Educator Resources Educator Resources

Marina was the interpreter, guide, enslaved woman, diplomat, and concubine of Hernan Cortes during his conquest of Mexico. Marina’s knowledge of geography, culture, and the native language of the Aztecs, Nahuatl, made her an asset to the Spanish conquistadores. She is shown here in pages of the Florentine Codex translating for Hernan Cortes. In the image below, the symbols coming from Marina represent speech.

A near-mythic figure, Pocahontas continues to capture the imagination about the colonial past and women’s place in it. However, her story is often misrepresented and therefore is a good entry point for students to dig into the realities regarding relations between English settlers and Indigenous tribes. Note Pocahontas’ European-style dress and the inscription at the bottom of this portrait, signifying her baptism to Christianity (possibly under duress) and her marriage to John Rolfe.

The Last Will and Testament of Joseph Grover shows how women could be legally marginalized in the passage of land to male descendants in the colonial era. See “women and the law” in the context section below for more information.

Recognized as the first Indigenous woman to be canonized by the Catholic Church, Kateri Tekakwitha was a Mohawk who lived in the Northeast (possibly New York) and converted to Christianity after hearing the teachings of Jesuit missionaries.

This water jar dates to 1700-1750 and was used in ritual healings. This object, likely made by a female artisan, represents the labor of Indigenous women. This particular jar was created after the Pueblo Revolt, after which Pueblo communities returned to the traditions that predated the Spanish (and Christian) colonization.

José Joaquín Magón’s painting, The Mestizo (second half of 18th c.), follows the casta painting tradition of displaying Spanish father (left) and elite indigenous mother(right) with their child. Used as a way to categorize racial hierarchies in New Spain, this image and others like it provide a glimpse into how a woman’s experience in colonial America was shaped by the intersections of her race and gender and how she might have been perceived by European contemporaries.

The inscription on this painting reads: “In America people are born in diverse colors, customs, temperaments and languages. From the Spaniard and the Indian is born the mestizo, usually humble, quiet and simple."

While marriage laws may have placed women at a disadvantage when it came to property ownership, this letter from Mary Alexander shows how a widowed woman could inherit property and become a business owner.

Written by the fifty-one women of the Edenton Ladies Patriotic Guide, this public declaration in support of boycotting British tea was the first time a group of women in the British colonies joined together to create a public political statement of affiliation.

This satirical cartoon was created in 1775 by London cartoonist, Philip Dawe. In it, he depicted the Edenton Tea Party women neglecting their duties as colonial wives and mothers and revealing a negative attitude towards women in politics.

Abigail Adams wrote this letter to John Adams while he was present at the 1776 Continental Congress. In her letter, Abigail reveals how she used the rhetoric of the Revolution to implore her husband to “remember the ladies” as he argued for independence from Britain.

This Phillis Wheatley poem, enclosed in a letter to a friend, shows how Wheatley used poetry to argue the case for abolition. While praising the efforts of the colonists, she issues criticism at the hypocrisy of maintaining the institution of slavery.

Belinda Sutton’s Petition, 1788

Born in West Africa and enslaved by the loyalist Royall family, Belinda Sutton lived in Massachusetts. Belinda was released from slavery when the legislature of Massachusetts seized her enslavers’ property after the Revolutionary War. Soon after gaining her freedom, Sutton petitioned the state legislature to grant her a pension out of the Royall family estate. Sutton wrote petitions to the Massachusetts General Court in 1783, 1785, 1788, and 1793. The legislature agreed to pay her £15 12s per year. Sutton is thought to be the first person to have gained reparations as a result of her enslavement.

This advertisement sought the return of runaway Ona Judge, the enslaved woman of George Washington. This source and the one below should prompt students to consider what we can learn about enslaved women from ads like these, especially given the paucity of primary sources written by and about the lives of enslaved women.

Deborah Sampson was one of a few women who fought as a soldier in the Revolutionary War. Deborah was raised in poverty and spent several years in indentured servitude. Thus, her life also reveals how socioeconomic status might have shaped a woman’s experience.

Testimony of Deborah Sampson is Deborah’s sworn testimony that she served in the army. In her testimony, Deborah explains how she is in need of financial support in the form of a military pension. Deborah was one of two women to receive payment from the young US Government for her service as a soldier in the continental army.