Josefa Facunda Speratti was a Paraguayan independence activist who participated in the May 1811 revolution. She later married

Fulgencio Yegros Fulgencio Yegros y Franco de Torres (born 1780 in Quyquyhó, died 17 July 1821) was a Paraguayan soldier, landowner and the first head of state of independent Paraguay. The town of Yegros is named in his honor. Life Yegros was born to a fa ...

, the first head of state of an independent

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

Life

Facunda Speratti was the daughter of José Tomás Speratti, who had immigrated from

Bergamo Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

to Paraguay before his daughter's birth. She lived in the house of the Martínez Sáenz brothers, where the independence conspirators met to prepare the uprising, and was the girlfriend of Fulgencio Yegros, then one of the military officers fighting for Paraguayan independence. Together with

Juana María de Lara Juana is a Spanish language, Spanish female name. It is the feminine form of ''Juan'' (English ''John (given name), John''), and thus corresponds to the English names Jane (given name), Jane, Jean (female given name), Jean, Joan (given name), J ...

, she helped prepare for the rebellion that took place on May 14 and 15, 1811, when the

independence of Paraguay The independence of Paraguay '' de facto'' started on 14 May 1811 after the Revolution of May 14 when a local ruling junta was created. In early 1811 Paraguayan forces had repeatedly defeated the Argentine army which considered Paraguay to be ...

was proclaimed.

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* * 18th-century births Year of birth missing 19th-century deaths Year of death missing Paraguayan independence activists 19th-century Paraguayan people 19th-century Paraguayan women Paraguayan people of Italian descent {{Paraguay-activist-stub