Isabel Rodríguez, also known as Isabel Rodrigo, was a Spanish nurse, explorer, and doctor of the 16th century. She was the "mother" of 16th century

military medicine The term military medicine has a number of potential connotations. It may mean: *A medical specialty, specifically a branch of occupational medicine attending to the medical risks and needs (both preventive and interventional) of sold ...

Biography

She was a member of the expedition of

Hernán Cortés Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquess of the Valley of Oaxaca (; ; 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of w ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. Born in Spain, her date of birth and of death are unknown. She was known as "The Matron" of the conquest among her companions. Her name is mentioned in the letters of

Francisco Cervantes de Salazar Francisco Cervantes de Salazar (1514? – 1575) was a Spanish man of letters and rector of the Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico, founded in 1551. He was born and raised in Toledo, Spain. He first attended Alejo Venegas’s Grammar ...

and

Bernal Díaz del Castillo Bernal Díaz del Castillo ( 1492 – 3 February 1584) was a Spanish conquistador, who participated as a soldier in the conquest of the Aztec Empire under Hernán Cortés and late in his life wrote an account of the events. As an experienced ...

. Her husband was Miguel Rodríguez de Guadalupe, of whom not much is known. She arrived to the New World prior to 1521 and joined Cortés’ expedition. Isabel was in charge of the medical part of the expedition. She had the idea of creating an established group of nurses that would accompany the soldiers consistently. She trained and coordinated young women, from both Spain and the allied native nations, that desired to take part in the conquest to treat war wounds and form a corps of nurses that followed the conquerors and intervened after, or even during, battle, to assist the wounded. She might have also served as a

woman soldier Women have served in the military in many different roles in various jurisdictions throughout history. Women in many countries are no longer excluded from some types of combat missions such as piloting, mechanics, and infantry officer. Since 1 ...

, as several of her underlings also did. Some of the women under her command were Beatriz Palacios,

Juana Mansilla Juana Mansilla (fl. 1508–1528), was one of the first women known to participate in the conquest of Mexico. She was a Spanish colonist, noblewoman, battlefield-nurse and alleged-witch of the 16th century. Bernal Diaz del Castillo includes her in t ...

and Beatriz Muñoz. It is likely that Isabel took over other management duties regarding settlements or food rationing. Her healing ability was so outstanding that she was said to have a "gift". When the conquest was over, and after several of her companions and former patients acted as witnesses, the Spanish Crown granted her the title of "Honorary Doctor", a profession reserved only for men at the time, and granted her permission to freely exercise medicine in the lands of Nueva España. This makes Isabel one of the first recognized female doctors in western history. After her intense life of service she settled in

Tacubaya Tacubaya is a working-class area of west-central Mexico City, in the borough of Miguel Hidalgo, consisting of the '' colonia'' Tacubaya proper and adjacent areas in other colonias, with San Miguel Chapultepec sección II, Observatorio, Daniel Ga ...

, where her service had earned her and her family some terrain, and continued practicing medicine among her local community.Elizabeth Salas. Soldaderas in the Mexican Military: Myth and History. University of Texas, Austin

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Isabel Spanish emigrants to Mexico History of the Aztecs Spanish women physicians 16th-century Spanish women Spanish conquistadors Women in the Conquest of Mexico 16th-century Spanish physicians