RS: Heroines
Boudica
The Roman Empire brought roads, towns, and Roman laws but they also demanded taxes and control over local tribes.
The word “Bouda” means victory.
She earned her name from destroying the Roman camps.
Boudica was the queen of the Iceni tribe. in East Anglia.
She ruled in 60AD.
Large parts of Britain were controlled by the Romans at the time under emperor Caligula.
Boudica and her husband, Prasutagus, made a deal with the Romans that they wouldn’t attack if the romans didn’t attack them.
When Prasutagus died all his possessions (including his daughters) went to the Romans, in hope of securing the deal - however some Roman soldiers raped her daughters - This made her eager for battle.
She planned to burn Colchester and then take over London and St Albans, but she was defeated in the Battle of Watling Street.
She then took her own life because she didn’t want to be held as a Roman prisoner.
She was a hero because she fought for freedom when she went against the Romans, and she was brave when she stood against her
Irena Sendler
Irena Sendler had the belief instilled in her that Jews should be treated equally by her father at a young age.
She worked against anti-sematic through university and her job at the Warsaw Department of Social Welfare and Public Health.
In 1940, she worked in Warsaw Ghetto and smuggled in supplies.
In 1942, se worked to rescue Jewish children - she recorded their real names and identities in a jar in hope of re-uniting them.
In 1943, the Gestappo found her and she was interrogated, abused and sentenced to execution - however the Zegota bribed the guard and she escaped but was listed as executed.
After the war she tried to re-unite the children with their families.
In 1965, she was officially recognised and in 2007, she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
She died in 2008, at the age of 98.
She was a hero because she was extremely resilient, even refusing to give up information during her interrogation, and she helped to the best of her abilities by even trying to re-unite the children with their families.