In the times of the Independence of Brazil: where are the women?

What names come to mind when we think of the Independence of Brazil? Dom João VI, Dom Pedro I, José Bonifácio... Perhaps we are thinking of Leopoldina. But could only this woman have been involved in the process that culminated in Independence?

Bárbara de Alencar, Maria Quitéria, Joanna Angélica and Maria Felipa. These are some of the names known today of women who had an active participation at the time of the revolutionary cycle for the Independence of Brazil.

When walking through the numismatic collection of the Museu de Valores, we noticed the existence of several female figures in medals that celebrate the centenary of Independence.

A prominent name is that of Princess Leopoldina. For her role in the process of independence in Brazil, she is known as the “matriarch of Independence”.

Other women, however, played an active role in the so-called “Revolutionary Cycle of the Independence of Brazil”, which lasted from 1817 to 1824.

In 1817, the Pernambuco Revolution takes place, also known as Revolta dos Padres, because many Catholic priests were involved in it. The movement, which began in Pernambuco, spread to other provinces, reaching Crato, Ceará, where the participation of a woman, Bárbara de Alencar, was remarkable, and the Republic was proclaimed for the second time.

How did she get involved in this revolution?

Historian Heloísa Starling comments on the participation of women in political events at that time and the participation of Bárbara, specifically:

Independence, as we know today, was not limited to the act of Dom Pedro on the banks of the Ipiranga. Independence came at the cost of numerous battles, many of which were concentrated in Bahia. Heloísa Starling explains the importance of Bahia at that time:

And it was in Bahia that three women played crucial roles in this struggle against the colonizers. They are Maria Felipa, Joanna Angélica and Maria Quitéria.

On Maria Quitéria, historian Paulo Rezzutti comments: “Even after having her true identity revealed by her father, her commander did not let her go, among other things because she shot much better than many other recruits”.

The confederation of Ecuador closes the revolutionary cycle of Brazilian Independence.

In it, Bárbara de Alencar was again involved. Released in 1821, she gets involved in politics again and takes part in the revolt.

How many know Bárbara de Alencar, Maria Quitéria, Joanna Angélica and Maria Felipa, to name some of the names known today of participants at the time of the revolutionary cycle for the Independence of Brazil?

There is practically no representation of these real women in the numismatic pieces produced in Brazil. Talking about women is often talking about absence, oblivion, erasure, marginalization. And to talk about women in the days of independence was like that, until recently.

Fortunately, today we know a little more about the women who participated in the struggle at that time. May historians remain on this path of construction of these important narratives.