Maria Pita

María Mayor Fernández de Cámara y Pita (Sigrás, Cambre, 1565-1643), known as María Pita, was a heroine of the defense of La Coruña in 1589 against the Invincible English.

History

On May 3, 1589, English troops arrived in La Coruña led by the admiral and former privateer Sir Francis Drake.

The attack is part of the strategy maintained by the Queen of England, Elizabeth I, to strip the throne of Portugal from her brother-in-law and later rejected suitor: King Philip II (King of Spain since 1556 and of Portugal since 1580).).

Various versions have adorned the facts of this legendary character.

The English, having surrounded the city of La Coruña, opened a breach in the wall and began the assault on the old city. During it, they killed Gregorio de Rocamunde, María Pita's husband; She, full of rage, snatches the spear from the English flag and, with it, kills the ensign who was directing the assault. He was the brother of Admiral Francis Drake. This demoralized the English troops, made up of twelve thousand troops, and caused them to retreat. Tradition says that this event was carried out with the cry (in Galician) of "Quen teña honor, que me seguir" (which in Spanish means: "Whoever has honor that you follow me").

Once the battle was over, María Pita helped collect the bodies and take care of the wounded. Along with her, other women from La Coruña helped defend the city; The case of Inés de Ben, who was wounded in the battle, is documented.

María Pita was married four times and had four children. When she was widowed for the last time, King Philip II granted her a pension that was equivalent to the salary of an ensign plus five escudos per month and granted her a permit to export mules from Spain to Portugal.

María Pita House Museum

The María Pita House Museum in La Coruña remembers the life of this heroine. On the site it occupies, a home owned by María Pita's first husband, Juan Alonso de Rois, was built in the XVI century. This home is located at No. 24 Herrerías Street according to the old numbering, and currently at No. 28 since in the century XIX said street was renumbered.

It is structured in four rooms:

• Ground floor: In which basic information about the city is presented in the 16th and 17th centuries.
• Casa de María Pita "a vella": Recreation of the store and master bedroom of the house of her parents.
• Room level 2: Information on the role played by La Coruña in the international relations of the time.
• Room level 3: In which the relations between Spain and England are analyzed and the facts that led to the attack of the city of La Coruña in 1589. In a second part there is an overview of the trajectory of the life of Mary Pita.

The statue

In the Plaza de María Pita, in the city of La Coruña and where the city's Town Hall is located, a monument was erected in honor of María Pita. The work, finished in bronze, was conceived by. The total height of the work is 9.31 meters, composed of a 45 cm platform of steps, a 5.56 m pedestal and a 3.30 meter sculpture. Its weight is 30 tons.

Others

• His name was given to the ship that made the Royal Philanthropic Expedition of the Vacuna for the vaccination of the overseas territories in 1803.

• In August 2008, Salvamento Marítimo baptized one of his salvage ships as the "María Pita (BS-14)", with current base in Galicia.

• Iberia has an Airbus A340 for intercontinental routes baptized with its name.

• The interurban transport company Castromil (Monbus) has a bus named "María Pita".

• There is a Meliá chain hotel in La Coruña whose name is "María Pita"