Luisa Cáceres de Arismendi

Luisa Cáceres Díaz de Arismendi
A posthumous portrait of Luisa Cáceres de Arismendi by Emilio Jacinto Mauri
Born	(1799-09-25)September 25, 1799 Caracas, Venezuela
Died	June 28, 1866(1866-06-28) (aged 66) Caracas, Venezuela
Spouse(s)	Juan Bautista Arismendi

María Luisa Cáceres Díaz de Arismendi (September 25, 1799 – June 28, 1866) was a heroine of the Venezuelan War of Independence.

Luisa was born in Caracas, Venezuela, to José Domingo Cáceres and Carmen Díaz, prosperous Criollos. On her father's side, she was of Canarian descent. She was baptized in the Church of Santa Rosalía, in Caracas. Her father was an intellectual, an historian and a professor of Latin. Educated by her father, Luisa learned how to read and write, and developed a love for her country. While Luisa was a young girl focussing on her studies, Spain was taken over by Napoleon, who installed his brother, Joseph, as its king. People not just in Spain, but in its colonies as well, were infuriated, and a war for Spain's independence broke out. In Venezuela, Spanish colonists saw this as an opportunity to break away from Spain while it was weak, and gain independence, and so a series of uprisings occurred. They were led by the Venezuelan marshal Francisco de Miranda, who had been involved in the French Revolution and the American Revolutionary War. Venezuela declared itself independent from Spain on July 5, 1811. This triggered the war for Venezuela's independence. The 1812 Caracas earthquake occurred where Luisa and her family were living, completely destroying the city. Because of this earthquake and a rebellion by the Venezuelan Llaneros and Canarians, the First Republic of Venezuela was toppled. A second Venezuelan republic was proclaimed on August 7, 1813, but lasted only a few months before it, too, was crushed.