Diving Into the Wreck Part II:

Women's history from the Middle Ages through the 19th century

Please Note: Various forms of oppression women faced throughout history, the achievements of women in many fields, and  the many social movements women have been involved in since the 18th century are described on other pages. The sites described on this page are meant to give a general overview of what women's lives were like during particular periods.

Update:  You can now buy many books on women's history (herstory), right on this site, and help support this website at the same time. Visit the Women's History page of the Women's Bookstore.

Mysteries of Ancient History and Archeology: the Amazons is about the Amazon women of ancient Greece.

Women in Roman Society describes the lives of particular women in all classes of ancient Roman society, from slaves to warrior queens.

"The Beguines" is a research paper about a courageous group of women who refused to become wives or nuns during the 12th century.

Dominion & Domination of the Gentle Sex is about the various roles of women during

Medieval times.

The Medieval Feminist Index directs you to journal articles, essays, and book reviews

about the lives of women during the Middle Ages. It is easy to search through.

Women in Alaska's Early History has info about the first inhabitants of Alaska.

The Hawaii Women's Heritage Project is about their lives and creative efforts.

Women in Canadian History has biographies of many women from Canada's past

American Women's History: A Research Guide might be helpful to students and has a directory of multimedia sites on American women's history.

The First Ladies site has biographies. FYI: Eleanor Roosevelt was the best one yet.

The National Women's Hall of Fame's site has biographies of great American women. The actual museum is located in Seneca Falls, NY.

The National Women's History Project established women's history month (March).

The Upper Midwest Women's History Center in MN has primary texts and biographies on its web site.

Places Where Women Made History   in the U.S. is a travel iternary from the National Register of Historic Places with some interesting facts.

Native American Women is a small site with a few biographies.

African American Women Online Archival Collections is a small site from Duke Univ.

This Jewish American Women's Bibliography is a guide to archival resources on the history of Jewish Women in America

Women in America: 1820-1842 is an online collection of texts from this period.

Pioneer and Emigrant Women is a small site with several biographies.

Making it Their Own: Women in the West is a large collection of primary texts and other resources about women in the early American West

Civil War Women: Primary Sources on the Internet is a good guide to many documents and photographs.

Civil War Women: Online Archival Collections comes from Duke University.

Female Buffalo Soldier is a site devoted to the true story of Cathy Williams, a former slave who posed as a man and fought in the Civil War

This Women's Studies site from the U. of Pennsylvania has manuscript diaries and other documents by American women, primarily in the 19th century.

Godey's Lady's Book Online shows the actual text of this publication, popular among 19th century American women, with some articles written by well known authors

The Harper's Bazar Magazine site has articles and Victorian fashion illustrations taken directly from 19th century copies of the magazine.

Women Come to the Front is a site about female journalists, broadcasters and photographers during World War II.