THE WOMAN KING (Film review - spoilers)

The Woman King imdb  6.9

On the back of a 94% rotten tomatoes score & a great review somewhere I've forgotten, I watched this the other night. 

It was great. Good to see a non-euro/us centric story for a change, based on a true tale of derring do by an African kingdom fighting the slave trade with a legion of female warriors in their army. The acting was good, the battle scenes well done, and the story worked. 

It was fascinating to see how african armies fought in the early 1700's compared to europeans. Unarmoured, unshielded, and weilding machete like swords. Compare this to the American war of independence. 

The female warriors were called 

The adojie. The kingdom was dahomey, similar to modern day Benin (home of the famous brasses)

From google:-

 The Agojie (also spelled Agoji, Mino, or labeled the "Dahomey Amazons" by Europeans) were an all-female elite military regiment in the West African Kingdom of Dahomey, which exists today as the modern-day Republic of Benin. 

Operating from the 17th century until 1894, they are renowned as the only fully documented all-female front-line army in modern history. 

History and Origins:- 

Early Beginnings: Their origins date back to the late 1600s, initially serving either as a royal bodyguard or an elite band of female elephant hunters under early rulers like King Houegbadja or Queen Tassi Hangbe.

The Standing Army: During the 19th-century reign of King Ghezo, the regiment was formally expanded into a massive standing army, reaching between 1,000 and 6,000 warriors at its peak.

Demographics: The ranks were filled by volunteers, forced conscripts, captives from regional conflicts, and even children as young as eight years old.

Life, Status, and Training: The Agojie held an incredibly high and semi-sacred social status within Dahomean society. They resided directly within the royal palace and were legally considered ahosi (wives of the king), which afforded them great political influence, wealth, and authority.

Sacrifice: They swore an oath of cellibacy and were forbidden from marrying or having children while serving.

Specialized Regiments: The army was divided into distinct, structured wings, including huntresses, riflewomen/musketeers, archers, artillery gunners, and the terrifying reapers (razor women) who charged headfirst into battles equipped with massive three-foot machetes.

 Last Survivor: The last verified surviving veteran of the original army, a woman named Nawi, passed away in 1979.

I had no idea.

My rating 7.5/10