Women's Month: Get to know Isabel de Barreto, world's first female admiral who landed in the Philippines
MANILA, Philippines — In celebration of the Women's Month, Instituto Cervantes de Manila is putting the spotlight on women who made history, who literally did something brave, outstanding and pioneering.
Instituto Cervantes de Manila is organizing a cycle of two webinars, highlighting women whose stories need more attention.
Do you know who was the first woman in history who commanded a ship? How about the first woman in history who crossed the Pacific Ocean?
It was none other than the Spanish woman named Isabel de Barreto, whose life story well deserves a movie.
Barreto was the first female admiral in the world. After traversing the Pacific Ocean from the Viceroyalty of Peru, she ended her trip in the Philippines where she and her crew sailed for their lives. Her husband, Alvaro de Mendaña, who discovered the Solomon and Marquesas Islands in the 16th century, had died in the Santa Cruz Islands in the Pacific Ocean. It was upon his death that Isabel assumed the leadership of the expedition en route to the Philippines. In Manila, she was welcomed with great honors as the “Queen of Sheba."
The first leg of webinars will be held this Thursday, March 31, at 6:00 p.m., and will consist of a lecture by the famous Spanish historian Elvira Roca.
The second leg will be held the following Thursday, April 7 at 6 p.m., wherein the expert Francisco Mellén will talk about the latest findings in the archives on Barreto. He will be accompanied in a round table discussion by the prestigious historian from Vermont University, Juan Maura.
The event will have a simultaneous translation in English and will also be held via Zoom. The link will be available on the Facebook page of Instituto Cervantes de Manila.
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