Manuela Sáenz

Who was Manuela Sáenz?

Doña Manuela Sáenz was born in Quito, Viceroyalty of New Granada, and died in Paita, Peru. She was a revolutionary hero of South America, who also became the mistress of the South American revolutionary leader, Simón Bolívar.

She married a wealthy English merchant in 1817 and became an aristocrat and socialite in Lima, Peru. This provided the setting for involvement in political and military affairs, and she became active in support of revolutionary efforts. Leaving her husband in 1822, she soon began an eight-year collaboration and intimate relationship with Bolívar that lasted until his death in 1830. After she prevented an 1828 assassination attempt against him and facilitated his escape, Bolívar began to call her "Libertadora del libertador", and she was celebrated and given many honors. For many years after their deaths, their contributions to the revolutions of South America were suppressed, and although those of Bolívar were revived a decade later, and he was returned to the status of a hero, Manuela's role generally was overlooked until the late twentieth century.