WOMEN: anonymous in Latin American history
(Introduction)
The women participated
actively before, during and after the process of Independence of Colombia.
Although there are many writings on heroines that were protagonists during the
historical development of the Independence from 1810, there is an army of women
who equally fulfilled a series of papers that meant in the last instance the
definitive Independence.
Who were these women? Why were
they the heroes of Independence? What role did they play? What were the myths,
symbols and imaginaries of the Woman of Independence that was created by reason
of the revolutions? What did they think and what was their purpose in
supporting the independence cause? What was the mentality of women in the early
nineteenth century? What was the attitude of women to the military, political,
economic and cultural development that was transforming the society of the
nascent republic?
In the first place, those
armies of women, the heroes of Independence, are identified in historical
records. They range from the humblest to the powerful, all of which met
specific goals from political decision-making to the military actions that took
place across the nation. There are those from very young to ethnic groups, or
those that became the engine that encouraged the mood of the populations in
which each was leader.
Allusive to the courage of
women, their determination, their audacity, sometimes it was simply a task,
that is, when characters like Simón Bolívar or some other witness that left
some of the outstanding facts of the women of The time was made more by the
impressions left by women for their actions than by the concern to write about
the complex role of women in all social, political, economic and cultural
spheres.
The anonymous heroines of
Independence in Colombia are the reflection of women during the other
pro-independence processes. Factors such as trade and social processes allowed generating
identity in Latin American women. The Independence of Colombia meant the
Independence of other nations, meant to participate in the same political
processes that took place in the rest of the continent and this, in turn, meant
a leading role for Women throughout Latin America.
Many foreign women, those who
did not belong to the neogranadino viceroyalty or who were not Creoles
participated also in the process of Independence, were equally protagonists.
They suffered the rigors of battles, stigmatizations, persecutions, and also
met social, political, economic and cultural objectives that consolidated the
cause of independence.
The Woman:
protagonist
"A
perpetual cage should be her coat if she were not sentenced to death, for there
is no doubt that she has lost her mind, and she is mad mad."
Many
men woke up with the idea of Independence, but women never ceased to be
surprised when confronted with adverse situations, and in the face of their
determination the most -commendable- was not to try to provoke it.
The
qualifiers to stigmatize or disqualify as the one who has lost the judgment or
who has gone crazy what it did was to feed that monster that men
"saw" that was inside the women and therefore had to be very careful
with them .
When
a woman did not obey orders not from her superiors but from her enemies, she
made the punishments that applied to her useless. The same thing happened with
the women in the prisons, they suffered all kinds of harassment, many of them
were shot or banished, in many other ways women showed loyalty to their ideals.
"Go
and die with the men, we women will march forward: we will present our breasts
to the cannon and the shrapnel unloads upon us, and the men will follow us and
whom we have saved from the first discharge, pass over our corpses, seize the
Artillery and liberate the fatherland "
The
legends of women generated during the time of Independence are part of history,
social, political, economic and cultural processes and this also represents a
way of thinking, a paradigm. And it is this phrase that emphasizes its
protagonism, it is that cry that gives a mother to her son that allows to
distinguish the discourse of the Woman in the historical processes, it can be
said then, that at the same time this mother is addressing to all her Generation,
that is, it would be transformed into a war cry.
And
what, my lady, is your offering so spontaneous and timely? A patriot officer
asks a woman who is also a patriot and she answers "They are five of my
children" (this is to be part of the liberating army) ... "these are
elements that imply responsibility, detachment and a series of implications
that Could only be understood by understanding the force of the woman for the
thought of the time.
The
authority and the power of the woman in the family in front of the estates of
the society like the religious or commercial maintained and increased the
heroism before some epopéyicos facts as they were the executions during the
denominated time of the terror in the frame of the reconquest of The royalist
troops.
Here is a
legendary anecdote that shows the strength of the woman of independence:
"Manuela
Beltran had ignited the fervor in Socorro, on March 16; but it was Black
Magdalene who, on the 30th of the same month and in the same city, put the men
on the warpath. It was Friday market day. At one o'clock the plaza of
Chiquinquirá was filled with people, although no one stopped the market. When
the bell rang, the bell rang in the church and someone threw a flying sign, an
agreed signal for a massive meeting in the Plaza Mayor. There was a lot of
shouting and little play. At three in the afternoon the mood began to be paid.
Suddenly a mulatta, over thirty-five, known to all as the Black Magdalena,
stood in front of the door of the tobacco administration and asked in a loud
voice: 'Who can defend the king's weapons?' The audacity of the question took
the protesters unprepared. There was a few seconds of silence and someone
finally shouted, 'Noooo!' And behind that voice another thousand repeated a
'Noooo!' Clamorous. La Negra Magdalena had a second question to the
tumultuaries: 'Is there anyone who stands up for the defense of tobacco
income?' The 'Nooo!' 'This time was chanted immediately. La Negra Magdalena
asked her third question: 'Is there anyone who protects this waterproofing?'
The 'Noooo' unanimous was reiterated. Someone said: 'Woe to whoever protects
this watertight!' La Negra Magdalena had no further questions, took a stone of
great caliber and with infallible marksmanship she burst it over the royal arms
placed on the lindel of the third of the tobacconist. The neighbors broke the
fear imposed on them by those shields, symbol of the power of a distant and
despotic authority. "
Regarding
the previous anecdote, it must be borne in mind that the teaching of the Creole
girls was carried out in the nunneries and in the schools -internados- that had
been established for them. The educational project was the same as that
presented in the colleges of New Spain; Integral formation of the woman as a
Christian and preparing it at the same time to -clear the house- and to act in
that society of which they were part and that is defined then as the -good
policy. This opened the way for them to realize their lives in the convent or
the home through Christian marriage unigamo and indissoluble.
The
ideal was obedience on the part of the woman and obtain the degree of knowledge
sufficient to be a kind of good woman, this also applied to indigenous women,
in short, and women were educated to provide a good service to the house and
community. However, the revolutions of Independence revealed the real capacity
of women in all walks of life.
Among
the women protagonists in the process of Independence of Colombia are: Madame
Julienne was the one who in Jamaica served as refuge to Simon Bolivar. Andrea
Ricaurte de Lozano, wife of Don Judas Tadeo Lozano, house that was like the
headquarters, the Bogota center of the conspiracy against the realists.
There
were women like Antonia Santos who, desperate for the outrages, humiliations
and humiliations that passed on the patriots, reflected on these situations and
often gave them a feeling of just demand that already demanded the end of so
many sorrows and pains, decided to organize and pay with His home the famous
Comoro guerrilla, whose center of activities was mainly his home in El Hatillo.
Heroine
remembered (almost forgotten) is Rita Duque de Montoya, Antioquia. To the fall
of the Republic (about 1816), had outstanding features of generosity to give
freedom to many patriots confined in prisons. Such acts are heroic in that it
was a time of war, terror and intimidation, and any action could mean death.
Another
prostitute was the slave Josefa Conde, who worked together with Josefa Castro
(his mistress) in collecting weapons, men and horses for war. For this reason,
she was sacrificed with her slave girl on September 13, 1817.
Significant
events carried out a series of heroines such as Ana Maria Martinez de Nisser of
Sonson, who "(...) becomes famous as a heroic fighter in Salamis, May 4,
1841, and dies on November 18, 1872." Leonor Guerra, "Natural
heroine-martyr of Cartagena, publicly beaten for defending the patriots, died
as a result of punishment"
There
is also Eugenia Arrazola who was "Heroine-natural martyr of Turbaco, shot
by Morillo in the hacienda of 'Torrecilla', located at a medium distance
between Cartagena and that city. Its execution took place the 30 of August of
1815 for having been proven to him that served as a link for the transmission
of the news to his compatriots besieged in Cartagena ".
And
Estefanía Parra who was "a patriot of humble cradle but of an intimate
interest for his beloved homeland. It was one of the key elements in the Battle
of Boyacá, because it was she who collaborated opportunely with Santander on
the crucial problem of the passage of the Boyacá River ...”
Epilogue:
Women
in the history of the Independence of Colombia must be written as a historical
claim against androcentrism, must assume the role of Women in all social
fields, from their role in battles such as those that helped, among other
things, in such elementary issues as embroidery were key factors in the triumph
and consolidation of the nation's independence.
In
the different celebrations, anonymous women should be especially written and
remembered. In this order of ideas, it is worth remembering for the
bicentenaries some heroines such as:
Gabriela
Barriga, wife of Villavicencio (exiled to Anolaima), Barbara Forero, is a
companion of the Matilde who appeared in public to harangue; He pretended to
have an open public school in his home to teach his fellow countrymen beautiful
manners. He is from Zipaquira and has been banished to Sesca.
Anonymous
anonymous exiles were:
The
wife of Fruto Gutiérrez is also the family of Girardot. It must be remembered
that many of the women were imprisoned or banished because of the
pro-independence revolutions, such as Carlota Armero, who was shot by the
Spanish officer Santacruz in his native city on May 28, 1816.
There
are also legends of heroines, eventually formed by what might be called
"war cries", for example, in the different cries such as "Viva
Santa Fe and chapetones die!" Or "We women ( (...) "show the
dynamism, show the drama and the passion it aroused among the inhabitants of
each province, the fact is that the same political effervescence would be
concentrated in the province of Santafe.
The
courage of the woman is always enclosed by a golden one, in the sense that for
the time (1810-1816), a rebellious woman was considered potentially dangerous.
And this was increased by the execution of many women who turned those moments
into heroic legends. The following case is an example of this:
"Women
set an example for soldiers; A brave patriot advancing with a sword in his
hand, asked a woman to depart to occupy the place; She insults him and says:
'Will not the stone that I cast will have as much effect as its blows?' And
stood firm in the post’
It
should be remembered that not only the notables, but even Simon Bolivar,
considered the inept and incapable of the population in general, whether they
were supposed to be liberal or conservative ideals, this excuse served not only
for "women... Under the age of twenty-five (...) "but to start a long
history of political limitations and deprivations throughout the territory of
the future republic.
"After
the conquest of the convent and surrender of the Spanish troops was completed,
in which, according to Father Afanador, an eyewitness of the events, many women
of the town took part actively, which he saw saw his climbs together with his
men in the Trestles of the roofs firing with cannons made of guadua bundled
with vines, and many in the square throwing stones of considerable weight
against the Spanish soldiers ...”
Conclusion:
Women not only contributed to the cause of independence, but also was the
motor, development and consolidation inherent in the Independence of Colombia
and Latin American nations. By participating in independence processes in
factors such as logistics, resources, moral support can be summarized the role
of women in independence and many anonymous heroines.
DOCUMENTARY AND
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL SOURCES
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