Sara de Vargas Torres e Hinojosa: a woman of wealth fortune and property in Peru in the 17th century

Abstract

Sara de Vargas was one of the best positioned women in the 17th century in Piura, as the reflex of a stratified society, where lineage and fortune had too much importance. She had both of them and was located in the summit of the society of Piura. She descended from the families that founded “Trujillo de Extremadura” and was related to Francisco Pizarro. Mother of two sons and three daughters, she made a great effort to find appropriate husbands for them, trying hard to save her properties. Respecting patriarchal structures of the studied age, this character surprises us with the protagonist roll that she assumes and reflex in her decisions, and in the documents signed by her own hand, in the context of strategies used to guarantee her wealth increase. Key words: Female, Piura (Peru), Seventeenth Century.