The forgotten fisherwomen of Iceland

Many Icelandic women used to fish for a living but today they are largely forgotten.  

In the 18th and 19th centuries, many women from the island were great sailors and fished successfully. An American researcher, Margaret Willson, has been leading a team which has undertaken work looking at these fascinating histories. 

One story caught our imagination. Thurídur Einarsdóttir, a sea captain of considerable repute, not only never lost a crew member in 60 years of fishing but also identified a family who stole some silver coins by the distinctive stitching on a shoe print left at the scene of the crime!

The article on this website not only gives us a glimpse into lives from long ago but also of the present day, and it asks the question "Why did these women disappear from common knowledge?" Thank you to the contributor who sent this link in. We love questions like that and the pathways of enquiry that open up because of them.