Question

What happened to the women that participated in the wars of independence in Latin America?

a. They became powerful symbols.

b. We do not know anything about them.

c. Most of them died in battle.

d. People were, and continue to be, indifferent to them.

Answer 1

a. They became powerful symbols

The Independence Wars of Latin America was treated as an opportunity by the Latin American women to move beyond their traditional sphere of the home. Women chose to directly participate in the Wars of Independence by providing food and infrastructure to the soldiers. Not only did they act as nurses but also they participated as soldiers and spies. Two such women are; Doña Manuela Sáenz y Aizpuru and Juana Azurduy de Padilla. Doña Manuela Sáenz y Aizpuru contributed by fighting for women's rights. She was honored by the felicitation of the Order of the Sun. Similarly, another lady Juana Azurduy de Padilla, who fought the war as guerrilla military leader was posthumously promoted to the rank of general.

It is worth noting that in the immediate post-independence period several of the women who participated in the war were given national awards and were not viewed as rebellions of the patriarchal system.