Women have been fighters ever since fighting was invented, but were rarely ever allowed, much less invited, to participate in wars and revolutions. But there were always some who took it upon themselves to do what needed to be done, and a few that made their place in history. Still, they don’t get the credit they deserve. This list has a few women warriors I bet you’ve never heard of, like the Greek freedom fighter Laskarina Bouboulina.
Bouboulina was born in a Constantinople prison to parents who were locked up for taking part in a failed Greek revolution against Ottoman rule. She played a big part in making sure the next revolution turned out differently. Obsessed with the sea and sailing from a young age, she married two naval commanders (who both died in battles with pirates). In 1821, as a 50-year-old mother of seven who'd inherited a considerable fortune, Bouboulina decided to become a naval leader herself. She financed and took control of the flagship of the fledgling Greek navy, which she named the Agamemnon, and commanded an eight-strong fleet in the ultimately successful Greek War of Independence. She didn't live to see its successful conclusion but was posthumously given the rank of admiral in the Russian Imperial Navy, which had allied with Greece against the Ottomans.
Read about nine other female military leaders at The Mary Sue.
Secondly, a few things about her life that were written wrong. Her parents were not both in prison. Only her father, Stavrianos Pinotsis, was imprisoned. She was born when her mother, Skevo, visited her father there. She didn't have seven children. She had six, three from each marriage.
About her death. She didn't die in a battle. She was murdered -during an argument- because one of her sons was in loved with the daughter of a very rich family from Spetses island, Greece, where she and her family were living, that didn't want that marriage. Anyone can visit her house in Spetses island and see a lot of her stuff because nowadays it's a museum.