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The Meeting of Greatness: How the Trưng Sisters and Laskarina Bouboulina Changed Their Countries' History

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Have you ever thought about how great it would be if specific historical figures had met, how they’d probably have been best friends or allies if they had lived in the same country or time? Or maybe you have a list of historical figures who had the same background or goal, and you thought it would be great if you could just put them in a room together and talk with them about saving the world? No? Maybe that’s just me.

In the second edition of Revolutionary WarriHERS, we’re going to do something different. Today we’re going to talk about three extraordinary WarriHERS who not only drove colonization out of their countries and led their countries to freedom, but also changed how their enemies looked at women leaders. Of course, we’re also going to talk about what it would be like if they had lived in the same era, country, and were best friends or revolutionary allies.

Let’s meet these amazing WarriHERS and potential partners in the revolutionHERy.

The Trưng Sisters, Rebel Leaders from Vietnam

Born to a general and local leader of Han China around 12AD in Jiaozhi, Trưng Trắc and Trưng Nhị lived a privileged life, learning literature and martial arts. The oldest Trưng sister, Trắc, married a general from Chau Diên, Thi Sách, a man who organized a small revolt in 39AD with other aristocrats against the Han dynasty overlords when Chinese government officials began to overtax goods and assert more power in the region. During the revolt, Thi Sách was captured and beheaded. After her husband’s execution, Trưng Trắc took over his leadership position. With the help of her sister, Trưng Nhị, and other aristocrats, Trắc marched and led a revolt on Lien Lau, one of the great Buddhist centers located in the Red River Delta (now Thuận Thành district, Hà Bắc province), forcing Chinese commanders to flee. Both sisters are noted for orchestrating the first Vietnamese independence movement in 40AD. Within a year, the sisters had driven the Chinese out and proclaimed independence. Trắc became the first woman monarch and only queen regnant in Vietnam. 

Laskarina “Bouboulina,” Rebel Commander from Greece

The daughter of Stavrianos Pinotsis, a captain from Hydra Island, Laskarina “Bouboulina” Pinotsi’s life began in an unusual way: Bouboulina was born in 1771 in a prison in Constantinople during her mother’s visit to her father. Bouboulina’s life was destined to be as unusual as her birth. She went on to fight in a revolution and became known as the first woman admiral of the Imperial Russian Navy. Bouboulina was a Greek naval commander who supported an independent Greece against the Ottoman Empire. She secretly bought weapons, bribed Ottoman officials, and organized her army to fight for her country’s freedom. While one of the many naval blockades was underway, Bouboulina went to Tripoli, just in time to see the fall of the Ottoman fleet on September 11, 1822.

The Resiliency of Three WarriHERs

Fighting against oppression and protecting their homelands was not the only thing these three revolutionaries had in common. All three WarriHERs came from a military background. The Trưng sisters were trained in martial arts and in the art of battle. Bouboulina’s father was a captain; her second husband was wealthy shipowner and captain Dimitrios Bouboulis. She inherited his fortune and trading business after his death in 1811. She used her newfound resources to build four ships, including the large warship Agamemnon, which was used to raise the Greek flag during the fight for independence on March 13, 1821.

Unlike the women in neighboring countries, women in Vietnam could serve as judges, rulers, soldiers, and more. Trưng Trắc assisted her husband during the minor revolt in 39AD. In 40AD, with eighty thousand soldiers—many of them women—the Trưng Sisters marched into sixty-five Chinese-run citadels and governors’ homes to force the Chinese out of the region. They mobilized the Lạc Việt and other native tribes from Hepu to Rinan. In the same way, Bouboulina led over ten thousand naval ships to victory against the Ottoman Empire. During the independence revolution, Bouboulina joined forces with many Greek islands, including the people of Spetses, who played a key role in the revolution by contributing the majority of the merchant ships. This alliance helped grow Bouboulina’s fleet, which she used in many naval blockades against the Ottomans.

Why They Would Be Great Friends or Allies

Both Trưng Trắc and Trưng Nhị were independent women who believed in equality for all. They knew how to organize and whom to align themselves with. They grew up with privilege and education. Instead of mourning, as the Chinese assumed Trắc would do after her husband’s death, she mobilized those around her. She worked with aristocrats, farmers, laborers, and allies in various cities. Both sisters used their connections and their wills to organize and drive the enemy out. It’s the same tactic Bouboulina used. Bouboulina was a revolutionary by birth, raised among military elites. Her father, Stavrianos Pinotsis, was imprisoned by the Ottomans for his role in the Orlov Revolt of 1770. Her stepfather was an Orlov, and her second husband, Captain Dimitrios Bouboulis, fought on the Russian side during the last Russian-Turkish war. She used her second husband’s connections to the Russian ambassador to settle in Russia with her family in 1816. When she returned to Greece, she joined the Philiki Etaireia, an underground organization preparing for the revolution. With her strategic planning skills and money, she bought ammunition and bribed Ottoman officials, officials who allowed her ship to go unnoticed before the attack. These three women used their backgrounds in military strategic planning and alliance building, as well as their money, to organize their revolts. With their money and power, they were able to work together for other regions around them.

Their Unfortunate Ends and Their Legacies

Trưng Trắc, Trưng Nhị, and Bouboulina helped their countries fight and declare victory. Unfortunately, after two and half years of rule, the Han Emperor Guang Wu Di sent General Ma Yuan and his troops back to recapture Vietnam. The Trưng sisters and the country were unprepared for this attack. The sisters had lost favor with most of their aristocratic allies; many rebels believed they couldn’t win under women’s leadership, leaving the sisters with an untrained army. In the spring of 42AD, the imperial army reached Lãng Bạc (west of present-day Hanoi) and beheaded thousands of the allies. By 43AD, the sisters were surrounded and—in one story—captured by Ma, who beheaded them. Another story said they jumped down the Hát Giang river to take their own lives, as it was better to die by their own hand than by the enemy’s. The sisters and their remaining soldiers fought until the end, never leaving each other’s sides, believing their country deserved to be free.

In Bouboulina’s case, she used all her fortune acquired from the revolution and retired in Spetses. Unfortunately, she was killed by an unknown shooter in her home. Her son Georgios Yiannouzas had eloped with the daughter of Christodoulos Koutsis; Koutsis met Bouboulina at her house with his family members, a confrontation that ended in her death. After her death, Tsar Alexander I of Russia granted her an honorary rank of Admiral of the Russian Navy.

Why We Honor These Revolutionary WarriHERs

We honor them for their bravery, courage, and ability to use their privilege to save and free those around them. Trưng Trắc, Trưng Nhị, and Bouboulina were women of their time. They were leaders, organizers, negotiators, and influencers. They influenced the women in their countries to fight for freedom.

I believe these revolutionary WarriHERs would have a lot to talk about. From the strategic planning to their influence on women’s rights and movements, to their dedication to their respective countries. I mean, the Trưng sisters led the first resistance against China since the Chinese had begun occupying Vietnam over two hundred years earlier. They directly influenced men and women to take up arms against French colonialism, and they were the cause of many Vietnamese women joining the fight against the US during the Vietnam War. Bouboulina was a naval commander who helped fund Greece’s independence: she fed the fleet, bought ammunition, and put her life on the line to bribe the enemy so that she could sail her ships. These women fought hard and inspired women leaders after them to do the same.

Fun facts:

  • Thirty-six of the generals in the Trưng sisters’ army were women. One of them was their mother.

  • The island of Spetses has a Bouboulina Museum housed in a three-hundred-year-old mansion owned by her second husband, Bouboulis.

  • The people of Vietnam celebrate and commemorate the Trưng sisters’ bravery every February 3 to 6 by holding a Hai Ba Trưng Festival.

  • Bouboulina had befriended the mother of Sultan Mahmud II around the time of her second husband’s death. Her friendship with the Sultan’s mother saved her when the Ottomans tried to confiscate her funds and house after her husband died. Years later, Bouboulina repaid that kindness by saving the women of the Sultan’s harem and family during the revolutions.

  • Temples and statues of the sisters can be found in Ho Chi Minh City.

  • Greek Independence Day is celebrated on March 25 (since 1821), while Vietnam’s National Day is celebrated on September 2 (since 1945).

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Joycelyn lives in Cypress, Texas. She’s the daughter of immigrants and did not go to law school, but she received three degrees (BA, MA, MPH) and is happily freelancing and working in the nonprofit world. She enjoys writing about healthcare recruitment and even worked as a Healthcare Organizer. When she’s not writing, she’s transcribing, developing community toolkits, and researching womxn’s history. Which is why she’s excited about writing for AMPLIFY. On her off days, she spends her time on Twitter, reminding everyone to drink water and enabling others to watch more dramas. Follow her on Twitter: @jg_humanitarian