Boudica: The Woman Who Lit a Fire Under Rome

Celebrating Women's History Month with a badass a day.

Can’t not have Boudica, c’mon now.

There’s a story I keep coming back to, one that feels like a thunderclap in the quiet of history. It’s the story of Boudica—a woman who looked at the might of the Roman Empire and said, “Not today.”

Boudica wasn’t born a warrior. She was a queen of the Iceni, a Celtic tribe in what’s now eastern England. Her life changed when her husband, King Prasutagus, died. In a bid to protect his family and his people, he left half his kingdom to Rome and half to his daughters. But Rome didn’t do partnerships. They took it all.

When Boudica protested, the Romans flogged her and raped her daughters. It was a calculated move, meant to humiliate and silence her. But Boudica wasn’t the kind of woman who stayed silent.

She rallied the Iceni and neighboring tribes, uniting them under a single cause: freedom. What followed was a rebellion that shook Rome to its core. Boudica’s forces burned Camulodunum (modern-day Colchester), Londinium (London), and Verulamium (St. Alban…