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

Sor María Petronila Cuéllar

Gender:Female

Ethnic origen: Unknown

Events:

Connections:

Biography:
Born in Timaná Huila, in 1761, she became a nun. She wrote a book: Riego Espiritual para Nuevas Planta,1805, at the request of her confessor, Andrés de Aros. It was a manual for the education of nuns of the Enseñanza convent. She became Prefecta del Colegio de la Enseñanza, Superiora y Priora. Her Riego begins with a verse to the Virgin Mary followed by 7 chapters, each dedicated to the convent duties. She provided a code of conduct for all convent members. She was preoccupied with teaching to the point of being repressive, and would physically punish her pupils. She died on 14 March 1814. (Robledo, b, 33, 42-44)

She was in the Convent of La Enseñanza. (Robledo, a, 211)

She was the second Prioress of La Enseñanza, the first educational centre for women in Bogotá that was established in 1782? (Knaster, 463, 112.)

References:

Smith, Verity (editor). (1997) Encyclopedia of Latin American Literature
Velásquez Toro, Magdala; Reyes Cárdenas, Catalina; Rodríguez Jiménez, Pablo (editor). (1995) Las mujeres en la historia de Colombia
Knaster, Meri (1977) Women in Spanish America: An Annotated Bibliography from Pre-Conquest to Contemporary Times