Kidnapped and sold into marriage to a man 20 years her senior, Sacagawea (with a newborn baby on her back) ended up playing a vital role in the Lewis and Clark Expedition. She acted as an interpreter, guide, and symbol of peace to the natives who were wary of the gun-wielding white explorers. Sacagawea’s life story is one of triumph and tragedy. 

In this podcast, I share the history of Sacagawea’s life, and how she became the heroine of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

In the spring of 1788, Sacagawea was born into a clan of northern Shoshone known as the Agaidika, the salmon-eaters. When Sacagawea was twelve, one of the neighboring tribes, the gun-wielding Hidatsa, launched a sudden and violent raid. Killing a number of men, women and boys, but kidnapping the young girls, including Sacagawea.

The origin of the name Sacagawea appears to be Hidatsa, not Shoshone, meaning bird-woman in the language of her captors. When she was thirteen years old, she was sold as one of two wives to a French trapper, Toussaint Charbonneau. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were tasked with exploring the recently purchased Louisiana Territory, and they hired Charbonneau so he would bring along his teenage wife (with their newborn baby) since she could function as an interpreter. 

Sacagawea’s importance to the success of the Lewis and Clark Expedition is clear from the daily diaries the explorers kept. She not only acted as a guide and “pilot” through dangerous mountain passes, she also helped the explorers identify which native plants were edible when they were on the verge of starvation, and was a symbol of peace to the native tribes since war parties in their culture never traveled with women. 

Sacagawea’s memory was revived a century after her death by the suffragette movement. The story of the crucial role she played in Lewis and Clark’s expedition, including voting on at least one important decision along with the men, became symbolic of female strength and influence.

➡️ Acknowledgements

A huge “thank you” to Brenda Mickelson for the artwork used in our thumbnail.

I Feel You by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100841
Artist: http://incompetech.com/

Rome learned the hard way that if you push a woman down enough times...eventually she’ll rise up, unite the Celtic tribes, and burn your cities to the ground.

Boudicca was a Celtic warrior queen who led a violent rebellion against the Roman Empire’s domination of Britain. Boudicca’s life story is filled with victory and tragedy. As queen of the Iceni Celts, she protested the Roman occupier’s brutal treatment of her people. The Romans responded by publicly scourging the barbarian queen and raping her daughters. Rather than admit defeat, the Celtic queen led an army in a ruthless revolt against Roman rule of Brittania, and burned several cities to the ground. 

The facts about Boudicca’s life and uprising come to us through the writings of Roman historians Tacitus and Cassius Dio. The Romans were known to exaggerate the violence of their enemies to justify their own imperial ambitions. This raises the question of how much of the Roman account of Boudicca’s revolt is factual...and how much is Rome justifying its brutal treatment of the Celtic tribes. History has alternately painted her as either a noble queen defending the oppressed Celts, or a “treacherous lioness” (Gildas the Monk) terrorizing and torturing the unsuspecting Romans. 

Either way, the fiery red-haired Celtic queen has captured the imagination of people for centuries. Boudica’s story is remarkable:  ruling in a time where women were not viewed as natural leaders, surviving the Roman scourge, enduring the rape of her daughters, leading a savage rebellion to defend the Iceni tribe, and eventually dramatically dying after her last battle. Queen Boudicca continues to be a stirring symbol of victory and freedom. 

Who was Boudicca? And what did Boudicca do?

• Celtic warrior queen, famous for leading the Iceni Celts in a revolt against the Romans.
• Also known as Boudica, Boadicea, or Buddug
• What did Boudicca look like:  Tall, red-haired barbarian queen, wore a torque and carried a spear, and rode in a chariot. 
• Defeated by the Romans after burning three of their cities to the ground. 
• Boudica’s Rebellion has become legendary not only because it was led by a woman, but also because the Celts were an “underdog” who had incredible success warring against the Romans. 

➡️ Acknowledgements

A huge “thank you” to Brenda Mickelson for the artwork used in our thumbnail.

Long Road Ahead by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100588

Artist: http://incompetech.com/

This is the life story of Joan of Arc, the illiterate peasant who rose from obscurity during the Hundred Years War, and became a military advisor to King Charles VII based on mystical experiences and voices that guided her. 

Who was Joan of Arc? Joan was a virgin visionary who rose to fame during the Hundred Years War. The Mad King Charles VI had died, and France was in chaos. Joan went to a garrison commander and described a visitation from the archangel Michael and two dead saint, who were calling her to to break the siege of Orleans and see the true king (Charles VII) crowned at Reims.  

She is called the “Maid of Orleans” because she energized the demoralized French troops, and ultimately broke the siege of Orleans–the city the English had surrounded. The history of Joan of Arc is full of uncanny moments. After the siege of Orleans was lifted, Joan said she was called by heaven to see Charles VII crowned at Reims. 

In 1429 the army of France arrived at the walls of Reims, and the city threw open its gates in immediate submission. The following day, Charles VII was crowned King of France, while Joan of Arc looked on in a place of honor at his side, her heavenly vision fulfilled. 

Eventually, Joan of Arc was captured by the English and burned at the stake. Joan of Arc’s death is a gruesome indictment of Charles VII, who refused to ransom his number one fan. In 1803, Napoleon dubbed her the symbol of France. In 1920, Joan of Arc was named a saint. Saint Joan of Arc is remembered today for her courage, commitment, and character.

Acknowledgements:

Special thanks to Brenda Mickelson for her outstanding artwork used in this thumbnail.

Thank you to the phenomenal band French Fuse for their incredible music. 

Corrie ten Boom was a seemingly unremarkable watchmaker...with a secret. A hidden room, false identity papers, stolen ration cards, and a network of underground smugglers who looked to her as their leader in defying the Nazis. This is the story of how Corrie ten Boom became the ringleader of the Dutch underground resistance movement during Hitler’s occupation of Holland. 

Ultimately, this is a story of forgiveness. A woman of strong religious faith, Corrie famously gave forgiveness to one of the very guards who tortured her dying sister, Betsie. She believed she was called to show God’s love not only to the Jews of her nation, but also to the Dutch collaborators and the Nazis themselves.

Corrie created a hiding place for hundreds of Jews who would have been sent to certain death in the concentration camps. And in her own hour of need, she found a spiritual hiding place that enabled her to survive the infamous death camp of Ravensbruck, and come out the other side with an open and forgiving heart. 

Corrie’s story exemplifies courage, faith, and the power of forgiveness. She lost everything—for people she didn’t know. And then she forgave the very people who took everything from her, including her beloved father, Casper and her sister, Betsie. 

Many WWII and Holocaust stories are filled with despair. And rightly so--the evil was too great. But Corrie’s story is different. It captures the full spectrum of the cruelty of Hitler’s killing machine:  the suffocating fear, pain, the torture and death of loved ones, solitary confinement, and all that it meant to wake up morning after morning in a concentration camp in the heart of Germany. And yet the life of Corrie ten Boom poignantly displays how courage defeats fear. Kindness beats prejudice. And forgiveness has the last word over bitter hatred.

*****
Who was Corrie ten Boom?
-Smuggled over 800 Jews out of the clutches of the Nazis during Hitler’s occupation of Holland.

-Survived Hitler‘s concentration camps, and went on to write about her experiences and testimony in such best selling books as “The Hiding Place” and “A Faith Undefeated.”

-Known for her insightful and inspiring quotes, including “Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength.”

-Traveled the world, writing and speaking on such topics as prayer, forgiveness, God's love, surrender, and faith.

In this countdown list, I cover 5 of the most influential female spies of World War 2. From parachuting into German occupied France in a fur coat and high heels, to gliding past several Nazi checkpoints with a wink and a smile, to withstanding the torturous efforts of the most notorious Gestapo agent--these ferocious female spies of WWII dominated the world of espionage, especially Winston Churchill’s Special Operations Executive (SOE). The courageous stories of women spies--their fake identities, their ingenuity and fearlessness, and their secret lives--are both riveting and inspiring. 

This top 5 countdown provides a short history documentary of the stories of women spies of World War 2. There are many, many female spies whose stories should be remembered. We chose to create these five biographies of women spies based on their courage, ingenuity, grit, and impact. Hope you enjoy!

5. Nancy Wake - The White Mouse
Nancy Wake was born in New Zealand in 1912, raised in Australia, and ran away from home at age 16. Wake eventually became among the Gestapo’s most wanted. When Germany invaded France in 1940, Nancy Wake joined the French resistance, helping Jews and downed allied airmen escape into neutral Spain over the mountains. Nancy Wake led a raid on a gestapo headquarters in the heart of France which took them completely by surprise, killing 38 Germans. 

4. Virginia Hall - “The Most Dangerous Enemy Spy”
The most successful American spy in World War II was a physically disabled woman who couldn’t get a job. When she lost her leg in a hunting accident, she acquired a wooden leg from the knee down which she named Cuthbert.

When WWII broke out, Virginia Hall embraced the dangerous work of a French ambulance driver. Hall was a mistress of disguise, using code names and makeup to alter her identity constantly--sometimes several times in a single day. 

She served out the rest of her life as America’s first female secret agent in the newly formed CIA, and eventually married a fellow spy.

3. Josephine Baker - The Celebrity Spy
Josephine Baker achieved a degree of success in New York on Broadway, but always believed her true breakthrough came when she traveled to Paris in 1925 as a stage performer. Josephine Baker starred in several French movies and became the first black woman to star in a major motion picture.

When Hitler conquered France in 1940, Baker was able to travel freely without raising suspicion since she was an entertainer. She wrote notes on her music sheets in invisible ink. Other times she hid papers in her undergarments. But one way or another, Josephine Baker passed crucial information to the Free French, the British and the Americans.

2. Noor Inayat Khan - Aristocrat Turned Secret Agent
Noor Inayat Khan was a young Indian princess, descended from royalty, and...she was a spy. 

Noor Inayat Khan joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force to be trained as a radio operator. She was sent to France and evaded the grasp of the Nazis until she was finally betrayed by a jealous colleague. The beautiful and brave Noor Inayat Khan was finally executed by pistol shot. 

1. Vera Atkins - “The Boss”
Vera Atkins is rumored to be the inspiration for the unflappable female agent Moneypenny in Ian Fleming’s James Bond series. In 1939 Vera Atkins was part of the team which extracted an enigma decoder from Poland.

When war broke out, Vera was given a high rank in Britain’s Special Operations Executive and tasked with organizing the five hundred spies Britain sent to Europe to undermine Hitler. Vera Atkins did everything from providing training, cover stories and fake ID’s to sitting up into the early morning sending and receiving encrypted messages from agents in occupied France.