Magdalena Ortega de Nariño

Other names/titles:
Gender: F
Ethnic origin: White

Biographical details

Born in 1762, she married Antonio Nariño. On 13 August 1810, she defended former Viceroy Amar y Borbón and his wife, Francisca Villanova, against an angry crowd who wanted to punish them for the mistakes of the former administration. She may have been involved in the colegio de Enseñanza. (Knaster, 484.)

On 14 August 1810 she was among a group of women who insisted that the Viceroy and his wife, Francisca Villanova, be given safe conduct from the prisons in which they'd been held overnight and returned to the Viceroy's palace. (Monsalve, 94)

She helped Nariño in the campaign for Colombian independence. On 19 January 1796 she wrote to the Spanish crown asking for better treatment for her husband. He escaped from the Spanish Court two months later and returned to Nueva Granada. (Knaster, 483)

She and Nariño hosted political tertulias from 1789-94. (Forero, 18-25) She died in July 1811, six months after Nariño's release from prison, and two days after his paper La Bagatela was first published. (Forero, 136)

She was part of the González Manrique, Alvarez, Ricaurte, París, Pardo, Nariño clan. (Monsalve, 139)

Life Events

Born	1762
Other	1789	She began hosting political tertulias.
Other	1796	On 19 January 1796 she wrote to the Spanish crown asking for better treatment for her husband.
Other	1810	On 13 or 14 August 1810 she helped secure the release of the Viceroy and his wife.
Died	1811	She died on 14 or 16 July 1811 in Bogotá.