Manuela Sáenz

📷 Wikimedia Commons — domaine public — Marco Salas Yepes (1919-1994) copy of Tecla Walker — 1960

1797 — 1856

Pérou, Équateur, Bolivie, vice-royauté de Nouvelle-Grenade, Grande Colombie

PoliticsMilitaryEarly ModernAge of Atlantic Revolutions and Latin American Independence (late 18th – mid-19th century)

Ecuadorian revolutionary born in Quito around 1797, of mixed heritage (Creole mother, Spanish father), Manuela Sáenz was a central figure in the Spanish American wars of independence and the companion of Simón Bolívar. She saved the Liberator's life in 1828 and was nicknamed the "Libertadora del Libertador."

Famous Quotes

« "I was born beneath the equinoctial line, but my spirit was never bound by any meridian." »

Key Facts

Born around 1797 in Quito (Viceroyalty of New Granada), illegitimate daughter of a Spanish father and a Creole mother — written sources (partial colonial registers)
Actively participated in the Quito uprisings (1809–1822) and joined the patriot armies before meeting Bolívar in 1822 — written sources and oral popular tradition
On September 25, 1828, in Bogotá, she protected Bolívar during an assassination attempt, allowing him to escape — documented by contemporary written sources
After Bolívar's death (1830), she was banished and spent the rest of her life in exile in Paita, Peru, where she died in 1856 — written sources (correspondence, accounts from visitors including Garibaldi)
Symbolically rehabilitated by Ecuador and Colombia in the 20th–21st centuries; enshrined in Latin American collective memory as a figure of female resistance — oral tradition and popular memory

Works & Achievements

Participation in the Battle of Pichincha (24 mai 1822)

Manuela Sáenz organized the supply of ammunition, tended to the wounded, and kept up troop morale during this decisive battle that freed Quito from Spanish rule.

Rescue of Simón Bolívar (Noche Septembrina) (25 septembre 1828)

A heroic act acknowledged by Bolívar himself: Manuela warned and shielded the Liberator during the assassination plot, saving his life and potentially altering the course of South American history.

Hosting patriot tertulias in Lima and Bogotá (1817–1830)

Manuela held clandestine political gatherings (tertulias) in her salons that spread republican ideas and united independence supporters among the Creole elites.

Preservation of Bolívar's archives (1830–1856)

During her years of exile in Paita, Manuela kept and safeguarded hundreds of Bolívar's personal letters and documents — a unique record of the Liberator's life, until their destruction at the time of her death.

Political correspondence from Paita (1833–1856)

From exile, Manuela continued an active correspondence with political figures across South America, keeping alive the memory of Bolívar and the ideals of Gran Colombia.

Anecdotes

On the night of September 25, 1828, conspirators stormed the palace in Bogotá to assassinate Simón Bolívar. Manuela Sáenz, who was sleeping beside him, woke him just in time and ordered him to jump from the window while she held off the attackers. Bolívar escaped unharmed — which is why he gave her the nickname "Libertadora del Libertador" (Liberator of the Liberator).

Manuela Sáenz regularly wore military uniform, rode on horseback like a hussar, and took part in campaigns alongside the independence forces. This masculine attire and her presence at the front scandalized the conservative Creole elite, but earned her the admiration of soldiers who saw her as an equal on the battlefield.

After Bolívar's death in 1830, Manuela was expelled from several cities and ended up exiled in Paita, a small dusty port town in Peru. She lived there in poverty for more than twenty years, selling sweets and tobacco to survive, all while carefully preserving Bolívar's letters and papers. The writer Herman Melville, passing through Paita in 1841, met her and was struck by her undiminished pride.

At the Battle of Pichincha in 1822, Manuela organized the supply of ammunition and tended to the wounded under fire. After the patriot victory, General Antonio José de Sucre personally awarded her a medal and the rank of captain of hussars, in recognition of her active role in the liberation of Quito.

Manuela Sáenz died in Paita in December 1856 during a diphtheria epidemic, having never been able to return to her homeland. Her belongings, including part of Bolívar's correspondence, were burned by local authorities to prevent the spread of disease. This act destroyed an irreplaceable portion of the documentary memory of the independence wars.

Primary Sources

Letter from Simón Bolívar to Manuela Sáenz (Bucaramanga, 1828) (1828)

Tú eres la más encantadora mujer que he conocido… Yo no puedo estar sin ti, mi Manuela.

Letter from Manuela Sáenz to James Thorne (her British husband) (c. 1823)

No, no, no más, hombre, por Dios. ¿Por qué me haces reír a carcajadas con tus súplicas? […] Tú eres un excelente hombre, pero no eres sino un hombre común. Bolívar es un dios.

Testimony of General Daniel Florencio O'Leary, aide-de-camp to Bolívar (Memoirs) (written c. 1840, published 1879)

La señora Sáenz, con una serenidad admirable, detuvo a los conspiradores el tiempo suficiente para que el Libertador pusiera a salvo su vida saltando por la ventana.

Decree by General Antonio José de Sucre granting Manuela Sáenz the rank of Captain (1822)

En reconocimiento a los servicios prestados a la causa de la independencia durante la batalla de Pichincha, se otorga a doña Manuela Sáenz el grado de Capitana del Ejército Libertador.

Letter from Manuela Sáenz to Simón Bolívar from Lima (c. 1829)

Estoy aquí sola, defendiendo tu nombre contra los que quieren borrarte de la historia. No me cansaré jamás.

Key Places

Quito, Ecuador

Manuela Sáenz's birthplace and capital of the Audiencia of Quito under Spanish rule. It was here that she met Bolívar in June 1822 after the victory of Pichincha, during a popular celebration where she tossed him a laurel crown.

Lima, Peru

The city where Manuela lived with her husband James Thorne and where she moved in Peruvian patriot circles. She carried out intense political activity there in support of independence before joining Bolívar in Gran Colombia.

Bogotá, Colombia (formerly Santa Fe de Bogotá)

Capital of Gran Colombia, where Manuela lived alongside Bolívar from 1826 to 1830. It was in the presidential palace of this city that she saved the Liberator during the conspiracy of September 25, 1828.

Battle of Pichincha, Ecuador

The slopes of the Pichincha volcano, near Quito, where the decisive battle that liberated Ecuador took place on May 24, 1822. Manuela took part in a logistical support and medical role, tending to the wounded, and earned her rank of captain there.

Paita, Peru

A small, dusty port on the northern coast of Peru where Manuela was exiled after Bolívar's death. She lived there for more than twenty years in poverty and died in 1856 during a diphtheria epidemic.