In 42 BCE, the Roman government was in the midst of Civil War and one faction tried to fund it by taxing its women. Roman women banded together and said, nope, we don't want to pay taxes to fund a civil war. Hortensia's speech to the Roman senate applied a logic that was used millennia later by other groups of rebels: No taxation without representation.

Visit the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures.

Sign up for the newsletter On This Day in Women's History, available on ⁠Patreon⁠ or ⁠Substack⁠. There are free options in both places.

This show survives on the support of listeners like you. Support the show on my ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon page⁠⁠⁠⁠ (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=83998235) for ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and polls. Or make a one-time donation on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Buy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Me a Coffee⁠⁠⁠. Your support helps me keep bring the stories of past women into the present.

Join ⁠⁠⁠⁠Into History⁠⁠⁠⁠ for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content.

Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠Evergreen Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠ to listen to more great shows.

Follow me on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠⁠⁠ as Her Half of History.

Sadly I am unaware of any actual picture of Hortensia, so the feature image is not actually of her. It’s actually an unknown woman, portrayed in a fresco in Pompeii, so just a little before Hortensia’s time. It’s commonly called the Sappho fresco, though there is absolutely no reason to think this Roman woman was supposed to be the Greek poet.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.