- Maria Pita
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Monument to Maria Pita, A Coruña
María Mayor Fernández de Cámara y Pita (Sigrás, 1565 – 1643), known as María Pita, was a Spanish heroine of the defense of Corunna in 1589 against the English Armada.[1]
Contents
Biography
María Pita was married four times and had two children. Her heroic deeds were honoured and rewarded by Philip II of Spain, who granted her the pension of a military officer with a bonus, which she received following the death of her fourth husband[2], and the right to engage in the mule trade with Portugal.
Defense at Corunna
On the 4th of May 1589, English forces, already in control of the lower city, breached the defences of the old city. She was assisting her husband, an army captain, man the defences, when he was killed by a crossbow bolt that struck him in the head. An English soldier with a banner, who was making his way to the highest part of the wall, was killed by Pita. She appeared on the heights of the wall herself, shouting: Quien tenga honra, que me siga ("Whoever has honour, follow me!") whereupon the English incursion was driven back by the defenders. The English later gave up the assault and retreated to their ships. Other women also participated directly in the defence of Corunna; a surviving record tells of one Inés de Ben receiving treatment for two shots received in the siege.
Spanish ships
- The ship "María Pita" of the Balmis Expedition was named after her in 1803.[3]
- In August 2008, SASEMAR (Sociedad de Salvamento y Seguridad Marítima, Spanish acronym for Sea Rescue and Safety Society) baptized the BS-14 Rescue Ship.as María Pita.[4]
References
- ^ House-Musem of María Pita (Spanish)
- ^ Archivo General de Simancas. Memorial de 1596. Cámara de Castilla, atado 772.
- ^ La Corbeta María Pita (Spanish)
- ^ BS María Pita (Spanish)
External links
Categories:- 1565 births
- 1643 deaths
- Women in 16th-century warfare
- Women in 17th-century warfare
- Women in war in Spain
- 16th-century Spanish people
- 17th-century Spanish people
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