Salavarrieta, Pola (1795–1817)

Colombian rebel in the fight for independence. Name variations: La Pola; Policarpa Salavarrieta. Born Policarpa Salavarrieta in Guaduas, Colombia, on February 22, 1795; executed in Bogotá, Colombia, on November 14, 1817; daughter of José Joaquin Salavarrieta and Maríana (Rios) Salavarrieta.

Born in 1795 in Guaduas, Colombia, into a respectable Creole family, Pola Salavarrieta and her brothers became revolutionaries during the independence movement; she played a key role in the patriot underground, first in Guaduas and then in Bogotá. Colombia was a viceroyalty of Spain when Salavarrieta trained as a seamstress and used her skills to gain positions in the homes of Spanish royalist women in Bogotá. She passed on the political information which she overheard in these homes to rebels who were trying to overthrow the Spanish.

After authorities uncovered her covert activities, she was captured and imprisoned by the Royalists. Accused of espionage and subversion against the Spanish crown and condemned to death, she and seven or eight accomplices were either shot or hanged as republican agents in Bogotá's main plaza on November 14, 1817. As she courageously walked to her death, Salavarrieta (or "La Pola," as she came to be called) shouted a tirade against Spanish oppression and urged her people to avenge her death. Her execution in the public square inspired popular sympathy, and her story became that of a legendary resistance hero. She was one of approximately 50 female agents who were executed before Colombia achieved independence in 1819. Salavarrieta was the first Latin American woman commemorated on a postage stamp, her image appearing on a 1910 independence-centennial issue. She also appears on a 1977 two-peso Colombian banknote.

sources:

Davis, Robert H. Historical Dictionary of Colombia. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow, 1993.

Mahoney, M.H. Women in Espionage. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 1993.

Tenenbaum, Barbara A., ed. Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture. Vol. 5. NY: Scribner, 1996.

suggested reading:

Henderson, James D., and Linda Roddy Henderson. Ten Notable Women of Latin America. Chicago, IL: Nelson-Hall, 1978.

Barbara Morgan , Melrose, Massachusetts