Bombarderes

Bombarderes is a Catalan term that denotes female bombarders, i.e., women who served in artillery roles operating a bombard, a large siege cannon. The word reflects the feminine form bombardera in Catalan, with the masculine counterpart typically being bombardir or bombardier in other languages. In historical sources, bombarderes are described as members of artillery detachments responsible for handling heavy guns during sieges and coastal or field defense.

Historically, bombarders and bombarderes formed part of early modern military communities across Europe. Their duties included loading the weapon, aiming the gun, and firing projectiles under the supervision of officers. The work demanded technical skill, physical endurance, and coordination with accessory crews such as gunners, loaders, and drivers. Although most artillery personnel were men, some accounts and chronicles note the participation of women in siege labor, fortifications, or garrison contingents, sometimes in roles related to artillery support or maintenance.

In later centuries, as artillery crews professionalized and recruitment practices changed, the use of the specific term bombardera/bombardera declined in common parlance. Today, bombarderes appears primarily in historical writing or literature about artillery and military history in Catalan-speaking regions. The term serves to illuminate gendered aspects of historic warfare and the broader composition of artillery crews, rather than to describe a distinct modern occupation.