Manuela Cañizares

Manuela Cañizares (adolescente) 02

Manuela Cañizares (1769-1814) was an Ecuadorian salonist and heroine of independence.

Life[]

Cañizares was the host of a popular literary salon in Quito from about 1797, which was a center of the city's intellectual life. On 9–10 August 1809, Manuela Cañizares hosted the famous meeting between the Ecuadorian rebels, which resulted in the formation of the first rebel government, , and declaration of independence in her salon. She was not only the host of the meeting, but an active participant in it, and reputedly a leading and driving force behind the revolution.

Death[]

She was sentenced to death in absentia by the Spanish authorities and went into hiding during the war.

Legacy[]

In 1901, President Eloy Alfaro named the first school for women in Ecuador "Manuela Cañizares" after her.

References[]

• Salazar Garcés, Sonia; Sevilla Naranjo, Alexandra (2009). Mujeres de la Revolución de Quito (Primera edición). Quito: FONSAL. pp. 81–88. ISBN 978-9978-366-23-3.