Manuela Malasaña Oñoro (, March 10, 1791 – May 2, 1808) was a Spanish

seamstress A dressmaker, also known as a seamstress, is a person who makes clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and evening gowns. Dressmakers were historically known as mantua-makers, and are also known as a modiste or fabrician. Notable d ...

killed by soldiers of

Napoleon I of France Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

during the Second of May Uprising in Madrid. The uprising was part of the

Spanish War of Independence The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

. She was the daughter of a French baker named Jean Malesange, hispanicized "Malasaña", and his wife Marcela Oñoro. She was a

and lived on the fourth floor of 18 San Andres Street, in the neighbourhood which was then known as Maravillas (now commonly known as Malasaña). On May 2, 1808, Manuela was only 17 years old. The legendary version of her death says she fought the French, working in the defense of the Artillery Battery at Monteleón, led by

Luis Daoíz y Torres Captain Luis Daoiz y Torres (10 February 1767 – 2 May 1808) was a Spanish Army officer who was one of the leaders of the Dos de Mayo Uprising which resulted in the outbreak of the Spanish War of Independence. His surname was derived from the ...

and

Pedro Velarde y Santillán Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for ''Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meaning ...

. Her father was purported to fire against the French from the balcony of her house and she supplied him with gunpowder and munitions until she died when she was struck by a bullet. However, the scholar Carlos Cambronero discovered the death certificate of Jean Malasgne, proving that he had died before the uprising took place. It is possible, though not certain, that Manuela Malasaña had fought in the park of artillery Monteleón, as it is known that other women from the neighborhood did, but the generally accepted version is that she would have remained sheltered from the fighting in the embroidery workshop where she worked, by order of the owner of the workshop. When the shooting stopped, she returned home. She had been in possession of a pair of

scissors Scissors are hand-operated shearing tools. A pair of scissors consists of a pair of blades pivoted so that the sharpened edges slide against each other when the handles (bows) opposite to the pivot are closed. Scissors are used for cutting var ...

and the French soldiers, under the authority of the

Martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

which was in place at the time, accused her of carrying a "weapon" and immediately carried out a

summary execution In civil and military jurisprudence, summary execution is the putting to death of a person accused of a crime without the benefit of a free and fair trial. The term results from the legal concept of summary justice to punish a summary offense, a ...

by shooting her. According to another version Manuela Malasaña came across French soldiers who tried to grope and molest her. She threatened them with a pair of scissors, for fear of sexual abuse or worse. The French soldiers shot her. Manuela died 18 hours after the uprising in the current Plaza del Dos de Mayo. Her body was registered under number 74 in the list of the 409 victims of that day, the documentation is kept in the military and Municipal Archives of Madrid. She was buried in the Hospital de la Buena Dicha, (today Church of Buena Dicha in Silva Street) which was founded in 1594 and was a home for the poor. Many of the wounded of the 2 May revolt were treated at this hospital, and many of the casualties were buried there. Her portrait is in the Hall of Heroines of the Army Museum and is the work of José Luis Villar and Rodriguez de Castro. Manuela had become known in her neighborhood for her youth and charm, and dying so young and giving her life to the cause of freedom made her a great legend and heroine amongst the people of Madrid. The city of Madrid dedicated to her memory a street bearing her name in her old neighborhood of Maravillas, which crosses San Andres Street near where she lived. By extension, from the '80s, all of the Maravillas district became known as the Malasaña neighbourhood in Madrid. The nearby town of

Móstoles Móstoles () is a municipalities of Spain, municipality of Spain located in the Community of Madrid. With over 200,000 inhabitants, it is the region's second most populated municipality after Madrid. Móstoles was a small town for a long time, but ...

also honoured her with a street and a metro station on line 12 (MetroSur).

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