerdo was 16 when she joined the Cuban revolutionary forces in 1868 and is said to be the first woman to fight in the ranks in defense of Cuba.

Mahal Hazrat, the Begum of Oudhad, was an Indian Muslim queen who defended Lucknow against the British during the Indian Mutiny of 1857-1858. Sword in hand, Begum Hazrat Mahal led forces herself and directed army operations. (Click on picture for additional information)

Lakshmi Bai, the Rani of Jhansi, was another woman prominent in the Indian Mutiny. She was the regent for her infant son and the military advisor for the Jhansi army. When Jhansi was attacked by the British she called on all noblewomen to defy purdah and join her on the battlefield. She was killed in battle at the age of 22. (Click on picture for additional information)

Tarabai of Rajasthan led male and female troops into battle against the British during the Mutiny. She died on the battlefield after being stabbed in the back by a British soldier while trying to carry one of her wounded soldiers to safety ... There were a number of women in the Rajput Army included one all female cavalry troop.

Louise Clemence  Michel, a leader of the Paris Commune, prevented General Franco's Nationalist from taking over the city through repeated guerilla attacks on his forces. In 1871 the women of the commune banded together, armed themselves and joined the fighting as an all female brigade.

Next Tuesday, Conclusion of Women Warriors
American Women in Uniform

[Pippin]

sigh!

[Fawnn]

It was made using a picture of some blue rose fabric as a fill pattern, then tweaked with a glass filter.

[Fawnn]

690 words written!!! But,...

The stuff I need to work on next requires Web searches and the Net's so slow that it's driving me crazy! So, I'm going to step away from the computer for a few -- and hope tomkow quits messing up the Internet while I'm gone.

(I'm also going to be hoping that txradioguy gets his fanny back here to share his updates, too!)

Be back latersssssssssssssss ;)

[StarCMC]

You guys are doing an amazing job over there and I am so proud of you!! I will, however, be glad when you're all home safe and sound. Take it easy and be careful!! HUGS!!

[Arrowhead1952]

An inspection was easier than a Honey Do list? LOL

No joke. We had all of the shop's administrative stuff done before I left on leave. The crew cleaned the entire shop, and everything went great.

One of the biggest jobs on my HD list was to pressure wash the entire house. That was a bugger. The paint looks like new again, and I just used one gallon of bleach and a few cups of soap. My arms ached for three days after that.

[armyboy]

LOL!

[StarCMC]

My 2yo's favorite song! That and "Green Green." LOL!!

[Arrowhead1952]

Hey there Arrowhead!! Good to see ya! HUGS!!

Good to be back at work and FR. I didn't even have a chance to log on last week. I guess I should give myself a slap on the hand for that.

[Pippin]

Thanks! (i think);O)

[StarCMC]

Well, you were missed! Glad you're back!!

[StarCMC]

Calling all Texas Canteeners....
Just curious if any of you are in teh Terlingua/Big Bend Nat'l Park area????

[tomkow6]

Pippin, you got a WHOLE LOTTA catchin' up to do!

[E.G.C.]

We have a slight chance of storms tonight through Friday. Otherwise sunny and warm.

[armyboy]

I have to go. I need sleep to get ready for a lond days work tomorrow. Talk to y'all later.

[Diva Betsy Ross]

hey bud.. you are claiming some big things 'round here... Everyone knows that I have a standing order for #350... ha! ;}

[Diva Betsy Ross]

ooops.. hope it wasn't anything I said. Have a good one armyboy.. It is so nice to have you here! Even if you are tryin' to lift my woo hoos!

[Diva Betsy Ross]

Well that sounds like a song request to me! BTW- You did really good for having heard the song for a long time!

YOU'RE GRAND OLD FLAG

JUST KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE FLAG!! THE HOME OF THE FREE AND THE BRAVE... Yes I am braggin' 'bout it!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Oh my goodness....690!! Good girl.

[IPWGOP]

Oh my gosh, I cannot keep up with you guys on this thread!! I keep laughing at all the stuff and the next thing I know... there's another 50 postings!!

!!

The squirrels dancing and the ducks tapping their feet... and the gorilla-welcome... this is the best thread!!

well, I don't have a funny one today, but I do have a heartfelt one...

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good afternoon, *TT*. I hope you had a good morning, and you've already had a nap.
I wish I could take a nap too. Are you all rested from you big weekend?