"I have lost my husband. Blessed be God! My eldest son fell with his weapons in hand. Blessed be God! My second and only [remaining] son, fourteen years old, is fighting with the Greeks and will probably find a glorious death. Blessed be God! Under the banner of the Cross my blood will also flow. Blessed be God! But we will win or we shall seize to live, yet we will have the comforting thought that in this world, we did not leave behind us enslaved Greeks."
-- Rear Admiral Laskarina Bouboulina
-- Rear Admiral Laskarina Bouboulina
Laskarina Bouboulina, unknown artistNational Historical Museum
By Stylianos Kavazis, Researcher
Translated into English and republished with the author's permission
On May 11, 1771, in a dark, damp cell in Constantinople, Laskarina Pinotsi, the daughter of the Hydriot captain Stavrianos Pinotsis and Skevo Kokkini, was born. Her birth in a place of captivity foreshadowed a life full of trials and courage. At the age of 17, she married the Spetsiot captain Dimitrios Yiannouzas, and soon found herself a widow with three children when her husband fell in battle with pirates. With her second marriage, to Dimitrios Bouboulis, she had three more children and was forever called "Bouboulina" (i.e. Bouboulis' wife), who would seal the history of the Nation with her boldness and selflessness.
With immense wealth and unparalleled determination, Bouboulina became the ruler of the seas of Spetses. In 1820, she built the imposing ship “Agamemnon” which was 34 meters long and equipped with 18 cannons, the largest ship that took part in the Revolutionary Struggle. This ship was a symbol of the determination of a woman who did not hesitate to risk everything for Freedom.
As the National Uprising broke out, Bouboulina allocated her entire fortune to maintain her ships and support the troops on land. With the “Agamemnon” she participated in the blockade of Nafplion, supplied the defenders of Argos at her own expense and fought in every significant battle in Monemvasia, Nafplion and Tripoli. In a legendary moment, riding a white horse, she entered the besieged Tripoli and saved the harems of Hursit Pasha from the besiegers, proving that her heroic heart did not seek revenge, but honor and humanity.
Pain was not absent from her life; her son Ioannis fell in battle, her son-in-law was murdered, and she herself was expelled from Nafplion during the civil war. Despite personal losses and persecution, Bouboulina did not give up, she returned to Spetses and continued to live with dignity until the end. On May 22, 1825, she was fatally shot in a family dispute, a tragic and controversial moment that brought to an end a life full of courage and self-sacrifice. Her remains rest in the privately owned church of Agios Ioannis in Spetses, but her memory lives indelibly in history.
Bouboulina's name went beyond the Greek borders from the first years of the Struggle. In Europe, she was considered equal to Joan of Arc and other great heroines. Posthumously, Russia awarded her the title of Admiral, and in 2018, a full 193 years after her death, Greece honored her with the rank of Honorary Rear Admiral, the War Cross 1st Class and the Medal of Exceptional Deeds, recognizing her unparalleled heroism and devotion to the Nation.
Bouboulina was not only a captain, she was a symbol of courage, self-sacrifice and moral superiority. Within almost two years, she spent her vast fortune on the Struggle, while in return she experienced persecution and contempt. But her name remains eternal, a beacon of heroism and a source of inspiration for every Greek.
In Spetses, her mansion, now a museum, and her statue, remind us that Bouboulina was the captain of the heart and soul of 1821, a woman who, by her example, indelibly wrote her name in the history of Freedom.
Translated into English and republished with the author's permission
On May 11, 1771, in a dark, damp cell in Constantinople, Laskarina Pinotsi, the daughter of the Hydriot captain Stavrianos Pinotsis and Skevo Kokkini, was born. Her birth in a place of captivity foreshadowed a life full of trials and courage. At the age of 17, she married the Spetsiot captain Dimitrios Yiannouzas, and soon found herself a widow with three children when her husband fell in battle with pirates. With her second marriage, to Dimitrios Bouboulis, she had three more children and was forever called "Bouboulina" (i.e. Bouboulis' wife), who would seal the history of the Nation with her boldness and selflessness.
With immense wealth and unparalleled determination, Bouboulina became the ruler of the seas of Spetses. In 1820, she built the imposing ship “Agamemnon” which was 34 meters long and equipped with 18 cannons, the largest ship that took part in the Revolutionary Struggle. This ship was a symbol of the determination of a woman who did not hesitate to risk everything for Freedom.
As the National Uprising broke out, Bouboulina allocated her entire fortune to maintain her ships and support the troops on land. With the “Agamemnon” she participated in the blockade of Nafplion, supplied the defenders of Argos at her own expense and fought in every significant battle in Monemvasia, Nafplion and Tripoli. In a legendary moment, riding a white horse, she entered the besieged Tripoli and saved the harems of Hursit Pasha from the besiegers, proving that her heroic heart did not seek revenge, but honor and humanity.
Pain was not absent from her life; her son Ioannis fell in battle, her son-in-law was murdered, and she herself was expelled from Nafplion during the civil war. Despite personal losses and persecution, Bouboulina did not give up, she returned to Spetses and continued to live with dignity until the end. On May 22, 1825, she was fatally shot in a family dispute, a tragic and controversial moment that brought to an end a life full of courage and self-sacrifice. Her remains rest in the privately owned church of Agios Ioannis in Spetses, but her memory lives indelibly in history.
Bouboulina's name went beyond the Greek borders from the first years of the Struggle. In Europe, she was considered equal to Joan of Arc and other great heroines. Posthumously, Russia awarded her the title of Admiral, and in 2018, a full 193 years after her death, Greece honored her with the rank of Honorary Rear Admiral, the War Cross 1st Class and the Medal of Exceptional Deeds, recognizing her unparalleled heroism and devotion to the Nation.
Bouboulina was not only a captain, she was a symbol of courage, self-sacrifice and moral superiority. Within almost two years, she spent her vast fortune on the Struggle, while in return she experienced persecution and contempt. But her name remains eternal, a beacon of heroism and a source of inspiration for every Greek.
In Spetses, her mansion, now a museum, and her statue, remind us that Bouboulina was the captain of the heart and soul of 1821, a woman who, by her example, indelibly wrote her name in the history of Freedom.
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