History That's More Than 2-Dimensional.

Morality: Mixed

Isabelle Eberhardt (1877-1904)

The Undefinable Adventurer

This undefinable adventurer's life burnt bright but short: a wildcard of the Algerian revolution, she survived an assassination attempt by sabre, and died in a freak desert flood.

Charlotte Badger (1778-?)

Convict, Pirate, Adopted Maori, Mom

The first European woman to end up in New Zealand, Charlotte Badger was part pirate, part adopted Maori, and part mom. Which part is which is somewhat lost to history.

The strongest, strangest Inuit woman ever

An Inuit woman so strong nobody could even beat her lice in arm-wrestling, her story just gets stranger the closer you look.

Masako Hojo (1157-1225)

When her shogun husband cheated on her, she raised an army and destroyed the other woman's house. Later she deposed her incompetent son to become the first nun to rule Japan.

Brazil's Lady of the Lake

When this indigenous Brazilian warrior mermaid proved too awesome for her tribe, she just took up residence in the water, and started an aquatic harem of passers-by.

Hester Stanhope (1776-1839)

The Desert Queen

100 years before Lawrence of Arabia, this British woman traveled the Middle East by herself, surviving shipwrecks, plagues, and Bedouin attacks in the process.

Gudit (920s?-980s?)

Princess of Beta Israel

This Jewish-Ethiopian warrior queen took the throne, ended a millennium-old biblical dynasty, and caused a break in Ethiopia's history that has not healed to this day - or did she...?

Boudica (20s?-60 CE)

The Headhunter Queen

This legendary warrior queen killed 70,000 Romans, burnt London to the ground, and became the most famous headhunter of all time - and to this day, Britain loves her for it.

Tomyris (6th century BCE)

Head-defiling Warrior Queen

When the most powerful man in the world made plans on her country, she: turned down his marriage proposal, destroyed his armies, and defiled his head so famously that she became legend for centuries thereafter.

Ching Shih (1775-1844)

Princess of the Chinese Seas

Headed a squadron of 80,000 pirates, ruled the Chinese seas for two decades, and actually retired happily - but not before extorting a nice pension from the Chinese government.