Joan of Arc was born in the midst of the Hundred Years’ War between England and France. Her ‘uniqueness’ came to surface in her teen years when she claimed she could hear the voices of saints. She claimed the voices told her to drive English forces out of France so that Charles VII – the then heir to the French throne – could be crowned King. Within said mission, Joan took a vow of chastity, and despite the pressures placed on her to marry, she stayed loyal to her vow.
The historian Tacitus wrote, “The appearance of the country differs considerably in different parts; but in general it is covered either by bristling forests or by foul swamps”. Such was a Roman view of the whole region of Germania at the time, not just Saxony. According to Roman sources, a people known as the ‘Saxones’ Continue Reading
16th century Spain – the apogee of Spanish imperialism and ruled by King Philip II, whose goal of an entirely Catholic Europe, perpetuated the brewing of a Spanish invasion of England. The Spanish Armada was strong – her soldiers and ships seemingly unconquerable. However, this young girl from Madrid doubted the fleet’s brilliance.
Throughout history, women have often played a pivotal but underappreciated role in political resistance. Traditional gender norms of the mid-20th century placed women in less political roles; they were subservient housewives. In reality, many women have been crucial in the fight against totalitarian regimes, the Mirabals illustrating as such.
On the night of January 14, 1887, in Washington DC, the drag queen was born, or at least the concept of the drag queen was revealed to the American public. Prior to this date, her Majesty William Dorsey Swann arranged balls in which men gathered in gowns of satin and silk and sashayed the night away. Such events went on for years, yet the existence of drag balls was only exposed to the American public on the night of January 14th, when the ball was raided by police. According to The Washington Critic, ‘six coloured men’ dressed in ‘female attire’ were arrested as ‘suspicious persons’.
