We’ve all heard tales of the Conquistadors sailing for the New World in pursuit riches.
These adventurous and ambitious explorers managed to expand the control of Spain and Portugal,
bringing great empires to their knees and earning the status of legendary soldiers.
But in the Exploration and subsequent Conquest of the Americas, another key role was played by the
women that accompanied said Conquistadors. These women, either being single or married, sailed in
search of adventure and distinguished themselves in a world dominated by man, becoming settlers,
businesswomen, explorers, soldiers, and even governors in the process. A small group of women
even achieved the same legendary status that some of their male counterparts had,
thus becoming Conquistadoras themselves. It is their part in some of the key events during this
period that we are going to discuss today. Your continued support allows us to expand
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Despite the common belief that the Conquistador was a ruthless plunderer that came to the New
World to amass a great wealth before returning back to Europe, this was hardly the case,
as most Spanish and Portuguese Conquistadors had the objective of colonizing and populating the
land that they conquered. This wrong belief is why the Conquistador is attributed to have come alone,
instead of accompanied by women; yet many women also came to the New World, either with their
husbands or searching for adventure in this new and exciting land. Modern historians estimate
that in the period ranging from the years 1560 to 1579, a total of around 5000 Spanish women
emigrated to the Americas, from which 1980 were married and accompanied their husbands,
and 3020 were single and were probably looking to get married or to find sustenance in the
New World. One of the first women to travel to the New World was María de Toledo, wife of the
second Viceroy of the Indies, Diego Columbus. She would reach Santo Domingo in 1509 and would later
take control of its government in 1515 due to the absence of her husband. During her five-year rule,
María would fight for the liberty of the natives that had been enslaved during the cruel
administration of Nicolás de Ovando, facing a lot of opposition from the local authorities while
attempting to change their privileged regime. Not long after, a small group of women would
play a key role in the Conquest of Mexico, accompanying Conquistador Hernán Cortés in
his expedition into the Aztec Empire. Their most prominent occupation would be that of a nurse,
tending to the soldiers’ wounds; but these women would also saddle the horses, take
care of weapons, take over guard duties, and even fight in the frontlines next to their husbands.
Among these women were Beatriz de Palacios, nicknamed La Parda because of her African descent
and considered one of the first black people to ever set foot in the Americas;
Juana Mansilla, that married with one of Cortés’ cousin, founded the city of Puebla de los Angeles
and defended it from rival Conquistadors; Beatriz González, who arrived with the expedition of
Pánfilo de Narváez and served during the siege of Tenochtitlan; and Beatriz Bermúdez de Velasco,
who heroically stopped a company of retreating Spanish soldiers and urged them to regroup during
the siege of Tenochtitlan. The leader of this group of soldier-nurses was Isabel Rodríguez, who
after the Battle of Otumba established an official nursing corps composed entirely of soldiers’ wives
and allied native women that would accompany the Spanish men during their expeditions.
Isabel’s ability to heal wounds was also considered miraculous by many,
and such renown earned her the title of honorary doctor from the Crown of Spain, a profession that
up until now had been restricted only for men. Isabel would then go on to exercise medicine in
all the lands of New Spain, making her one of the first registered female doctors in all of history.
But probably one of the most important women in the Conquest of Mexico would be the fierce María
de Estrada. María had been one of the first women to travel to the New World in 1509, accompanying
her brother, the Conquistador Francisco de Estrada, in an expedition to the Gulf of Darién.
Yet the expedition would soon end in failure, and in the return journey to Santo Domingo, she would
shipwreck on the island of Cuba and would end up captured by the natives. For several years,
she would live among them until the conquest of Cuba in 1513, when she was liberated by a group
of Conquistadors led by Diego Velázquez. María would later marry to one of the Conquistadors
in the expedition of Cortés, probably arriving in Mexico in April of 1520 to join her husband.
During the Night of Sorrows, on which Cortés and his men were driven out of Tenochtitlan,
María would play a crucial part, valiantly fighting her way out of the city as a true warrior
and then participating in the decisive charge of armored cavalry during the Battle of Otumba.
Impressed by her actions, Cortés tried to dissuade her to rest in camp, to which
María argued saying “it’s not right that Spanish women leave their husbands when they go to war;
as where they die, we die, because the Indians need to understand that the Spaniards are so brave
that even their women know how to fight”. She would then go on to lead a group of Conquistadors
into the area around the Popocatépetl , defeating the Nahua natives of Hueyapan
in battle as a true Conquistadora. For her role in the Conquest, María and her husband would be
awarded an extensive encomienda in the areas of Tetela del Volcán , Nepopualco and Hueyapan .
Looking further south, there are few examples in history of women so distinguished as Doña Inés
Suárez, the Conquistadora that led the Defense of Santiago. Her story begins in 1526, when the
19-year-old Inés married a fellow Conquistador that was going to embark for the New World.
As the years passed, and Inés heard no news from her husband, she decided to travel to the Americas
herself in 1536, arriving in Peru the next year. There, she learned of her husband’s demise at the
Battle of Las Salinas and was granted an estate in Cuzco as compensation. During her stay in Cuzco,
Inés met with Pedro de Valdivia and allegedly became his lover, joining him for his expedition
to Chile. There, she would take the role of a nurse, treating the sick and wounded,
but also searching for water and supplies. In December of 1540, the expedition arrived in the
valley of the Mapocho river, where Inés became one of the founders of the capital city of Santiago.
Valdivia’s expedition would then expand its grasp over the region, capturing seven native
chieftains and culminating on September 9 of 1541 with the Conquistador himself launching an attack
on a native tribe near Cachapoal. The following morning, Inés and Captain Alonso de Monroy found
out that the woods in the vicinity of Santiago were full of enemy Mapuches waiting to besiege the
capital city. As the enemy prepared, Alonso and the other Conquistadors argued whether to release
the seven chieftains captured by Valdivia to appease the Mapuche enemies, yet Inés stepped in
and convinced all of them that the chieftains were better off as a bargaining chip in case of attack.
On September 11, instead of waiting for such an attack,
Alonso’s men came to meet the 20000-strong Mapuche army under the great warrior, Michimalonco;
but the Spanish soldiers were soundly defeated and soon had to retreat as the enemy natives
started to shoot fire arrows against the city. Amidst the chaos of the siege,
Inés devised a plan to defeat their foe: she ordered to cut the heads of the seven captured
chieftains with the intention of throwing them against the Mapuches to cause panic over their
army. Inés herself grabbed a sword and in cold blood decapitated the first of the chieftains,
Quilicanta. The Conquistadora then headed to the city square and encouraged the Spanish soldiers to
counterattack with an inspiring speech worthy of a true captain. Meanwhile, the decapitated heads
of the chieftains were dropped over the Mapuche army, leaving them in a state of disorder and
confusion just as Inés expected. Thanks to her actions, the Spaniards would win the day
and rout the overwhelming Mapuche army, successfully saving the capital city of Santiago.
Four years later, Inés would be rewarded with an extensive encomienda for her role on the siege
and the Conquest of Chile, and in 1549 she would marry Captain Rodrigo de Quiroga, the future Royal
Governor of the new colony. She would then live a quiet life in Santiago until her death in 1580,
treated by her contemporaries as a brave woman and as the great captain that defended their
city when they needed it the most. Moving to the River Plate region,
we find that women also played a crucial role in the expeditions that took place between the years
1535 and 1560. During the first journey of Pedro de Mendoza, a group of women embarked to the New
World to colonize the mouth of the River Plate in what is modern-day Argentina and Uruguay.
One of these women was Isabel de Guevara, who described how half of the men in the expeditionary
force died during famines and conflicts with the natives, causing the women to take their
duties and maintain the expedition alive. Isabel would participate in the founding of Buenos Aires
and would then travel along the Paraná river to also found Asunción, the capital of Paraguay.
Yet women in the New World not only acted as expeditionary leaders or fierce soldiers,
they also took positions of power, such as Aldonza de Villalobos, who competently governed the
island of Margarita for 30 years, a position she inherited from her father. Another female governor
in the New World would be Isabel de Bobadilla, who effectively became ruler of Cuba for five years
while her husband, Hernando de Soto, set out to explore Florida. Finally, Beatriz
de la Cueva , wife of the Conquistador Pedro de Alvarado, would also rule the Captaincy General
of Guatemala in her husband’s absence. Another key role taken by women would be that of innovative
businesswomen, such as the cases of María Escobar, who was one of the first persons in the New World
to bring wheat and to begin its implantation in the Americas; and of Mencía Ortiz, who in 1549
cofounded a company dedicated to the merchandise traffic with the New World, thus becoming one of
the first persons in history to try to exploit the new markets that created the discovery of America.
With the conclusion of the Early Colonization of the New World, women in the Americas started
to take a more pronounced role in the construction of a Colonial society, but two women in particular
would distinguish themselves during this period with impressive feats of leadership and heroism.
The first one would be Doña Isabel Barreto, married in Lima to the adelantado Álvaro de
Mendaña in 1585. Almost ten years later, Álvaro and Isabel would embark on an expedition towards
the mythical Solomon Islands, where supposedly laid the legendary country of Ophir and all its
wealth. Despite the long and tiring journey through the Pacific, the expedition would be
a success, as Álvaro and Isabel discovered the Marquesas Islands and founded a colony on the
Santa Cruz islands. Yet the adelantado would soon fall ill with malaria, leaving his wife
to inherit all of his titles, including those of Governor of the Solomon Islands and Admiral
of the Expedition. Thus, Isabel is considered the first female admiral in European history,
and she would admirably behave as one. Untamed and authoritarian, Isabel fiercely managed to control
her rebellious crew, which was dissatisfied by the poor and inadequate soil of the islands. But
the fate of the colony would be decided when the Spaniards murdered one of the local chieftains,
earning the ire of the natives and forcing Isabel to abandon the islands towards the Philippines.
In the end, Isabel would successfully lead the expedition to the port of Manila,
where she would remarry with general Fernando de Castro, a wealthy and prestigious man that
could help her prepare a new expedition to the Solomon Islands. Together with her new husband,
Isabel would cross again the Pacific Ocean headed to New Spain, and would then travel to her states
in Peru, where she would later die, preventing her from accomplishing her dream of a new expedition.
The other exemplary woman of this period would be Catalina de Erauso, known to us nowadays as the
Lieutenant Nun. Born in San Sebastián , Catalina was taken into a convent at a very young age
to be educated in the catholic values and the duties of being a woman; but the young nun had a
rebellious and explosive temperament, and as such she was then transferred to the Monastery of Saint
Bartholomew, where she was treated more harshly and even suffered beatings by the older nuns.
Realizing she didn’t have a religious vocation, Catalina escaped when she was 15 years old,
procuring for herself boy’s clothes and cutting her hair to hide her identity while she wandered
across the country . For several years, she managed to survive doing a variety of jobs,
but as many Basques of the era, she soon found herself drawn towards the adventures
that laid ahead of her in the Americas; so she traveled to the port of Bonanza, and from
there she embarked towards the Kingdom of New Granada with her uncle, captain Esteban Eguino.
Upon arriving at Punta de Araya in modern-day Venezuela, Catalina and Eguino’s crew would
successfully fight against Dutch corsairs before traveling to Panamá. But in the town of Nombre de
Dios, Catalina would murder her uncle to steal his wealth and disappear inside the Spanish colony.
From there, she would accompany a merchant towards the port of Paita,
working as a trader for him across Perú. In Lima, however, she was allegedly discovered “between the
legs” of the merchant’s sister, so she was fired and then had to seek employment in the company of
Captain Gonzalo Rodríguez, who was going to lead a 1600-men expedition to fight the Mapuche in Chile.
Thus, still posing as a man and taking the name Alonso Díaz, Catalina became a Conquistadora,
proving her worth during the Arauco War and bravely fighting against the native Mapuche,
although she would participate in some vicious massacres as well.
During the Battles of Valdivia and Purén, Catalina also displayed great leadership skills,
which earned her a promotion to second lieutenant. But her notorious cruelty against the natives
prevented her from climbing through the military ranks, and in the end,
this frustrated the Lieutenant Nun, driving her to seek fights with her comrades and to
commit crimes for which she ended up imprisoned. When Catalina was released, she fled across the
Andes Mountains to Tucumán, a very difficult and unforgiving journey which almost caused her death.
The Lieutenant Nun was saved by a Tucumán villager, and ended up
promising marriage to two young ladies that were unaware that she was a woman herself.
Fleeing from there without marrying any of them, Catalina continued to be a troublemaker until
she was arrested again in Huamanga in 1623 and sentenced to death. To avoid execution, Catalina
begged for mercy to the local bishop and confessed that she was a woman who had been in a convent.
After almost 20 years posing as a man, the truth came out when a group of matrons examined her and
determined that she was indeed a woman, still a virgin one. The bishop then protected her and sent
her back to Spain, where she became a celebrity for her unusual life. She was received by King
Philipp IV, who maintained her rank of second lieutenant and granted her a compensation for
her services in the New World. Such was her fame that even the Pope wanted an audience with her.
Catalina is an extraordinary figure of the era, being considered one of the first women to change
gender. Not only that, but she was most probably the first woman to legally become transgender,
as King Philipp officially allowed her to keep her male name, and in Rome, Pope Urban VIII authorized
her to dress as a man. In her autobiography, there are also many examples of sexual encounters with
women, such as when she was found in between the legs of the merchant’s sister, so she
also might have been a lesbian, although Catalina never declared her own sexual orientation.
The interesting lives of María de Estrada, Inés Suárez, Isabel Barreto or Catalina de Erauso,
among many others, are only a handful of examples about the important role that women
played during the Age of Colonialism; and in the period of Colonial Latin America, many more
would be fundamental for the construction of an independent colonial society, some of them even
becoming leaders of men during the Independence Wars. The myth about the Conquistadors coming
alone to ruthlessly plunder the Americas has been disproven for a long time now, yet this myth is
still alive in the historical knowledge of many people, undermining the important part that women
played during this period, so we’re glad we can shed some light over the lives of some of these
illustrious female figures and we expect to hear in the comments which one was your favorite. We
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