Agustina de Aragón

Who is Agustina de Aragón?
She is a Spanish war hero and military figure who fought during the Peninsula War (1808-1814) during the Spanish War of Independence. Born on March 4th in 1786 as Agustina Raimunda Maria Saragossa Domenech. Although it is not sure where she was born, many places claimed to be the origin of this brave soldier such as Reus, Provincia de Tarragona, and Cataluna, Spain.
Early life
According to findagrave.com, Agustina was reportedly married to a young Spanish soldier named Joan Roca Vila-Seca at the age of 16. She was always interested in the military life and wanted to help as much as she could. Therefore, when the war started in a small town called Zaragoza in the summer of 1808, she did as much as a woman in her time was capable of doing. She arrived with a basket of apples for the soldiers in the town of Zaragoza, at the same moment the French Army launched an attack, and when she saw many of the Spanish soldiers injured and unprepared for the attack, she jumped into action and loaded a cannon launching at the French. When the fellow Spaniards saw her bravery they jumped into action as well, fighting beside a woman, which was never seen before. The town had been cut off from supplies and ammunition for weeks and the Spaniards were losing the fight against the French Empire. Thanks to Agustina the assault by the French failed but the French continued to attack the city for many weeks to come. Agustina was later captured by the French and the city Surrendered to Napoleon’s army. She later escaped and formed a group of Spanish guerrilla fighters which were armed civilians in the countryside and helped organized attacks against the French. She later became the only female officer in the Duke of Wellington’s British Army and fought with the British to defeat the French in the Battle of Victoria in June 1813.
Later life 
After the war, she married a doctor and lived in Zaragosa for the remainder of her life. The locals admired her and she became a legend not only in the small town of Zaragosa but all throughout the world with monuments, literary works, songs, philately, and movies made about her. The town dedicated a monument for Augustina and till this day it stands in the same spot that she first fired the cannon against the French. Agustina de Aragón later died in May 29th, 1857  at the age of 71 in Ceuta, Spain.

War Hero 
This war hero not only represents a woman’s bravery during a time of war but also the capability that any woman could have. Her story is very important for young girls all around the world because Agustina is capable of not only expiring the troops of the Spanish Army but also any girl that ever wanted to fight for what she believed in. What I found amazing and extraordinary about her story is that an entire village united as one no matter the gender to fight a common enemy, without any prejudice and or sexism and after the war was over they gave credit when it was due and acknowledge a woman as their hero, which was rare thing to see at that time period. Her story goes to show that women are strong and capable of doing anything that men can do as well.




Work Cited 
Figure 1 García, Rubén. "¿Quién Fue Agustina De Aragón? - ¡O César, O Nada!". ¡O César, O Nada!, 2018, http://www.ocesaronada.net/quien-fue-agustina-de-aragon/. Accessed 22 Oct 2018.

Findagrave.Com, 2018, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/19180016/agustina-de-arag%C3%B3n. Accessed 22 Oct 2018.

"Heritage History - Products". Heritage-History.Com, 2018, https://www.heritage-history.com/index.php?c=resources&s=char-dir&f=agustina. Accessed 22 Oct 2018.

Figure 2 "Monumento A Agustina De Aragón - Picture Of Monumento A Agustina De Aragon, Zaragoza - Tripadvisor". Tripadvisor.Co.Za, 2018, https://www.tripadvisor.co.za/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g187448-d7195608-i114893467-Monumento_a_Agustina_de_Aragon-Zaragoza_Province_of_Zaragoza_Aragon.html. Accessed 22 Oct 2018.

"The Peninsular War 1808-1814". Peninsularwar.Org, 2018, http://www.peninsularwar.org/penwar_e.htm. Accessed 22 Oct 2018.