Doña Manuela Sáenz de Vergara y Aizpuru was an Ecuadorian revolutionary heroine of South America who supported the revolutionary cause by gathering information, distributing leaflets, and protesting for women's rights. Manuela received the Order of the Sun, honoring her services in the revolution.
Sáenz married a wealthy English merchant in 1817 and became a 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 Simón 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". Manuela's role in the revolution after her death was generally overlooked until the late twentieth century, but now she is recognized as a feminist symbol of the 19th century wars of independence.