Agustina de Aragon: The Spanish Joan of Arc

Portrait of Agustina de Aragon

When discussing the presence warrior women throughout history across different cultures, the legend surrounding Agustina de Aragon (full name: Agustina Raimunda Maria Saragossa i Domenech) and her display of valor is highly touted. While many historians over the years have questioned the entire truth behind Agustina's story, there exists plenty of evidence that supports the assertion of her warrior qualities. Her reputation within her own culture and indeed most of the world has earned her the title of "The Spanish Joan of Arc" after the French heroine of the same name who proved to a be a champion of the Hundred Years' War. Although Agustina did not claim to have been visited by saints or other divine beings, her military career and prowess in the Peninsula War as she defended her home country of Spain from Napoleon's invasion is very reminiscent of Joan. Agustina has been a long-standing symbol of independence and patriotism for women in Spanish culture.

The Defence of Saragossa
(David Wilkie)

Based on Adrian Shubert's recounting of the known portion of Agustina's life in "Women Warriors and National Heroes: Agustina de Aragon and her Indian Sisters", the moment that cemented Agustina de Aragon's warrior woman status occurred during the Siege of Zaragoza in 1808. Her role in the battle started the same as any other woman in Zaragoza: bringing provisions and ammunition to soldiers so they could continue defending the city. During the battle, Napoleon's forces broke through a fortress wall, killing an artilleryman in the process. Spanish forces began to retreat fearing that the battle was about to end poorly for them. Agustina, who was nearby when this occurred, ran straight into oncoming enemy forces through a shower of bullets. Arriving at the now unmanned artillery, Agustina loaded the cannon, lit the fuse, and fired a shot into an essentially point blank row of infantry completely wiping them out. The chaos forced Napoleon's men to retreat giving the Spanish army enough time to repair the damaged wall with Agustina continuing to rain artillery on the fleeing Frenchmen. Throughout the rest of the battle, this continued to be Agustina's post, and according Shubert the Spanish general presented her, "the title of Artilleywoman and a salary of six reales per day." The Spanish army was very quick to encourage her patriotism, and accept her courage and strength regardless of her gender.

The Spanish army was successful in their defense of Zaragoza during the first siege, but fell later during a second seige after a regrouping of the French army. Agustina was extremely ill at the time of the second siege and could not participate as a soldier, but even she remarked how her illness was the only thing that could "make her desist from her determination to resist such vile scum." When the French army finally invaded the city and took her as a prisoner, they were calling her "the Artillerywoman" as her bravery had earned her a reputation even with the enemy. This drive and tenacity is what made Agustina de Aragon the warrior she was. At a time when patriotism and defending one's country were typically masculine qualities, Agustina was able to fill in for a fallen male soldier and defend the country she loved. The only thing that could truly keep her from fighting for her country was a sickness that was affecting many other soldiers as well. While she was captured during the second siege, she was eventually freed at the end of the war and awarded two medals by the Spanish army: the Defender of Zaragoza and the Reward for Valour and Patriotism.

The cover of Agustina (historieta)

What I found most interesting about Agustina's story, and ultimately the reason I chose it for how well it relates to some of the major talking points in this class, is how her story and legend has been warped or changed to fit certain narratives. There seem to be two different types of Agustina's that you can read about depending on what source you're looking at. Shubert describes Agustina as either being portrayed as, "driven by the feminine motivation of love or the masculine motivation of patriotism." Historically, Agustina's story has become accepted as the latter of these portrayals, and yet in many different art forms throughout the centuries Agustina's intentions have shifted from patriotism to a vengeance of her fallen lover who was an artillery sergeant. Shubert attributes this to an account given by the general of the Spanish army who speculated that Agustina may have been angered by the loss of her husband, and that this speculation was then exaggerated by Lord Byron who recounted parts of the Peninsula Wars in his writings. Historians have found however that Agustina had no relationship to the fallen artilleyman that she took over for, and that no real evidence exists that her actions were motivated by anything other than her own patriotism. Perhaps even more encouraging, the most recent literary iterations of Agustina seem to be channeling the true story and exemplifying her patriotism. In 2009 a comic entitled Agustina (historieta) was published in Spain written by Fernando Monzon and Enrique Mendoza that showcases Agustina as a "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" type as Shubert describes her. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find any information on the comic that gives a more accurate description in English, but according to Shubert, the comic does a really great job painting Agustina as a more heroic and patriotic character and makes little mention of any sort of love interest. While it does take some liberties to make the story more compelling as a graphic novel, the role of Agustina as the protagonist is central to her courage in charging into battle in the heat of the moment rather than a narrative of her avenging a fallen lover.

One last point that I think that is worth mentioning is that while Agustina is without question a warrior woman, she is far from the only warrior woman to make her presence known during the time of the Peninsula War. There were many other who women fought in the war as soldiers, many even attaining higher ranks and filling officer positions. Part of what has made Agustina in particular the most well known of these women is the iconic nature of her rushing to the cannon in a time of great need and forcing Napoleon's army to retreat. This scene is easy to imagine and visualize, and many artists of the time felt it inspirational, compelling, and a heroic scene to paint and draw. Even though Agustina was definitely a notable warrior woman, I was pleased to find that early Spanish history had many other warrior women that were in the spotlight.

Works Cited:

1. Shubert, Adrian. "Women Warriors and National Heroes: Agustina de Aragon and Her Indian Sisters." Journal of World History, vol. 23, no. 2, 2012, pp. 279-313.

Photos:

1. Monzon, Juan. "Agustina (historieta) Cover." Found, Wikipedia, 29 October 2017, https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agustina_(historieta)
2. Unknown. "Portrait of Agustina de Aragon."  Found, Krewe of Agustina de Aragon, 29 October 2017, http://www.kreweofagustina.org/
3. Wilkies, David. "The Defence of Saragossa." Found, Art Collector, 29 October 2017, http://myartblogcollection.blogspot.com/2015/07/23-art-works-for-agustina-de-aragon.html