Policarpa Salavarrieta

Who is Policarpa Salavarrieta?

Policarpa Salavarrieta, popularly known as 'La Pola,' was a seamstress and spy who became one of the most celebrated heroines of Colombia's struggle for independence from Spain. Born in Guaduas, in what is now the department of Cundinamarca, she moved to Bogotá during the period of the Spanish Reconquista, when royalist forces reasserted control over New Granada. Working as a seamstress gave her access to royalist households, allowing her to gather intelligence, recruit sympathizers, and pass information and supplies to the pro-independence guerrilla forces. Her covert activities were discovered by Spanish authorities, and she was arrested along with fellow revolutionaries. On 14 November 1817 she was executed by firing squad in Bogotá at a very young age, reportedly denouncing her executioners defiantly to the end. Her courage and martyrdom made her an enduring national symbol of patriotism and resistance. Her image has appeared on Colombian currency, and Colombia commemorates the Day of the Colombian Woman on the anniversary of her death.

Sources: Beatriz Helena Robledo, '¡Viva la Pola!: biografía de Policarpa Salavarrieta' (2009) · Encyclopædia Britannica, 'Policarpa Salavarrieta'