Antonia Nava de Catalán

Antonia Nava de Catalán
Born	(1779-11-17)17 November 1779 Tixtla
Died	19 March 1843(1843-03-19) (aged 63) Chilpancingo
Nationality	Mexican
Occupation	Mother, freedom fighter

Antonia Nava de Catalán (17 November 1779 – 19 March 1843) was a heroine of the Mexican War of Independence. She accompanied her husband, a volunteer who rose to the rank of colonel, throughout the war. Three of her sons were killed in the struggle. She is remembered for her willingness to sacrifice her family and herself to achieve independence from Spain, and came to be known as "La Generala".

Early years (1779–1810)

Antonia Nava de Catalán was born in Tixtla on 17 November 1779. Her parents were Nicolás Nava and María Celestina.^[1] She married Nicolás Catalán, the oldest son of Nicolasa Catalán, born in Chilpancingo in 1772. They had five sons, Nicolás, Manuel, Antonio, Pedro and one whose name is unknown, and three daughters, Teresa, María and Margarita.^[2] After their marriage they moved from Tixtla to Chilpancingo, where they settled for a short time, then to Jaleaca. The family was living in Jaleaca when the war of independence broke out in September 1810.^[1]

Acapulco (1810–11)

Nicolás Catalán joined General José María Morelos at the end of 1810. Antonia Nava accompanied him throughout the war.^[2] She persuaded many poor women to help the insurgents by acting as cooks and porters, and started a women's battalion.^[3] They found Morelos in the Cerro El Veladero mountains above Acapulco. Morelos had received orders from Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla to raise a rebellion in the south and take the port of Acapulco. On 4 January 1811 Morelos successfully attacked Tres Palos, taking many prisoners and much booty. Nicolás Catalán fought with distinction in this action.^[1] Nicolás Catalán became a corporal in February 1811.^[2]

On 8 February 1811 Morelos advanced on Acapulco. He thought the Spanish sergeant José Gago had agreed to give up the place for money, but Gago broke his word and when they reached the Fort of San Diego they came under heavy fire. Morelos retreated. He thought Nicolás Catalán, who was at the head of the column, had been killed, but later he showed up unharmed.^[1] One of the Catalán sons died in El Fortín in the port of Acapulco.^[2] It is said that Morelos called Antonia Nava to him so he could console her after her son had been killed by the royalists. She replied "I do not come to mourn. I do not regret the death of my son. I know he did his duty. I come to bring you my other four sons. Three can serve as soldiers and one, who is small, will be a drummer."^[1]

Ongoing struggle (1811–17)

After this, on 3 May 1811 the revolutionaries left for Chilpancingo, where Morelos prepared for the capture of Tixtla, which fell at noon on 26 May 1811. On 13 September 1813, to celebrate the Congress of Chilpancingo in which Mexico formally declared itself to be independent of Spain, Antonia Nava and María de Jesús de Nava prepared food for the revolutionaries and the people.^[1] By 1813 Nicolás Catalán was a captain.^[2] Their son Manuel Catalán died in Tixtla, in the Paso de Mezcala, on 21 January 1814.^[2] Nicolás Catalán was assigned to the command of Nicolás Bravo and in September 1816 was made Lieutenant Colonel.^[2]

Cerro del Campo (February 1817)

In February 1817 the army of General Nicolás Bravo and his lieutenant, Don Nicolás Catalán, took refuge in a strong point in the Cerro del Campo within sight of Jaleaca. They were surrounded by the royalist forces of José Gabriel de Armijo for 50 days, and suffered unbearable hunger. They agreed to sacrifice one soldier out of every ten to serve as food for the troops.^[1] The women led by Antonia Nava, with her sister-in-law María Catalán and Catalina González, offered to sacrifice themselves instead. This was refused, but the offer had roused the fighting spirit of the revolutionaries.^[4] When asked what they should do, Antonia Nava said it was better to die fighting than to sacrifice themselves, it was 11:00 at night and the enemy were sleeping. She said, "Give us women weapons and together we will break the siege".^[1] The women armed themselves with machetes and clubs and went out to fight the enemy.^[5] They escaped on 14 March 1817.^[1] After this Antonia Nava was called "La Generala".^[5] A 1910 account of the incident ends with "Blessed are you, O Mexican land, in whose bosom such wonderful daughters sleep!".^[4]

Later events (1817–43)

In November 1818 troops led by Pedro Ascencio and Antonia's son Nicolás Catalán, attacked Coyuca.^[1] Nicolás, a First Sergeant (Sargento primero), died in November 1818 at Coyuca, now called Coyuca de Catalán.^[2] In the last part of the war Nicolás Catalán senior was under Vicente Guerrero. He was promoted to colonel on 19 April 1820.^[2] Antonia and two of her children were present at the signing of the Plan of Iguala on 24 February 1821 and at the entrance of the Army of the Three Guarantees into Mexico City on 27 September 1821, riding next to her husband, Nicolás Catalán.^[1]

Nicolás Catalán was promoted to brigadier general in 1823, and on 24 January 1828 was made commander of the state of Guerrero. The family settled in Chilpancingo. Nicolás Catalán the elder died in 1838.^[2] Antonia Nava de Catalán died in Chilpancingo on 19 March 1843, aged 63.^[1] The three children she had lost during the struggle are considered young heroes by the people of Guerrero.^[2] Jaleaca became Jaleaca de Catalán by decree 15 of 3 June 1889.^[2]

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