Princess Erendira

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Princess Erendira of the Purepecha was the princess of the P'urhépecha or Tarascan people from about 1503-1519. She was 16-17 when the Spanish came to Mexico. The Purepecha Kingdom's leader, Tangoxoan II, had given up his kingdom and people to the Spanish after he saw the downfall of the Aztec Empire to the Spanish.

The story of princness Erendiras subsequent role as a heroine is based on tradition and may not reflect actual events. According to the tradition she led a war on the Spanish. Setting up base on a hill she attacked the arriving spaniards. She is said to have killed a Spanish horseman and stolen his horse later training others to use horses. During one of the battles some Spanish warriors found and murdered Erendiras father in his sleep. Erendira got wind of this and went to see him. According to the tradition this was when P'urhépecha started losing the war. There are many theories of what happened to her. Some of which include her suicide by drowning, her leaving to train others for war and that she killed herself for falling in love with a Spanish monk.

[edit] References

Salas, Elizabeth (1990). Soldaderas in the Mexican Military: Myth and History University of Texas Press (ISBN 0-292-77638-1)

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