FEMALE RULERS MALIGNED IN HISTORY (40)  Knights of Columbus, 50 Pine Rd, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866

Thursdays, 10:30am-12:00pm, Oct 9, 16, 23, 30, Nov 6, 13

Women rulers are rare. Some have made enormous contributions to their nations. But, too often, historians and the leaders who came after them have downgraded or attempted to denigrate and destroy their accomplishments. Why are so few credited in history with their accomplishments? The reasons for this are many and varied. Mary Tudor of England went down in textbooks as “Bloody Mary”. Cleopatra brought her lovers Julias Caesar and Marc Anthony to their ruins. Catherine the Great had sex with her horse. Hatshepsut of Egypt was depicted as a man. Juana of Castile was declared mad and placed in an asylum. Marie Antoinette ate cake while the French peasants starved. Each week we will examine the lives and reigns of some notable female rulers around the world who history may have gotten wrong or just left out of the narrative. Our final week, we will examine if the narrative about women in powerful positions has changed over time.

Leader: Kathy Welch is a former attorney and history teacher. She has taught a wide variety of classes for A.L.L.