Biography of Juana Azurduy

 

Biography of Juana Azurduy 

Birthday

She was born on July 12, 1780 in Toroca, a town near Chuquisaca, department of Potosí, Bolivia.

Daughter of Matías Azurduy and Eulalia Bermúdez. Her parents passed away when she was seven years old. Her mother who died suddenly and her father, who was having an affair, was allegedly murdered by an aristocrat whose identity was never known. She had a brother, Blas, who died prematurely, and a sister, Rosalía.

Family
When Juana and Rosalía were orphaned, they were left in the care of some uncles.
Due to discipline problems with her tutors, they decided to send Juana to a convent.
 
Life in the convent
She was educated in the convent of Santa Teresa to consecrate herself as a nun.
She soon realized that this life was not for her and after arguing with the mother superior,she was expelled from the convent.
 
Marriage and children
In May 1799, she married General Manuel Ascensio Padilla, with whom she had five
children: Manuel, Mariano, Juliana, Mercedes and Luisa.
 
Battles
She fought in the war of independence for his country.
Juana left her four children and accompanied her husband to fight on the battlefield.

They organized a troop to help the expeditions sent by Buenos Aires to Upper Peru.When her husband entrusted her with the defense of Villar's hacienda, while he was leading an army towards the Chaco region, the royalists attacked Villar to cut off General Padilla's retreat and Juana defended him with only thirty riflemen.

 She helped create a militia of more than 10,000 Indians, commanded several of her

squadrons, and fought more than thirty battles. In one of the assaults, she killed the head
of the enemy force herself and took a flag from him, which she then presented to her husband.

Lieutenant colonel
On March 3, 1816, at the head of 200 Indian women on horseback, called "The Amazons", she defeated the Spanish troops in Bolivia and freed her husband who had been a prisoner since 1814. The government of Buenos Aires granted her the rank Lieutenant Colonel of the Argentine Army.
It is said that in combat he wore a scarlet tunic with gold stripes and alamares and a cap with silver ornaments and white feathers.
 
Padilla's death
She saw her four children die and fought pregnant with her fifth daughter. She was wounded
during the battle of La Laguna and was left a widow when her husband tried to rescue her.
 When she was widowed, she joined in the defense of the North under the 

service of Martín
Miguel de Güemes. After the death of the caudillo, she lacked the resources to return to his homeland.
 Her life was spent in Salta reclaiming her confiscated assets from Bolivia. In 1825, the Salta government granted her money for her return.
 
 
Death
Juana Azurduy died on May 25, 1862, in Sucre, Bolivia, forgotten and in poverty.
She was buried in a common grave.
Colonel of the Bolivian Army, promoted post-mortem to Marshal and Lieutenant Colonel of the Argentine Army, promoted post-mortem to General.

Military ranks

Colonel of the Bolivian Army, promoted post-mortem to Marshal and Lieutenant Colonel of the Argentine Army, promoted post-mortem to General.