The First Women’s Rights Fight
By: Nate Waller
Tags: Feminism, Taxes, War, Roman History, History

The First Women’s Rights Fight

Photo by Jens Peter Olesen on Unsplash

When people think of the fight for women’s rights, they’re usually thinking of the right to vote or equal pay, but what if I said that the first ever (at least first ever recorded that I could find) women’s rights protest took place in Ancient Rome over taxes? Allow me to explain.

This all takes place during the Second Triumvirate, which explained simply, was a political alliance between the future first Roman Emperor Augustus, henceforth known as Octavian, Mark Antony, and Marcus Lepidus. Following the assassination of Julius Caesar, the two main conspirators, Brutus and Cassius, fled Rome to the East and ended up taking absolute control of essentially the entire Eastern half of the Empire. Back in Rome, Octavian, Mark Antony, and Lepidus who were all loyal to Caesar took control of the western half. The Triumvirs, wanting to restore the empire and avenge Caesar’s death, waged war on the assassins. Problem was, the Triumvirs were very short on money, in fact most of Rome’s income came from their eastern provinces. In response, the Triumvirs raised heavy taxes. Among those who were taxed heavily were many wealthy women in Rome. The triumvirs tried to justify their tax on wealthy women by saying it had precedent dating back to the punic wars. Apparently several wealthy women willingly gave up their valuables in order to raise a new army to defeat the Carthaginians. Several noble women approached the Triumvirs at the forum. There, Hortensia, a very skilled orator who was also the daughter of consul, Quintus Hortensius Hortalus, gave a speech that perfectly outlined the grievances that they had.

I’m not going to quote the entire speech, but here are some excerpts:

If we have done you wrong, as you say our husbands have, proscribe us as you do them. But if we women have not voted any of you public enemies, have not torn down your houses, destroyed your army, or led another one against you; if we have not hindered you in obtaining offices and honors, — why do we share the penalty when we did not share the guilt?

Hortensia is speaking about how the Triumvirs, who had just recently taken power, started killing political dissidents, leaving their wives behind. Why are they being punished when their husbands were allegedly the guilty ones?

Why should we pay taxes when we have no part in the honors, the commands, the state-craft, for which you contend against each other with such harmful results?

Hortensia is asking why they’re allowed to be taxed when they can’t participate in the government. This is radical stuff, she is literally bringing up the possibility of women participating in the system of government centuries before it became popular.

When have there not been wars, and when have taxes ever been imposed on women? Our mothers did once rise superior to their sex and made contributions when you were in danger of losing the whole empire and the city itself through the conflict with the Carthaginians. But then they contributed voluntarily, not from their landed property, their fields, their dowries, or their houses…but only from their own jewellery… not under fear of informers or accusers, not by force and violence, but what they themselves were willing to give. Let war with the Gauls or the Parthians come, and we shall not be inferior to our mothers in zeal for the common safety; but for civil wars may we never contribute, nor ever assist you against each other!

Following her speech the triumvirs tried to have the women removed, but people from the outside joined in and a fight broke out. The triumvirs convened for the day and the taxes were later reduced by a little more then 71%. In the end, the Triumvirs would win the civil war and the taxes used to pay for that war only partially came from women.