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Women and Independence in Latin America An exploration of women's involvement in the Latin American Wars of Independence |
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Women and Independence in Latin America An exploration of women's involvement in the Latin American Wars of Independence |
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Gender:Female
Ethnic origen: Unknown
Events:
| 1817 | - | Santiago de Chile | - | Patriot | - | San Martín met her in Santiago, where she organised tertulias to promote national sovereignty, after the battle of Chacabuco. |
Connections:
Hosted independence meetingsBiography:
She organised tertulias in Santiago de Chile to promote national sovereignty. (Arambel Guiñazú, 37.)
She was from a royalist family; but was greatly influenced by her uncle, Juan Martínez de Rozas (who was pro-independence). She worked, and used the influence of her name and her fortune for the independence cause. She was open about what she did and when questioned she replied, "Are you going to punish me because I love my country?" She was watched scrupulously. It was presumed that she had a cache of arms for the patriots. She was surprised one day by San Bruno who caught her reading a letter from the exiles. She ate the letter without hesitation and with a smile said, "Now you can conduct an autopsy".
After Chacabuco, San Martín went to see her as he wanted to meet all the women who had contributed to the revolutionary cause. They met outside her house (109 calle de la catedral - this today no longer exists) with "un afectuoso abrazo". Rozas remained a patriot throughout her long life. (Grez, 89-91.)
References:
Arambel Guinazu, Maria Cristina , Martin, Claire Emilie (2001) Las mujeres toman la palabra: Escritura feminina del siglo XIX. Volume: 1
Davies, Catherine, Brewster, Claire and Owen, Hilary (2006) South American Independence. Gender, Politics, Text
Grez, Vicente (1966) Las mujeres de la independencia