Maria ter Meetelen

1704–Born into a Catholic family in Amsterdam. Her mother passed away early leaving Maria to survive on the streets as an adventurous street urchin. At age 21, she disguised herself in men's clothing to travel across France and Spain. She successfully enlisted as a dragoon soldier in Spain before being discovered and briefly sent to a nunnery, from which she promptly escaped. She married Dutch merchant captain Claes van der Meer in Madrid. In 1731, while sailing home to the Netherlands, Moroccan corsairs from Salé hijacked their vessel off the coast of Portugal. She was claimed as a personal slave by Sultan Moulay Abdallah. Her husband died six weeks later. She needs a plan to escape or she will be forced into the Sultan's harem. -TRUE STORY