Mercedes Martínez del Caso de Scarpetta

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

Biographical details

She was punished "before 1817" for her part in the independence struggles. Arciniegas describes her as having been terrorised, in Calí, Colombia, for the republican cause. (Arciniegas, 86)

She recruited men, gathered arms and horses for the independence cause in Calí. She was imprisoned by Francisco Warleta who demanded the whereabouts of her husband, Manuel Scarpetta y Roo. She refused, was put in chains and was made to ride the streets on an ass. She remained silent and was then locked up inside a filthy cell of the Húsares de Fernando VII battalion, and whipped. When Scarpetta y Roo heard of this, he gave himself up in return for her freedom. Warleta took 5,000 pesos in exchange for the freedom of both of them and they fled to Quito. In 1822, they returned to Calí where she died shortly afterwards. (Monsalve, 153-154, 259-260)

Life Events

Other	1817	She was punished by the royalists around this time and fled to Quito.
Died	1822	She returned from Quito to Calí where she died.

References

Arciniegas, Germán, (1961), América mágica: II Las mujeres y las horas

Monsalve, José D, (1926), Mujeres de la independencia

Publications

There is no writing by this subject in the database.

Links

Resource id #25 (12)

Resource id #29 (109)

Resource id #33 (29)

Resource id #37 (35)

Gendering Latin American Independence

School of Modern Languages and Cultures
Trent Building, University Park
Nottingham, NG7 2RD

telephone: +44 (0)115 951 5655
email: Catherine.davies@nottingham.ac.uk