A Basque Nun Who Became a Transvestite Conquistador

The Spanish world into which Catalina de Erauso was born was an extremely violent one. For some, lethal duels were just part of a day’s work. One’s life often depended on how well he could handle a sword, and his honor depended on how quick he was to use it. As a woman, Erauso had to quickly adapt to this world when she assumed a man’s life rather than be a nun.

In Lieutenant Nun: Memoir of a Basque Transvestite in the New World, Erauso gives a firsthand account of her life in the 17th-century Spanish empire.

Although Erauso strongly identifies with her Basque home region and is shown friendship and favoritism by other Basques she meets in South America, she nevertheless comes to feel part of a greater Spanish nationalism and embraces the Spanish identity in which non-Spaniards see her.

Law and order are rare commodities in colonial South America and, when acquired, are poorly maintained by the Spanish government.

Erauso’s fierce temper, however, is in perfect harmony with the macho culture of the day, which allows her to survive in Spain’s new world — a world in which an insult to one’s honor is usually met with death.

The first example of this occurs when she confronts and attacks Reyes, severely wounding him. She also kills his friend when he jumps to…