Maria Quitéria

Maria Quitéria (1792–1853) was a Brazilian lieutenant and national heroine. She served in the Brazilian War of Independence in 1822–23 dressed as a man. She was promoted to cadet and Lieutenant and decorated with the Imperial order. She has been called "Brazilian Joan of Arc," and has become a kind of national legendary figure. Quitéria was the first woman to serve in a military unit in Brazil.

Against her father's will, an unmarried Maria Quitéria enlisted in the Brazilian army, as a man, in October of 1822. Until June of 1823, she fought in several battles against the Portuguese in Bahia, where she lived. Maria Quitéria's father outed her as a woman once he discovered her betrayal—but because of her skill in battle, she was allowed to continue to fight. She was promoted to cadet in July of 1823, and then to lieutenant in August, where she was received and decorated by the Emperor.

Few confirmed details are known about the life of Maria Quitéria. She is briefly mentioned by English travel author Maria Graham (later Lady Callcott) in her book Journal of a Voyage to Brazil: "Maria de Jesus is illiterate, but lively. She has clear intelligence and acute perception. I think that if they educated her, she would become a notable personality. One observes nothing masculine in her conduct, rather she is of gentle and friendly manners."

Maria Quitéria de Jesus was born on June 27, 1792, in Licurizeiro, in the parish of São José das Itaporocas (now located in Feira de Santana), Bahia. She was the eldest daughter of a farmer, Gonçalo Alves de Almeida, and his wife, Quitéria Maria de Jesus. Although Maria received no formal education, she would have practiced the skills necessary to farming, such as riding, hunting, and using firearms—these skills would serve her in the military as well.

After her time serving in the war, Quitéria married Gabriel Pereira Brito (who was a former lover of hers) and had one daughter with him, named Luisa. A widowed Quitéria died in 1853 in relative obscurity and poverty near Salvador. It was not until years later that her legacy was revived.

After her death, Maria Quitéria was memorialized nationally in a number of ways. In 1953, one hundred years after her death, a bronze medal was issued by the military bearing Maria Quitéria's likeness. It is called the "Medal of Maria Quitéria" and was issued to both civilians and military personnel for valuable contributions to military efforts. By presidential decree in 1996, Maria Quitéria was proclaimed Patron of the Corps of Support Staff Officers of the Brazilian Army.

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