María Josefa Crescencia Ortiz Téllez- Girón was born April 19, 1773, in Valladolid, New Spain(now Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico). Her parents were, Don Juan José Ortiz, a captain of the Los Verdes regiment & his wife, Doña Manuela Girón. Her father was killed in battle when Josefa was a baby & her mother passed away soon after. Maria Sotera Ortiz, her elder sister, raised her and managed to get her into the prestigious, Colegio de las Vizcaínas, in 1789. She married Miguel Dominguez, who was a frequent visitor at the college, on January 24, 1791, in Mexico City.
In 1802, Miguel was appointed by the viceroy of New Spain, to the position of "Corregidor", a magistrate position, in the city of Querétaro. During that period of time, Josefa did the housekeeping and took care of their 14 children: Jose, Mariano, Miguel, Ignacia, Micaela, Dolores, Manuela, Magdalena, Camila, Mariana & Jose. Josefa developed a sympathy early on for the native, mestizo (mixed Spanish & Latin American) & criollo (Creole) communities, who faced discrimination from the Spanish colonialists. Natives were heavily oppressed and the mestizos and criollos were seen as second-class citizens, relegated to secondary roles in the colony's government. This of course, created dissent among these peoples, who began creating secret and literary societies, where works from the period of Enlightenment (otherwise known as the Renaissance) that the Roman Catholic Church banned, were discussed.
Josefa herself attended some of these early meetings and eventually convinced her husband to organize some political meetings at their home. The meetings were attended by educated men like, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla & Ignacio Allende and it wasn't long before they turned to the subject of revolution.
The dethronement of King Ferdinand VIII of Spain, a consequence of the Peninsular War, made independence of the Spanish colonies in Latin America a ever-brightening prospect. Josefa's house became the official base for the conspirators and much of their planning was done there, including gathering weapons and stashing them in various locations. The date they aimed for the start of the revolution was December 1, 1810. However on September 13, the group was sold out by a supporter, who informed the Spanish authorities of the insurgent activities being carried out in Querétaro. Josefa was locked in her rooms so she couldn't exchange further information with her fellow rebels.
The rebels had a large web of support & Josefa was finally able to get a warning out through the town mayor, Don Ignacio Perez. The news gave other insurgents a chance to flee Querétaro & provoked Hidalgo y Costilla to declare war against Spain earlier than originally planned. On September 16, 1810, he delivered a speech called, Grito de Dolores (the Cry of Dolores), which marked the beginning of the Mexican War of Independence.
It was inevitable that, Josefa & Miguel's role in the revolution would be discovered. They were arrested and imprisoned separately. Josefa was sent to the Santa Clara Monastery, in Querétaro & then to Mexico City to stand trial. Despite her husband's best efforts as her lawyer, she was sent to live in seclusion in the Santa Teresa Monastery. Due to her stubbornly rebellious nature, she was soon sent to the convent of Santa Catalina de Sena. Josefa was released in 1817, under oath that she would put all intentions of rebellion behind her.
After the end of the war, Emperor Agustin de Iturbide, offered Josefa the position of lady-in-waiting for his wife, Ana Maria de Huarte y Muniz but she declined the offer. Josefa felt the establishment of a Mexican empire, went against the ideals she fought for during the revolution; she felt Mexico should have been established as a republic, not an empire. In 1823, the empress designated her as "a woman of honor", a sentiment which she also rejected.
Towards the end of her life, Josefa was part of several radical political groups. She continued refusing awards & titles for her involvement in the revolutionary movement; stating she was only doing her duty, as a patriotic countrywoman. Josefa passed away in 1829, in Mexico City. She was originally buried at the Santa Catalina de Sena Convent but her remains were later removed to Querétaro. In 1910, Josefa & Leona Vicario were the 1st women to be featured on Mexican stamps & among the first 5 to be featured on stamps in Latin America.
Side notes:
Peninsular War (1807-14)- fought between Napoleon's empire & Bourbon Spain for control of the Iberian Peninsula.
Mexican War of Independence (1810-21)
Leona Vicario- one of the most famous figures of the Mexican War of Independence, she was dedicated to informing the insurgents in her home city of Mexico City.
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We Won't Stay Silent
Non-Fiction"We need women who are so strong they can be gentle, so educated they can be humble, so fierce they can be compassionate, so passionate they can be rational and so disciplined they can be free" ...
