Manuela Sáenz (1797-1856)

Manuela Sáenz; a name that echoes through history, but often gets overlooked.  

Born in 1797 in what is now Ecuador. She was a illegitimate daughter, and broke every rule society tried to impose her. She got expelled from home after her mother died, and was sent to a convent to be raised by nuns. At 17 years old, she also got expeled at the convent. Her father arranged a marriage for her with an Englishman. After this marriage failed, she met Simón Bolívar, the liberator of South-America. The two fell in love, united by their shared vision of freedom from Spanish rule. But Sáenz was so much more then only Bolivars lover. She was a revolutionary her own. 

 

She wore men’s clothing in battle, once she even wore a moustache she took from a fallen Spanish soldier. She spied, fought, and inspired troops. She even earned the nickname: ‘The Liberator of the Liberator' after saving Bolívar’s life on multiple occasions.

 

In 1828, conspirators stormed Bolívars residence. Manuela delayed them, shouting, 'Kill me if you dare!' giving Bolívar time to escape. Her courage was legendary, but so were her sacrifices. 

 

After Bolivars’ death, she attempted suicide, was exiled and spent her final years as a saleswomen. In 1856, she died from disease and was buried in a mass-grave. 

 

In 2010, Manuela’s symbolic remains were brought to Venezuela. She got placed beside Bolívar in the National Pantheon. It was a long-overdue recognition of her pivotal role in shaping a free South America.

Manuela Sáenz wasn’t just Bolívar’s partner. She also was a fighter, leader, and a symbol of women’s resilience. 

 “A 200 años de la batalla de Junín: Manuelita Sáenz, una pieza clave de la gesta libertaria”. Andina, 2024. https://andina.pe/agencia/noticia-a-200-anos-de-batalla-junin-manuelita-saenz-una-pieza-clave-de-gesta-libertaria-995968.aspx.

 

Sources:

Pictures used:

-              Lee, Catherine. “World-Changing Women: Manuela Sáenz”. Openlearn, 2020. https://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/world-changing-women-manuela-saenz. 

-              “A 200 años de la batalla de Junín: Manuelita Sáenz, una pieza clave de la gesta libertaria”. Andina, 2024. https://andina.pe/agencia/noticia-a-200-anos-de-batalla-junin-manuelita-saenz-una-pieza-clave-de-gesta-libertaria-995968.aspx.

-              “Manuela Sáenz saves Bolívar from assassination”. The University of Nottingham. https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/genderlatam/database/search/show_image.php?personID=237&lang=en&imageID=227. 

-              “Spanish viceroyalties and Portuguese territories in the Americas, 1780”. Britannica. https://cdn.britannica.com/10/126810-050-6ADE689B/viceroyalties-Spanish-territories-Portuguese-Western-Hemisphere-1780.jpg.

-              “La Iglesia de Santa Catalina”. Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes. https://www.cervantesvirtual.com/obra-visor/contribuciones-a-la-historia-del-arte-en-el-ecuador-volumen-iii--0/html/00207432-82b2-11df-acc7-002185ce6064_31.html.

-              Straussmann Masur, Gerhard. “Simón Bolívar: Venezuelan soldier and statesman”. Britannica, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Simon-Bolivar.

-              Pazmina, Rebeca. “Manuela Sáenz”. https://www.banrepcultural.org/noticias/una-mirada-profunda-al-papel-de-la-mujer-en-el-proceso-de-independencia.

-              Santillán, Eduardo. “Presidents Rafael Correa and Hugo Chávez receive the symbolic remains of Manuela Sáenz at the National Pantheon in Caracas”. Flickr, 2010. 

-              Santillán, Eduardo. “Presidents Chávez and Correa place the symbolic remains of Manuela Sáenz near the tomb of Simón Bolívar in the National Pantheon”. Flickr, 2010. 

Informative sources: 

     -             The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Manuela Saenz”. Britannica, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Manuela-Saenz. 

-              Dominguez, Luis F. “Manuela Sáenz: The Revolutionary Heroine of South America”. Homeschool Spanish Academy, 2021. https://www.spanish.academy/blog/manuela-saenz-the-revolutionary-heroine-of-south-america/. 

-              Meares, Hadley. “7 Female Adventurers Who Broke All the Rules”. History, 2017. https://www.history.com/news/7-female-adventurers-who-broke-all-the-rules. 

-              Grant, Will. “Venezuele honours Simon Bolivar’s lover Manuela Saenz”. BBC, 2010. https://www.bbc.com/news/10504821.

-     Murray, Pamela S.  For Glory and Bolívar: The Remarkable Life of Manuela Sáenz. New York: University of Texas Press, 2008.

    

More literature:

           -  Murray, Pamela S. “Of Love and Politics: Reassessing Manuela Sáenz and Simón Bolívar, 1822-1830.” History Compass 5, no. 1 (2007): 227–50. doi:10.1111/j.1478-0542.2006.00374.x.

            - Chambers, Sarah C. “Republican Friendship: Manuela Sáenz Writes Women into the Nation, 1835-1856.” The Hispanic American Historical Review 81, no. 2 (2001): 225–57. doi:10.1215/00182168-81-2-225.

            - Rísquez, Diego. Manuela Sáenz. Movie (2000). https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0295423/.