Herstory Revisited

‘Were you not afraid to come into my father's country and caused fear in him and all his people (but me) and fear you here I should call you "father"?’   Pocahontas  (born  Matoaka , known as  Amonute , c. 1596 – 1617) was a  Native American woman notable for her association with the colonial settlement at  Jamestown, Virginia . Pocahontas was the daughter of  Chief Powhatan , paramount chief of  Tsenacommacah , an alliance of about 30  Algonquian-speaking  groups and petty chiefdoms in  Tidewater, Virginia .   Her mother's name and origin are unknown, but she was probably of lowly status and is not considered to have died in childbirth. The oral tradition of the Mattaponi Reservation, descendants of the Powhatans claims that Pocahontas's mother was the first wife of Powhatan, and that Pocahontas was named after her. According to colonist  William Strachey , "Pocahontas" was a childhood nickname meaning "...

“I am not ashamed to confess that I love to be of service to those who need a woman's help. And wherever the need arises—on whatever distant shore—I ask no greater or higher privilege than to minister to it.” Mary Jane Seacole (1805-1881) was born Mary Jane Grant in Jamaica, the daughter of a white Scottish lieutenant and a free Jamaican woman. Her mother, nicknamed "The Doctress", was a hotelier and healer who used traditional Caribbean and African herbal remedies who had learned importance and useful hygiene and medical practices when caring for slaves on sugar plantations. (Incidentally, such ‘doctresses’ preached the use of good hygiene a century before Florence Nightingale). In her autobiography, Seacole describes learning her medical knowledge from observing her mother – practising first on dolls and pets and then aiding her mother in the treatment of human patients. Her close family ties with the army also enabled her to observe the military doctors, giving h...

“Hereditary Princess, Great of Praises, Lady of Grace , Sweet of Love, Lady of The Two Lands, Main King's Wife, his beloved, Great King's Wife, his beloved, Lady of All Women, and Mistress of Upper and Lower Egypt.” Neferneferuaten Nefertiti (heads up I spelt it wrong so often I couldn't be bothered to correct it i'm so sorry!)  ( c.  1370 – c. 1330 BC) was an Egyptian queen and the  Great Royal Wife  of Pharoah Akhenaten . Nefertiti and her husband are remembered for a religious revolution, in which they worshipped one god only,  Aten , or the sun disc. With her husband, she reigned at what was arguably the wealthiest period of  Ancient Egyptian  history. Some scholars believe that Nefertiti ruled briefly as  Neferneferuaten  after her husband's death and before the accession of  Tutankhamun , although this identification is  a matter of ongoing debate . She was immortalised by her bust, attributed to the sculptor ...