Hello dear readers and welcome to a very special post here on Shoot the Rookie! Why is it special? Well today is International Women’s Day and in this post I am celebrating some amazing women, all of whom just so happen to feature in the video game Civilization VI. Why not join me to find out more about these amazing ladies!
I know I write a lot about Civilization, but one of the reasons for my ongoing love of the series is all the things it has taught me. From introducing me to the Aztecs to teaching me about the seven ancient wonders of the world, I’ve got a lot more than fun from playing the series.
After picking the game up again, I was delighted to discover that the latest edition, Civilization VI, still had lots to teach me. A lot of the knowledge I’ve got from the game has been around the Great People mechanic. In this, you can earn Great People of different types for your Civilization and each have unique benefits. Some of these historic figures were already well known to me, but many were not, and quite a few of these names were women.
Since today is International Women’s Day and it is also Women’s History Month, I thought I’d take the opportunity to introduce you to some of these awesome women. Sadly I couldn’t find any women in the Great Prophet category, but I have found someone for each of the other Great People types so hopefully you’ll find something to pique your interest!
The Great Admiral: Ching Shih
Ching Shih was a 19th century Chinese pirate who unofficially lead the Guangdong Pirate Confederation which included tens of thousands of pirates. She fought great powers including the East India Company and the Portugese empire and is sometimes referred to as the most successful pirate in history.
Civilization VI Great Person Bonus: Passive Effect: +5 Combat Strength and +1 Movement to Industrial and Modern era naval units within 2 tiles. Retiring Effect: Gain 100 Gold (on Standard speed). Military units gain +60% rewards for plundering sea Trade Routes.
The Great Artist: Edmonia Lewis
Edmonia Lewis was a 19th century American sculptor of mixed Native American and African American heritage. She has been described as the first sculptor from either of those ethnic groups to achieve national and international prominence.
Civilization VI Great Person Bonus: Great Works of Sculpture – The Death of Cleopatra, Marriage of Hiawatha and Pompeiian Girl
The Great Engineer: Ada Lovelace
Ada Lovelace was a 19th century British computer scientist who is widely considered to have been the world’s first computer programmer. Her achievements were enough to earn her an international day of her own, which falls on October 11th, and celebrates the achievements of women working in STEM disciplines.
Civilization VI Great Person Bonus: Triggers the Eureka moment for the Computers Technology. Lets this city build one more district than the population limit allows.
The Great General: Boudica
Boudica was a 1st century AD military leader and queen of the Iceni tribe who lead an uprising against Roman rule. Although she was ultimately defeated, she has become a legendary figurehead in the history of Celtic Britain.
Civilization VI Great Person Bonus: Passive Effect: +5 Combat Strength and +1 Movement to Classical and Medieval era land units within 2 tiles. Retiring Effect: Converts adjacent Barbarian units to your control.
The Great Merchant: Mary Katharine Goddard
Mary Katharine Goddard was an 18th century American publisher, postmaster and printer who was the second person to print the Declaration of Independence, and the first to print it with the typeset names of the signatories.
Civilization VI Great Person Bonus: +1 level of diplomatic visibility with all other civilizations.
The Great Musician: Lili’uokalani
Lili’uokalani was the last sovereign monarch of Hawaii and an accomplished author and musician who composed over 160 songs. Given her position, it would be interesting to see if Civilization VII would consider making her a Leader, rather than just a Great Musician.
Civilization VI Great Person Bonus: Great Works of Music – Lili’uokalani’s Prayer and Sanoe
The Great Scientist: Janaki Ammal
Janaki Ammal was a 20th century Indian botanist who specialised in cytogenetics and was known for her work around the breeding of aubergines and sugarcane, as well as her collection of medicinal plants from the rainforests of India.
Civilization VI Great Person Bonus: Gain 400 Science for each Rainforest tile here or adjacent.
The Great Writer: Emily Dickinson
Emily Dickinson was a 19th century American poet who was little known during her lifetime but has since been hailed as one of America’s greatest poets. Her life and works continue to inspire new works of literature, art and music today.
Civilization VI Great Person Bonus: Great Works of Literature – A Bird Came Down the Walk and Success is Counted Sweetest
So there we have it! Eight great women from history who feature in the game Civilization VI! But what do you think? Are you doing anything to celebrate International Women’s Day? Perhaps you have a different great women from Civ you would have picked? Let me know below in comments and don’t forget to join me next time for more video game and anime frolics!
Thanks for reading,
Pix1001
Shoot the Rookie 
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