Her Half of History

Paint doesn't last as long as some other art forms, so premodern painters of any gender are tricky to find. Nevertheless, there is scattered evidence of women painting everything from prehistoric rock paintings to Roman portraits to Indian villages to medieval illuminated manuscripts.  I also delve into why none of the women in this series will be on the same name-recognition level as Michelangelo...

The majority of women in western countries change their surnames when they get married, but for most of human history that would have been a totally foreign concept. In this episode, I explore the naming conventions of women in ancient Greece, Rome, and China, none of whom took their husband's names at marriage. Then I move on to why the practice got started in Europe, and how feminists in France,...

From the 21st century it is hard to grasp just how big an issue polygamy was in 19th century America. From this distance, slavery was the big moral issue. But at the time, slavery and polygamy were linked. The very first Republican party platform, written in 1856, declared their prime objective: “it is both the right and the imperative duty of Congress to prohibit in the Territories those twin rel...

In August 1619, a Dutch man-of-war came to Virginia shores with about twenty Africans. The Virginia colony was starved for labor. The sailors were starved for food, and so it began.  By 1850, the US census reported over 3.6 million black and mulatto people. In all that time and among all those people, there were technically very few brides. Because technically speaking, there was no such thing as...

Instead of telling you a story about what we can gather from historical documents, I am just going to actually read you a historical document. If that’s not your jam, give it a break and come back for the next regular episode on the African-American bride. In 1549, Thomas Cranmer, archbishop of Canterbury, authorized the first Book of Common Prayer for use in the fairly recently formed Church of E...

There are as many different wedding ceremonies in world history as there are cultures, religions, and possibly brides. Technically, a couple may not really need a wedding ceremony. And yet, no one sends out invitations so everyone can come watch them sign some legal documents. There is a thrill to pretending that wedded life begins when someone says "I now pronounce you husband and wife" even if w...

The most noticeable thing about a modern wedding is often the bride's dress. And; yet in history, the bride's dress is rarely described. Nevertheless, here's a history of what the bride wore, from the six braids and veil of a Roman bride, to the silver and white ornateness of an early modern royal bride, to the service uniform of a bride in the World Wars, and right up to the gorgeous white fantas...

Rings have been associated with marriage since Roman times, but they didn't necessarily look like the modern ones. This episode tracks the history of the ring from the Romans, through the middle Ages (with a brief diversion to JRR Tolkien), by way of the Anglicans and the Puritans, and direct to a huge 20th century advertising success that led us to the now more-or-less obligatory diamond ring on...

If you are a Jane Austen fan, you will know that being beautiful, witty, good natured, and accomplished is good, but having a dowry is better. Austen's impoverished heroines always get their man in the end, the sad truth is, it didn't work for Austen herself. She had no dowry. And she never married.  So what is this dowry thing? And why, as Mr. Bennett said, should a father have to bribe worthless...

If you are a member of modern Western society, then you likely have a definite idea of the traditional marriage proposal, even if you yourself have chosen to ignore portions of it. But the traditional proposal is not all that old. Several of its elements are very recent. One is even a deliberate invention of the bridal industry, and many a historic couple would have been surprised or possibly horr...

The Christmas tree began as a German tradition. And it might still be just a charming local custom, if not for two English queens who elevated it to a global phenomenon. This episode will tell you about Queen Charlotte, Queen Victoria, and their Christmas trees. Visit the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (herhalfo...

Ethel Rosenberg was executed by electric chair for sending the secrets of the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union. America felt justified in view of the impending nuclear holocaust. But that holocaust has not yet happened, and documents and confessions have been declassified in dribbles over the decades, and the story is now very, very different than the one the jury heard. In the show, I mention the...

Not all the British spies fit the prototype. Noor Inayat Khan had an Indian father, an American mother, a Russian birthplace, and a French education. She was a timid, peace-loving mystic with an alarming tendency to expect everyone around her to be decent and good. She was also a phenomenally successful undercover radio operator for Britain, exceeding everyone's expectations, until she was betraye...

Lise de Baissac fled France when the Nazis marched in. But in Britain she went to genuine spy school, and then she parachuted back into France, where she helped arm and train the French Resistance. If you are a Marvel fan, you'll love it. Her story (and others like her) are definitely the inspiration for Captain Carter. Visit the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠...

Zheng Pingru is a Chinese heroine of World War II. Her story was tragically brief, and even today raises questions about the difficult role of women in war and occupation. Visit the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. This show survives on the sup...

Mata Hari fit society's profile of a female spy so perfectly: beautiful, seductive, and duplicitous. That's why the Germans, and the British, and the French all thought she must actually be a spy. Even when they couldn't find any evidence of it.  Here is the story of a woman who had many faults, but almost certainly not the one she was executed for.  Visit the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Last week we got Elizabeth to the point of working directly for the Union army from inside Richmond. This week, she and the other Unionists aid a great prison breakout, give a fallen Union colonel a hero's funeral, and survive to see the Union army enter the capital of the Confederacy. With the war over, she takes a job that has rarely gone to a woman up until this point, but also faces the enmity...

We have now arrived at the woman who inspired this whole series on spies! Because Elizabeth Van Lew is one of my absolute favorites, and her story is so good that I simply cannot squeeze it into only one episode. Elizabeth Van Lews was a daughter of the Old South, but also an ardent abolitionist. In this episode we take her from debutante to undercover agent in Richmond, Virginia. Visit the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

I first covered Harriet Tubman last year in my series A Slave, But Now I'm Free, but some women are just too multi-talented to be slotted into only one series. Tubman was also a spy, officially for the Union army. Even before that, her efforts to free her family had all the elements of espionage: fake identities, coded messages, traveling through enemy territory, and more. Visit the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Policarpa Salavarrieta is a heroine and martyr of Colombian independence. Good sources are scarce, but here's what we know and a bit about her legacy. This episode is part of series 8, Women in Espionage. Visit the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts,...

The Culper Spy Ring operated in British-held New York and funneled intel to General George Washington. Agent 355, the only woman among them, will probably never be conclusively identified. Was she Anna Strong? Was she a New York socialite? Was she someone else entirely? Here's the story of what we know. Visit the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Aphra Behn is most famous as the first woman to support herself as a writer in English, but before she launched her literary career, she had a more secretive one. This episode is the story of her career as a spy. Visit the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, t...

Espionage has been called the world's second oldest profession, and women were in the thick of it from the very beginning. Unfortunately, a spy's default mode is to hide her tracks, which means that in the ancient and medieval world I found hint after tantalizing hint, but very few fully-fleshed histories of female spies. So today's episode is a round up of those hints, along with a brief history...

Industrialization had already transformed the housewife's life, and it was not about to stop. Gas, electricity, running water, cars, ready-made clothes revolutionized everything all over again in the 20th century. And yet the hours women spent on household tasks did not budge for most of the century for a variety of reasons. I also touch on what it meant to be a housewife in communist countries li...

 Industrialization came in with a bang, and the housewife's life would never be the same again, but unfortunately, that does not mean her life got any easier. This episode covers what happened to housewives in the US and western Europe as industrialization got rolling in the 18th century and carried on through the 19th. Visit the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...