de the men, and many of them were esteemed leaders of armies. This changed during the pre-Columbian period, as "a more complex, male-dominated religious, military, and bureaucratic state developed" in the region (p. 5). During the Spanish Conquest of the 16th century, women continued to serve in war, although their function was largely limited to providing food and medical care to male soldiers. According to Elizabeth Salas, the term soldadera first came about during that time. The Spanish soldiers used portions of their pay (soldada) to hire women servants, who were thus called soldaderas (p. 11). By the time of the Mexican Revolution, the use of soldaderas as caretakers had become a firmly established tradition among Mexican troops.
The life of the soldadera was filled with hardship. In addition to facing the dangers of open warfare, the women had to travel countless miles each day, often on foot. The Mexican troops were capable of moving fifty miles each day if necessary, with the average day's march being about twenty-four miles (Thompson, 1921, p. 96). The soldaderas who followed Villa's troops endured the additional hardship of traveling "miles on end atop Villa's freight trains while their horses, mules, and cattle rode inside" (Eisenhower, 1993, p. 52). Although the life of the male soldier was difficult, that of the soldadera was far harder. Many of these women were burdened by the need to care for their children as well as their man. In caring for her man, the soldadera "loaded his rifle, cooked for him, tended to him, and often carried her latest baby slung in the rebozo on her back" (Reed, 1969, p. 97). The soldaderas faced the daily threat of being killed or wounded on the battlefield. In many cases, the soldaderas joined the men in fighting against the enemy. Unfortunately, "such actions often ended fatally, as many women died" (Salas, 1990, p. 44).
In view of all these hardships, the question may b...