Francisca de Gazmira

Francisca de Gazmira also known as Francisca de La Palma or Francisca Palmesa (15th century – 16th century) was a Benahoaritan woman from La Palma island, in the Canary Islands who lived between the 15th and 16th centuries, is known both for her participation in the conquest of her island by the Crown of Castile, acting as a mediator between the indigenous people and the Castilians, and for her subsequent defence of her compatriots against the abuses of the conquerors.

Although she does not appear in the earliest chronicles and histories of the Canary Islands, Francisca de Gazmira was rescued from anonymity by the Austrian historian Dominik Josef Wölfel, who studied Canarian documents stored in the General General Archive of Simancas.[1]

According to Wölfel, Francisca's role was fundamental in "accelerating the incorporation" of the Canary Islands into Castile, "achieving more rapid pacification and evangelisation of the island", and he presented her as one of the "great architects of the Christianisation of the island and of the peace agreements and treaties made with its natives".[2]

Life

Francisca was born on the island of La Palma sometime in the second half of the 15th century. She belonged to the Gazmira clan, located in the area around the El Riachuelo ravine in El Paso, but no further details about her life are known.[3][4]

After the conquest of Gran Canaria was completed in 1483, the new colonists frequently went on raids in search of slaves on the still unconquered islands of La Palma and Tenerife. During one of these raids, Francisca, whose indigenous name is unknown, was taken prisoner and became a slave to a resident of Gran Canaria until her conversion to Christianity granted her freedom from captivity.[4][5]

Once free, she went on to serve as head maid in the household of Diego de Zurita, conqueror of Gran Canaria and one of the island's first local governors.[5][6]

Francisca's role as a mediator between the indigenous people and the Castilians began in 1491. At that time, she was sent along with Catalina Palmesa by the authorities of Gran Canaria on a ship to La Palma to bring back a group of twenty Benahoaritas who had been unjustly captured.[4]

Later, Francisca was sent back to La Palma in the spring of 1492 by the governor of Gran Canaria, Francisco Maldonado, and the provisor of the Canary Islands, Pedro de Valdés, to negotiate with various factions that had requested to become Christians. Francisca managed to win over five chieftains, took them with her to Gran Canaria, and there they were baptised. They were later returned to La Palma on condition that they would maintain peace in their territories, which freed them from slave raids.[5][6]

Indigenous rights activism

In 1494 appeared before the Catholic Monarchs to complain about the savagery of the conquest led by Fernández de Lugo. The monarchs intervened and reduced Fernández de Lugo's power. She also sent letters to monarchs complaining about the existence of mass slave sales and managed to get more than 3,000 slaves returned to the islands after being sold in Jerez.[2]

Death

The date of Francisca de Gazmira's death is unknown, although she does not appear in contemporary documents after the end of 1500, she may have died in 1525 from poisoning.[7][2]

References

  1. ^ Herrero Martín, Rosana (2022). "Mujeres-lengua de la Conquista del Caribe y las Islas Canarias: una mirada holística a su estela narrativa". In Insular Government of Gran Canaria (ed.). XXV Coloquio de Historia Canario-Americana. Elena Acosta Guerrero (coord.). Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. pp. 1–13. ISSN 2386-6837.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. ^ a b c Jiménez, José L. (30 June 2019). "La olvidada primera mujer líder de Canarias en 1494". ABC. Archived from the original on 21 February 2025. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
  3. ^ ""Las mujeres benahoaritas lucharon contra los conquistadores castellanos"". Canarias Ahora. 2019. Archived from the original on 23 March 2025. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
  4. ^ a b c Aznar Vallejo, Eduardo (1998). "La conquista en primera persona. Las fuentes judiciales". In Insular Government of Gran Canaria (ed.). XII Coloquio de Historia Canario-Americana (1996). Vol. 1. Francisco Morales Padrón (coord.). Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. pp. 363–394. ISBN 84-8103-186-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. ^ a b c Cebrián Latasa, José Antonio (2003). Government of the Canary Islands (ed.). Ensayo para un diccionario biográfico de conquistadores de Canarias. ISBN 84-241-5235-2.
  6. ^ a b Rumeu de Armas, Antonio (1969). Instituto Isabel la Católica de Historia Eclesiástica (ed.). La política indigenista de Isabel La Católica. Valladolid.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  7. ^ Aznar Vallejo, Eduardo (1981). Instituto de Estudios Canarios (ed.). Documentos canarios en el Registro del Sello (1476-1517). San Cristóbal de La Laguna.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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