Strong Females
The Toughest Female Warriors in History
Skilled warriors were not men alone, but the female had their names too.
Great wars had seen skilled warriors who not only have won these wars but had made history. History has immortalized them because of their valour and strength.
But very often we see that these noble warriors were men. Few of us know that there were female warriors too who also compelled history to remember them for their skills, strength and valour.
These women were not only skilled in the art of war but also were outstanding leaders and had led enormous armies to the battlefields. They have fought bravely and have won with distinction.
They have subdued mighty men, warriors and armies and have proved their mettle on every field and were short of men of great statures in any way. They have changed and challenged the stigma that women are weak and fragile and need protection.
Rather they have waged wars, conquered countries, and protected the weak and lead the kingdoms.
Grace O’Malley
Grace O’Malley was born around 1530 AD to Eoghan Dubhdara Ó Máille in County Mayo. Her family was based in Clew Bay, and her father was the ruler of Small and the lord of the Ó Máille dynasty, in Irland.
She belonged to a seafaring family, and they had controlled the fishery business far off to England and other countries. Her father had wanted a son to look after his country and the seafaring business. But he was not disappointed by her birth.
Once she wished to go with her father on seafaring activities, she was told that she can’t go on the voyage because she was a girl and a daughter of the chieftain of the clan.
This enraged her and she cut her hair to compel her father to take her. She even dressed as a boy and went on the seafaring of the high seas.
When she was 15, she was married to d Donal O’Flaherty. Donal was the son of the chief of the O’Flaherty clan and was an heir to the title. Her father gave her to Donal to strengthen his political clout in the region.
She bore three children to Donal — one daughter and two sons. When Donal died in an ambush while hunting in 1565, she was just 23 years old.
She remarried Risdeard an Iarainn in 1566 and bore one son to him.
Her tremendous achievements
- Upon the death of her father, she became the queen and a tough leader of her clan. She led her clan successfully in every thick and thin and established her powerful hold on her region as a woman.
- She continued her father’s legacy and controlled vast regions through her seafaring activities. She started sea raids and through piracy gathered a lot of wealth and riches. Her raids on the adjoining regions won her numerous castles and lands.
- In 1567, she won a decisive victory over Algerian pirates. According to legends, she led her crew to victory after one hour of giving birth to her son Tobold.
- She had a strong 23 ship fleet and commanded almost 200 men. In 1574, she defeated English raiders at Rockfleet Castle.
- To curtail her activities of piracy, the English governor Sir Richard Bingham led an expedition against her and seized her son, brother and her property. She was demanded to cease her activities or they will execute her family. She asked for assistance from Queen Elizabeth and sailed to England and demanded a meeting with the Queen herself.
- She met the Queen in 1593 and pleaded her case for her son and brother so successfully that the Queen released them both. According to the legends, she refused to bow to the Queen as she considered herself equal with the Queen and demanded a meeting equally.
- She died the same year the Queen died — in 1603 — possibly in her Rockfleet Castle.
Rani Lakshmibai
Rani Lakshmi Bai was born in a Marathi Karhade Brahmin family on 19 November 1828, in Varanasi, Banaras, India. Lakshmi Bai was not her actual name rather she was named Manikarnika Tambe. She got the nickname Manu in her childhood.
Her father, Moropant Tambe, was a commander of the forces of Peshwa Baji Rao II of Bithoor district. He was skilled in martial arts, swordsmanship, and the art of fighting and war. He even commanded the war Kalyanpranth for Peshwa Baji Rao II.
Lakshmi Bai lost her mother during her tender age. Her father took responsibility for her upbringing with great care and educated her in-home initially. But as her father was working in the court of Baji Rao, she was also allowed to attend the court with all others.
Her education was not limited to reading and writing but unlike the expectations of a patriarchal society of the Indian Sub-continent, she was trained in sword fighting, horse riding, fencing, shooting, and Mallakamba — (A gymnastic sports that involve aerial yoga postures and wrestling grips for hanging and jumping on the wooden pole).
In May 1842, she was married to Gangadhar Rao Nawalka — the Maharaja of Jhansi — and acquired the name, Lakshmi Bai, as a tradition of Maharashtra to give women a title after marriage.
She gave birth to a son who couldn’t survive long and died after 4 months. Her husband adopted his nephew as his son one day before his death. He did this to save the kingdom of Jhansi from going into the hands of the British under the treaties Doctrine of Lapse with the British East India Company if the ruler has no heir.
Governor-General Lord Dalhousie rejected the claim of the Gangadhar Rao’s adopted son and tried to annexe the whole of Jhansi State.
Instead of ceding Jhansi to the British under the Doctrine of Lapse, the 22-year-old queen of Jhansi, Lakshmi Bai, tried to make her state independent. She was reluctant at first to make any advancement, but when the Mutiny of 1857 started in Meerut on 10 May, she was certain that now is the time to make her state independent from the yoke of the British.
The British at first demanded a peaceful surrender of the Jhansi State, which Lakshmibai refused. The British troops made their advancement under the command of Sir Hugh Rose, against the Jhansi state to annexe it.
On 23 March 1858, Rose besieged the Jhansi State, and a fierce battle followed. Lakshmi Bai showed stiff resistance to the invading forces and was hoping to win her state; however, she was killed in the action.
Her tremendous achievements as a warrior
- She defied the British orders and didn’t cede her state to the company. Instead, she chose war over a huge yearly pension of Rs. 60,000 to liberate her state.
- When the Mutiny occurred, she promised a safe passage to the British officers but unfortunately, 50 to 60 officers and their families were massacred in the due course. The British held her responsible for the brutal killing of the officers and demanded surrender that she refused.
- The killing of the officers compelled her to doubt the British invasion and as she was threatened, she raised an army, gather troops, and to win over the support of the neighbouring states to meet the British challenge.
- When her state was besieged in March 1858 by Major General Sir Hugh Rose, she literally wore the armour, carried a sword, and had two revolvers with her.
- When she saw that it is useless to fight the British forces in the city, she withdrew to join other resistance leaders such as Nana Sahib or Tatya Tope. According to legends, she jumped from the fort on horseback while her 10 years old son, Damodar Rao, was on her back. After the jump, they survived while the horse died.
- She made her last stand on 17 June 1858, in the Phool Bagh of Gwalior fort. Before being shot by a British soldier, she was wounded by a sabre in the fighting and was unhorsed.
- According to legends, she told a hermit to burn her body that the British may not have her body. A few locals of the area cremated her body after her death.
- Upon her death, General Rose reported to his commanding officer that the Rani was “remarkable for her bravery, cleverness, and perseverance; her generosity to her subordinates was unbounded. These qualities, combined with her rank, rendered her the most dangerous of all the rebel leaders.”
- He even reported comparing the Rani with Joan of Arc and said that “with great ceremony under a tamarind tree under the Rock of Gwalior, where I saw her bones and ashes.”
