Ana Betancourt
Encyclopedia
Ana Betancourt was a Cuban
woman who took a leading role in the war of independence from Spain. She is a national heroine in Cuba.
began in 1868. Women, known as Mambisas, played a significant role in the war, as political agitators, nurses, and fighters. Ana Betancourt, was from a wealthy landholding family and was one of the first to argue for women in Cuban. She was married to the patriot Ignacio Mora de la Pera. In 1869, she addressed the Constitutional Assembly of Cuban patriots at Guáimaro
in which she linked female emancipation to the abolition of slavery and the struggle against colonialism. Although unused to hardship she lived in the forest with the revolutionaries.
On July 9, 1871, she and her husband were taken by surprise by the Spanish forces and captured. She was sentenced to exile in Spain where she lived the rest of her life never seeing de la Pera again. She continued to support the cause of Cuban independence from her exile.
At the age of 69 in 1901 she was about to return to her native country but contracted fulminating bronchopneumonia and died before she could begin her journey. Her remains were buried in Spain until 1968. In that year they were set in the pantheon of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, in the Cemetery Colón in Havana.
The Cuban Ana Betancourt schools for rural girls are named in her honor.
Cubans
Cubans or Cuban people are the inhabitants or citizens of Cuba. Cuba is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...
woman who took a leading role in the war of independence from Spain. She is a national heroine in Cuba.
Life
The first Cuban war of independence from SpainTen Years' War
The Ten Years' War , also known as the Great War and the War of '68, began on October 10, 1868 when sugar mill owner Carlos Manuel de Céspedes and his followers proclaimed Cuba's independence from Spain...
began in 1868. Women, known as Mambisas, played a significant role in the war, as political agitators, nurses, and fighters. Ana Betancourt, was from a wealthy landholding family and was one of the first to argue for women in Cuban. She was married to the patriot Ignacio Mora de la Pera. In 1869, she addressed the Constitutional Assembly of Cuban patriots at Guáimaro
Guáimaro
Guáimaro is a town and municipality in the southern part of Camagüey Province in Cuba. It is located between the cities of Camagüey and Victoria de Las Tunas....
in which she linked female emancipation to the abolition of slavery and the struggle against colonialism. Although unused to hardship she lived in the forest with the revolutionaries.
On July 9, 1871, she and her husband were taken by surprise by the Spanish forces and captured. She was sentenced to exile in Spain where she lived the rest of her life never seeing de la Pera again. She continued to support the cause of Cuban independence from her exile.
At the age of 69 in 1901 she was about to return to her native country but contracted fulminating bronchopneumonia and died before she could begin her journey. Her remains were buried in Spain until 1968. In that year they were set in the pantheon of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, in the Cemetery Colón in Havana.
Commemorations
She is commemorated in the modern Republic of Cuba by the Order of Anna Betancourt medal, awarded to Cuban women who “demonstrate revolutionary and internationalist merit and anti-imperialist fidelity and/or great merit in a field of work that contributes to the national interest.” Originally this was the highest award of the Federation of Cuban Women, and the order was officially sanctioned in 1979 as a state award.The Cuban Ana Betancourt schools for rural girls are named in her honor.