An exploration of women's involvement in the Latin American Wars of Independence

Josefa Baraya de Sanz de Santamaría de Montoya

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Exile 1814

Other names: Doña Chepa

Gender:Female

Ethnic origen: White

Events:

Connections:

Biography:
An aristocratic woman from Girón, Colombia, who participated in the independence activities of 20 July 1810. (Knaster, 482.) She was among a group of women who marched to the Viceroy's palace, Bogotá, on 20 July 1810. (Monsalve, 84)

On 14 August 1810 she was among a group of women who insisted that the Viceroy and his wife, Francisca Villanova, be given safe conduct from the prisons in which they'd been held overnight and returned to the Viceroy's palace. (Monsalve, 94)

She was the daughter of Francisco Baraya y la Campa, who was governor of Girón province, and Rosalia Ricaurte (sister of Juan Esteban Ricaurte). She married Pantaleón Sanz de Santamaría, son of Francisco Javier and Petronila Prieto y Ricaurte. Her sister-in-law was Mariana Mendoza de Sanz de Santamaría. She was a staunch supporter of the independence cause and encouraged others to join. She was tall, with blue eyes and blonde hair. (Monsalve, 85-87)

The sister of General Antonio Baraya who was executed by the royalists in 1816. She and her family (María Josefa, José Ignacio and Susana Santamaría Baraya) were exiled by Morillo in August 1816. (Monsalve, 156)

She was awarded an annual pension of 400 pesos by Bolívar after independence. (Monsalve, 263)

Mother of María Josefa Sanz de Santamaría de Montoya.

References:

Knaster, Meri (1977) Women in Spanish America: An Annotated Bibliography from Pre-Conquest to Contemporary Times
Monsalve, José D (1926) Mujeres de la independencia