The Forgotten Explorers: Pioneering Women Travelers
Celebrating Women’s History With Dover
Throughout history, there have been many women who have chosen to embark upon brave and daring journeys. Whether seeking knowledge, adventure, or autonomy, these courageous women defied convention and ventured into the unknown. They braved the wilderness and explored new cultures in search of something greater than themselves. In honor of Women’s History Month, let’s look at eight remarkable female travelers who left their mark on the world through their incredible stories and journeys.
Madame Alexandra David-Neel is one such traveler. She was a French explorer and spiritualist who traveled through India and Tibet during the early 1900s. Her journey was not easy — she encountered many obstacles, such as hostile locals, dangerous terrain, and extreme weather conditions, but she persevered. Her travels resulted in her writing multiple books about her experiences and research on Buddhism and Tibetan culture, making her a renowned figure in anthropology circles. One of her great adventure classics, My Journey to Lhasa, published in 1927 and considered one of the best adventure books of the last 100 years by Outside magazine, recounts her 1924 journey as the only white woman who succeeded in entering the forbidden city of Lhasa, and the first Western woman to be received by any Dalai Lama.
Aloha Baker, known as the first woman to drive around the world, ceaselessly explored parts unknown until eventually becoming one of National Geographic Magazine’s first female photographers. Born Idris Galcia Hall, at age 16 she answered an advertisement in the Riviera Weekly calling for a “Brains, Beauty and Breeches” young woman to join a round-the-world expedition as a secretary. She renamed herself Aloha Wanderwell, circled the globe thrice, and visited over 80 countries, earning her the title “world’s most widely traveled girl.” Her larger-than-life memoir in Call to Adventure! will stir the hearts of armchair travelers and all who sigh for the romance of the early days of car travel.
Gertrude Bell changed history by traveling widely throughout the Middle East during the early 1900s. One of the first women to graduate from Oxford, she was a skilled archeologist, historian, linguist, photographer, and writer. She wrote extensively about her travels throughout Syria, Iraq, Palestine, Egypt, and other countries. Fluent in Persian and Arabic, Bell was also the first to achieve seniority in British military intelligence and diplomatic service. She played an essential role in creating modern-day Iraq (by helping draw its borders) as well as opening up trade routes between Europe to Asia via Iraq’s port city of Basra. The Desert and the Sown is an inspiring portrait of her life and a piece of history that offers insight into current events in the Middle East — fascinating reading for travelers, explorers, and citizens of the world.
Author Emily Ruete undertook a daring escape from her home country Zanzibar (now Tanzania), to avoid being forced into marriage with someone she did not love. Born in 1844 as Salamah bint Said, Princess of Zanzibar, and the youngest of 36 children of Said bin Sultan, Sultan of the Omani Empire, she fled to Germany, where she adopted a new identity eventually published her memoirs detailing her incredible journey across the world. Her remarkable autobiography, Memoirs of an Arabian Princess from Zanzibar, will captivate readers interested in Zanzibar and Eastern Africa and students of Arabic, Islam, and women’s studies.
Advised to travel for her health, Isabella L Bird had some incredible adventures throughout her life as she traveled around North America, China, Hawaii, Japan, Kurdistan, Malaysia, and Persia, among other places. She wrote extensively about each country she visited, often focusing on the local culture, customs, flora, and fauna. She became the first female fellow of The Royal Geographical Society due to her remarkable travel feats during this era when most women stayed home or refused to challenge societal norms. One of ten popular accounts of her adventures around the world, Unbeaten Tracks in Japan traces the intrepid Victorian explorer’s 1878 excursion into the backcountry of the Far East.
Nellie Bly broke records by circumnavigating around the globe solo within just 72 days back in 1889 — beating Jules Verne’s Around the World in 80 Days fictitious record by eight days! An incredible feat for a pioneering journalist who, just two years earlier in 1887, faked dementia to expose patient abuse in the Women’s Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell’s Island (now Roosevelt Island). Her groundbreaking reports from the asylum are documented in Ten Days in a Mad-House: A Story of the Intrepid Reporter.
Mary Seacole was a Jamaican-born nurse who tended cholera patients in Panama and served during the Crimean War providing medical care for wounded soldiers on both sides regardless if they were British or Russian. Seacole was denied entry to Florence Nightingale’s “angel band” of military nurses, possibly because of her race. After traveling alone from Jamaica across Europe and finally reaching Crimea, Seacole set up the British Hotel where soldiers could receive medical attention and enjoy some much-needed respite away from battlefront action. The Wonderful Adventures of Mrs Seacole in Many Lands is the first autobiography written by a black woman in Britain and recaptures the voice of a fearless adventurer and humanitarian.
Sacajawea is yet another example of female bravery and fortitude during challenging times. As part of Lewis & Clark’s expedition team, Sacajawea proved invaluable by helping them cross rivers and mountains safely as well as finding food sources along their route and handling communication. It’s safe to say that without Sacajawea’s help, Lewis & Clark would have been lost!
These incredible women prove that anything is possible if you put your mind (and heart) into it. From traveling across continents solo without protection or approval from society at large or simply just writing amazing stories based on their experiences — these eight inspiring travelers changed history forever despite facing numerous challenges along each step of their journeys!
