Juana Azurduy de Padilla Province

Juana Azurduy De Padilla Province

Juana Azurduy de Padilla is a province in the Chuquisaca Department in Bolivia. Its seat is Azurduy.

Juana Azurduy de Padilla was an influential but enigmatic guerrilla leader from Chuquisaca (present day Sucre)during Bolivia's wars for independence from Spain (1809-1825). She was also the wife of the rebel leader, Manuel Asencio Padilla. Together they fought against royalist forces until Manuel's death in 1816. Juana distinguished herself as a combatant and field commander on several occasions and eventually reached the rank of Colonel in the rebel army in 1814. She formed a battalion of largely indigenous troops who she referred to as the Leales (The Faithful) There is currently a small capital city named after her in the Bolivian province of Tomina, Chuquisaca Department, Bolivia. Juana and Manuel lost four of their five children during the war. After Manuel's death in 1816 Juana moved in exile to Salta and Jujuy (Argentina) until 1825 after the founding of the Bolivian state. Despite being recognized for her role in the War by luminaries such as Simon Bolivar and Antonio Jose de Sucre, she died in relative obscurity and poverty in her home city of Sucre on May 25, 1862; the day that marked the 53rd anniversary of Bolivia's initial independence movement.