These are people that Fawkes names as role models for Scarlett. Find out what you can about them, there is some information below to start you off. You might like to discuss the following questions or find other similar people he could name. Is Scarlett like any of these people? Why does Fawkes name these people? What is it about them that he thinks will impress Scarlett? Does what Fawkes asks Scarlett to do, compare with the deeds of any of these people? All these people are from history is there anyone alive today you could add to Fawkes’ list?
Rani of Jhansi
Rani became queen of Jhansi province when her husband died; she commanded her army well and led them against the British Empire troops in the Sepoy uprising of 1857. She was killed in battle in 1858. She is shown in statues riding a horse with the reins in her teeth so that she could use swords in both hands.
Toussaint l’Ouverture
Toussaint was a black slave in Haiti who led the revolution in 1791 travelling between plantations he was able to spread revolutionary ideas. He fought for the independence of Haiti and the freedom of slaves against Spain and England. Deciding eventually to negotiate peace with Napoleon, the emperor of France, he was betrayed during peace talks and arrested. He died in prison in 1803.
Che Guevara
Che was an Argentinean revolutionary who as a young man travelled around South America where he saw great poverty and injustice – he decided that the only way to stop this was world revolution. He was active in the social reforms in Guatemala and fought with Castro against the Cuban dictator Batista. He was instrumental in the new Cuban government and wrote a manual on guerrilla warfare before fighting in the Congo and then Bolivia where he was killed in 1967. His face is used as a symbolic icon of revolution on t shirts, posters and flags.
Boudicca
Boudicca became queen of the Iceni when her husband died in approximately AD60. The Romans, who were ruling Britain at the time, tried to claim their lands for themselves so Boudicca led an army against them. The army destroyed the town we now call Colchester and defeated a Roman Legion and went on to burn London and St Albans to the ground. Boudicca was defeated in a battle on Watling Street in the West Midlands but her actions prompted the emperor Nero to consider withdrawing roman troops from Briton.
Joan of Arc
Joan was a French peasant girl who claimed to hear voices from God that told her to drive the invading English from her homeland. She led the French troops during the siege of Orleans in 1429. Disobeying the orders of commanders she gathered ordinary soldiers and attacked and captured castles that were held by the English. She re-established a stable monarchy in France before she was captured and put on trial for heresy and burned at the stake in 1431.
