Laskarina Bouboulina(1771 — 1825)
Laskarína Bouboulína
Grèce, Empire ottoman
8 min read
Laskarína Bouboulína est une héroïne grecque de la guerre d'indépendance contre l'Empire ottoman. Armant et finançant sa propre flotte de guerre, elle participa activement aux combats navals dès 1821, notamment au blocus de Nauplie. Elle est la seule femme à avoir reçu le titre d'amiral de la marine russe à titre honorifique.
Frequently asked questions
Key Facts
- Née en 1771 à Spetses, ile grecque sous domination ottomane, dans une famille de marins.
- En 1821, elle arme à ses frais une flotte de plusieurs navires pour soutenir le soulèvement grec contre les Ottomans.
- Elle mena le blocus naval de Nauplie, l'une des premières actions militaires majeures de la guerre d'indépendance.
- Elle fut honorée du titre d'amiral de la marine impériale russe, distinction exceptionnelle pour une femme de l'époque.
- Elle fut tuée en 1825 lors d'une querelle familiale à Spetses, devenant une figure martyrisée de la cause grecque.
Works & Achievements
Entirely financed by Bouboulina from her personal fortune, this warship was the most powerful vessel in the Spetses fleet. She took command of it and engaged it in the main naval operations of the revolution.
At the head of a squadron of several ships, Bouboulina organised and participated in the blockade of Ottoman ports and fortresses in the Peloponnese, cutting the enemy off from supplies and maritime reinforcements.
Bouboulina devoted a large part of her personal fortune to arming, paying the sailors, and supplying the insurgent troops, making her one of the principal benefactors of the war of independence.
The only woman admitted into this secret society, Bouboulina placed her networks, finances, and ships at the service of the clandestine organisation preparing the uprising against the Ottoman Empire.
According to several accounts, Bouboulina intervened to protect the women and children of the Ottoman governor's harem during the sack of Tripolitsa, demonstrating a personal ethics that went beyond mere military commitment.
Anecdotes
Laskarina Bouboulina was born in 1771 in a prison in Istanbul, where her mother had come to visit her father, a Greek captain imprisoned by the Ottomans. This tragic fate from birth seemed to forge her indomitable character and her hatred of Ottoman oppression.
Twice widowed from wealthy shipowners, Bouboulina inherited several ships that she had built or improved at her own expense. She personally oversaw the construction of the corvette Agamemnon, the largest ship in the Spetses fleet, which she financed by selling her jewelry and part of her fortune.
On March 13, 1821, several weeks before the official outbreak of the Greek Revolution, Bouboulina herself raised the flag of the insurrection on her ships at Spetses. She was thus one of the very first to take up arms against the Ottoman Empire, at the risk of her own life.
During the siege of Nafplion in 1822, Bouboulina actively participated in naval blockade operations. Legend — probably embellished — has it that she personally came ashore, pistol in hand, to encourage her sailors and lead ground assaults against the Ottoman fortifications.
Bouboulina was admitted as a member of the Filiki Eteria, the secret society that organized the Greek Revolution — an exceptional distinction, as no other woman was ever accepted into its ranks. This membership confirms the recognition of her political and military role by the leaders of the independence movement.
Primary Sources
Bouboulina, a widow of great wealth and resolution, had equipped at her own expense several vessels of war, which she commanded in person, and with which she joined the revolutionary forces at the commencement of the struggle.
A woman from Spetses, named Bouboulína, having armed at her own expense several brigs and corvettes, personally commands her crews and has distinguished herself by uncommon bravery in the blockade of the Ottoman coasts.
Bouboulína was a woman of extraordinary energy. She had equipped at her own expense the Agamemnon and other ships, and she personally took part in naval operations against the Turks.
Among the initiated members appears Laskarína Bouboulína, shipowner of Spetses, initiated on account of her considerable financial means and her total commitment to the cause of Hellenic freedom.
Key Places
Island in the Saronic Gulf, birthplace and operational base of Bouboulina. It was here that she was born (de facto, her family was established there), that she armed her fleet, and where she died in 1825.
Capital of the Ottoman Empire where Bouboulina was born in prison in 1771. She later returned there to defend her property rights before Ottoman authorities following her husband's death.
Ottoman stronghold besieged by Greek revolutionaries. Bouboulina took part in the naval blockade of the city in 1821–1822 and resided there after its fall.
Ottoman administrative capital of the Peloponnese, captured in October 1821 by Greek insurgents. Bouboulina is said to have intervened there to protect Ottoman civilians during the sack of the city.
Island neighbouring Spetses and a major Greek maritime power, whose fleet fought alongside that of Bouboulina. The two islands formed the backbone of the Greek revolutionary navy.
Liens externes & ressources
Références
Œuvres
Blocus naval des côtes du Péloponnèse
1821
Financement de l'effort révolutionnaire grec
1821-1822
Adhésion et soutien à la Filiki Eteria
1820
Protection des civils ottomans lors de la prise de Tripolitsa
1821
