Rafaela de Herrera y Torreynosa (1742–1805) was a Spanish criolla. She is considered a national
hero
A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''her ...
ine of
Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...
, due to her actions in the defense of the
Fortress of the Immaculate Conception
The Fortress of the Immaculate Conception, (Spanish: ''El Castillo de la Inmaculada Concepción'') is a fortification located on the southern bank of the San Juan River (''Río San Juan''), in the village of El Castillo in southern Nicaragua. Th ...
during the
Battle for the Río San Juan de Nicaragua
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
in 1762 against the British forces.
Early life
Rafaela Herrera was born on August 6, 1742 in
Cartagena de Indias, in the
Viceroyalty of New Granada
The Viceroyalty of New Granada ( es, Virreinato de Nueva Granada, links=no ) also called Viceroyalty of the New Kingdom of Granada or Viceroyalty of Santafé was the name given on 27 May 1717, to the jurisdiction of the Spanish Empire in norther ...
of the
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...
. She was the
illegitimate
Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as '' ...
and only child of Lieutenant Colonel Don
José de Herrera y Sotomayor (died 1762) and Felipa Torreynosa.
Herrera's birth mother was Felipa Torreynosa, who was reported to be a
criolla or possibly a
mulatto woman.
[ She was raised in Cartagena by another woman—Doña Maria Felipe de Uriarte—who was widely considered to be her '']de facto
''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
'' mother.[
Herrera's father was a captain of artillery who had been engaged in heavy combat against ]British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
forces under the command of Vice Admiral Edward Vernon during the Battle of Cartagena de Indias
The Battle of Cartagena de Indias ( es, Sitio de Cartagena de Indias, lit=Siege of Cartagena de Indias) took place during the 1739 to 1748 War of Jenkins' Ear between Spain and Britain. The result of long-standing commercial tensions, the war w ...
in 1741. At the time of her birth the following year, he was Commander of the Castillo de San Sebastián del Pastelillo, a fortress on the outskirts of Cartagena de Indias. She was also the granddaughter of Brigadier
Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. I ...
Don Juan de Herrera y Sotomayor
''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...
(died 1732), a prominent military engineer
Military engineering is loosely defined as the art, science, and practice of designing and building military works and maintaining lines of military transport and military communications. Military engineers are also responsible for logistics ...
of Cartagena de Indias and founder of the Academia Militar de Matemáticas de América (Military Academy of Mathematics of America).[ Her great-grandfather was ]Captain General
Captain general (and its literal equivalent in several languages) is a high military rank of general officer grade, and a gubernatorial title.
History
The term "Captain General" started to appear in the 14th century, with the meaning of Comma ...
Don José Antonio de Herrera y Sotomayor, who had been Governor of Río de la Plata from 1682-1691.[
In raising his daughter, Lieutenant Colonel Herrera had tried to educate her not only in military exercises such as the handling of the cannon, but also in the principles of honor, faith and patriotism.][ Rafaela and her father left Cartagena in 1753, when the latter was assigned as Commander of the garrison at the Fortress of the Immaculate Conception on the San Juan River in the Province of Nicaragua, in relief of Lieutenant Colonel Don Juan Antonio Alonso de Arce.][
]
The Battle for the Río San Juan de Nicaragua
Because it represented a potential route between the Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
and Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...
oceans as well as the possibility of expanding their colonization of Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
beyond the Mosquito Coast
The Mosquito Coast, also known as the Mosquitia or Mosquito Shore, historically included the area along the eastern coast of present-day Nicaragua and Honduras. It formed part of the Western Caribbean Zone. It was named after the local Miskit ...
, Spanish Nicaragua was a major target for British attacks during the 18th century. In 1762, William Lyttelton, the British governor and commander-in-chief of Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
, proposed a naval expedition to Nicaragua. The goal was to sail up the San Juan River to Lake Nicaragua and capture the town of Granada, which would effectively cut Spanish America
Spanish America refers to the Spanish territories in the Americas during the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The term "Spanish America" was specifically used during the territories' imperial era between 15th and 19th centuries. To the e ...
in half as well as provide potential access to the Pacific Ocean. The first and greatest obstacle to success was to capture the Fortress of the Immaculate Conception.
The conflict began in June 1762, during the administration of interim Governor of Nicaragua Melchor Vidal de Lorca y Villena. Supplied by the British expeditionary force, a group of Miskito Sambu The Miskito Sambu, also known simply as the Miskito, are an ethnic group of mixed cultural ancestry (African- Indigenous American) occupying a portion of the Caribbean coast of Central America (particularly on the Atlantic coasts of Honduras and Ni ...
filibusters attacked cocoa plantations in the Valley of Matina. The following month they raided many undefended settlements in Nicaragua, including Jinotega
Jinotega () (derived from Náhuatl: ''Xiotenko'' ‘place next to the jiñocuajo trees’) is the capital city of the Department of Jinotega in north-central Nicaragua.
The city is located in a long valley surrounded by the cool climate and D ...
, Acoyapa
Acoyapa is a town and a municipality in the Chontales Department of Nicaragua. Its name comes from the word "Acoyaph" which means "place from above".
Geography
The municipality is bordered by Juigalpa, San Pedro de Lóvago, and Santo Tomás ...
, Lovigüisca, San Pedro de Lóvago
San Pedro de Lóvago () is a city in the Chontales Department of Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Cos ...
, the mission of Apompuá near Juigalpa
Juigalpa () is the municipal seat of Juigalpa Municipality and the capital city of the Chontales Department of Nicaragua. It is located within the municipality of Juigalpa, approximately 140 km east of Managua on Carretera Rama, in the cent ...
and Muy Muy
Muy Muy is a municipality in the Matagalpa department of Nicaragua.
The municipality of Muy Muy was named by the Matagalpa people, who were the indigenous group native to the area. In their native language "''muimui''" translates to "the best" ( ...
, burning and looting the villages as well as capturing some Spanish prisoners.[ Many of the people the Miskito captured were sold into slavery in ]colonial Jamaica
The Crown Colony of Jamaica and Dependencies was a British colony from 1655, when it was captured by the English Protectorate from the Spanish Empire. Jamaica became a British colony from 1707 and a Crown colony in 1866. The Colony was pr ...
.
The combined British and Miskito Sambu expeditionary force headed towards the Fortress of the Immaculate Conception
The Fortress of the Immaculate Conception, (Spanish: ''El Castillo de la Inmaculada Concepción'') is a fortification located on the southern bank of the San Juan River (''Río San Juan''), in the village of El Castillo in southern Nicaragua. Th ...
on the San Juan River in July. The attacking force consisted of two thousand men and more than fifty boats, while the soldiers at the fortress numbered only around a hundred. To make matters worse, the invaders threatened the region at a time when the commander of the Fortress of the Immaculate Conception, José Herrera, was mortally ill. As he lay on his deathbed, Rafaela made a solemn oath to her father that she would defend the fortress at the cost of her life if necessary.[ The elder Herrera died some time between July 15] and July 17,[ and Lieutenant Don Juan de Aguilar y Santa Cruz assumed temporary command of the garrison.][
A few days later, on July 26, 1762, a combined British and Miskito Sambu expeditionary force laid ]siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...
to the fortress during what would later be called the Battle for the Río San Juan de Nicaragua
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
. At 4 o’clock that morning, the lookout on duty heard cannon fire from the east, in the direction of an observation post
An observation post (commonly abbreviated OP), temporary or fixed, is a position from which soldiers can watch enemy movements, to warn of approaching soldiers (such as in trench warfare), or to direct fire. In strict military terminology, an ...
which was located at the junction of the Bartola and San Juan rivers. Shortly thereafter, the invaders captured the observation post and its defenders. The British commander learned from the Spanish prisoners that the fortress was in disarray due to the recent death of its commander. A few hours later, with his fleet anchored in the river, the British commander sent an envoy to demand the unconditional surrender of the fortress in exchange for the avoidance of further hostilities.[ The second in command of the garrison, a sergeant, was about to grant the request when the 19-year-old Herrera intervened. Seeing what she perceived as the cowardly attitude of the defenders, Herrera chided: "Have you forgotten the duties imposed by military honor? Are you going to allow the enemy to steal this fortress, which is the safeguard of the Province of Nicaragua and of your families?" Driven by her promise to her late father and ancestors and knowing the risk to her honor and virginity with the barbarity of the Miskito Sambu, she strongly opposed the surrender of the fort and insisting that each soldier take his place fighting. She ordered the gates of the fortress to be locked, took the keys and placed sentries.][
In response to the rejection of their demands, the British formed a ]skirmish line
Skirmishers are light infantry or light cavalry soldiers deployed as a vanguard, flank guard or rearguard to screen a tactical position or a larger body of friendly troops from enemy advances. They are usually deployed in a skirmish line, an i ...
, believing that this would be sufficient to achieve the desired effect. Herrera, trained in the handling of weapons, fired one of the cannons and managed to kill the British commander with the third volley of cannon fire. Enraged by the death of their boss, the British hoisted their battle ensign
A battle ensign is the name given to a large war ensign (flag) hoisted on a warship's mast just before going into battle.
In what could become a very confusing situation with thick clouds of gunsmoke the ensign gave additional identificatio ...
and began a vigorous attack upon the fortress which continued throughout the night. The garrison, energized by Herrera’s heroism, mounted a fierce resistance which inflicted great losses to the British soldiers and their boats.[ At nightfall, Herrera ordered the troops to throw some sheets soaked with alcohol into the river on floating branches and set on fire. The current dragged the burning material towards the enemy craft. This unexpected action forced the invading British troops to suspend their attack for the rest of the night and retreat to defensive positions. The next day the British tried to besiege the fortress, with little progress and many casualties on their side.][
Inspired by Herrera's acts of heroism, Lieutenant Juan de Aguilar, the '' pro tempore'' garrison commander, led the defenders to victory in a battle that lasted six days.][ Herrera handled the cannons of the fortress and the Spanish managed not only to defend the strategic position but also to defeat a much larger and better trained military force.][ The British finally lifted their siege and retreated on August 3, 1762.] They withdrew to the mouth of San Juan River, where their presence impeded the flow of shipping into the Caribbean Sea for some time. Fortunately for the defenders of the fortress, Spain and Britain began peace negotiations (in Fontainebleau on November 3, 1762), which culminated in the Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France:
Treaties
1200s and 1300s
* Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade
* Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France
* Trea ...
on February 10, 1763.[ ]Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
and Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
, which had been captured by the British, were returned to Spain and the Spanish ceded Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
to the British.
Later life
Herrera later married Don Pablo Mora, a citizen of Granada. The couple bore five children, of whom two were paralyzed. Her husband died after the birth of their fifth child, and the family lived in poverty in barrio Corinto (a poor neighborhood in Granada) until 1781. On November 11, 1781, King Charles III of Spain issued a royal decree
A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used ...
granting Herrera a pension for life as a reward for her heroic actions during the Battle for the Río San Juan de Nicaragua;[ she received some land and a pension of 600 pesos in payment for her merits.]
See also
* Women in warfare (1750–1799)
*Timeline of women in early modern warfare
A timeline is a display of a list of events in chronological order. It is typically a graphic design showing a long bar labelled with dates paralleling it, and usually contemporaneous events.
Timelines can use any suitable scale representi ...
References
External links
The Fortress of the Immaculate Conception (in Spanish)
History of the Fortress of the Immaculate Conception (in Spanish)
Visual guide of the Nicaraguan population of El Castillo. (in Spanish)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Herrera, Rafaela
1742 births
1805 deaths
Military history of Nicaragua
Nicaraguan rebels
Women in 18th-century warfare
19th-century Nicaraguan people
Women in war in South America
Nicaraguan people of Colombian descent