Women and Independence in Latin America

An exploration of women's involvement in the Latin American Wars of Independence

María de Rosario Melchora Puga y Vidaurre

Gender:Female

Ethnic origen: White

Events:

1796  -  Chillán  -  Not applicable  -  Born
1818  -  Concepción  -  Unknown  -  She gave birth to her son, Demetrio.
1818  -  Concepción  -  Unknown  -  She was the mistress of Bernardo O'Higgins and was here with him in 1818.
1823  -  Lima  -  Unknown  -  Bernardo O'Higgins took their son with him into exile in Peru.
1858  -  Chillán  -  Unknown  -  Died

Connections:

Female relatives of past and future leading political/military/ cultural figures
O'Higgins network
Women, wrote letters

Texts:
1847 - Letter to her estranged son, Demetrio O´Higgins expressing her love for him.
1851 - Letter to her estranged son, Demetrio O´Higgins, in which she regrets his lack of reply.

Biography:
Born in Chile in 1796, she became Bernardo O'Higgins's lover and the mother of Demetrio O'Higgins. She died in 1858. (Knaster, 15)

Demetrio was born in 1818, Bernardo O'Higgins took Demetrio with him into exile in 1823. After Bernardo's death in 1846, she made contact with Demetrio, writing letters for seven years. In June 1847 and in January 1851 she wrote of her love for her son, asking if he had forgotten her. (Vergara Quiroz, 224-225, 231)

Clissold describes her as "a flighty red-haired woman" and a "light-of-love" who left O'Higgins for a lover from the Carrera faction (unspecified) after their brief affair. Her nickname was "punta de diamante" and that the inexperienced O'Higgins "fell under her spell". She accompanied O'Higgins when he left Concepción in 1818. (Clissold, 154-155, 200)

References:

Clissold, Stephen (1968) Bernardo O'Higgins and the Independence of Chile
Knaster, Meri (1977) Women in Spanish America: An Annotated Bibliography from Pre-Conquest to Contemporary Times
Vergara Quiroz, Sergio (1987) Cartas de mujeres en Chile, 1630-1885