The First Feminist Manifesto
Mexican writer, poet, scholar and nun Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz is often celebrated as the first feminist in the Americas. An advocate for women’s rights and a national icon in Mexico, Juana consistently rejected the gender expectations placed on her, choosing to pursue a life dedicated to education and the defence of women.
Juana Inés de Asbaje y Ramírez de Santillana was born around 1648 near Mexico City, the illegitimate daughter of Pedro Manuel de Asbaje, a Spanish captain, and Isabel Ramírez, a Creole (a person of Spanish descent born in Spanish America). At the time of her birth, Mexico had been a multicultural Spanish colony – known as ‘New Spain’ – for over a century, following the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire.
Pedro left Isabel while Juana was still young, leaving her mother to raise her and her sisters alone. However, her maternal grandfather owned estates and was
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