The Torture of Isabel Rodriguez .” (1870).
The Torture of Isabel Rodriguez
Isabel Rodríguez, also known as Isabel Rodrigo, was a Spanish nurse, explorer, and doctor of the 16th century. She was the "mother" of 16th century military medicine
When author Anna Lanyon looked for information about Malinche in the Arvchivo Historico of Mexico City, she found a land grant for a woman named Isabel Rodriguez. She had come with Cortés from Cuba to take care of wounded soldiers. The records called her "the famous woman who cured wounds during the wars of Conquest."
These land grants were common, and Malinche, herself, received woodland beside the wall of Chapultepec after she was married to Juan Xaramillo. In addition to her son with Cortés, Martin, Malinche had a daughter, Maria, with Xaramillo. Other than these few notes, there is little on the women involved in the conquest.
She was a member of the expedition of Hernán Cortés to Mexico. Born in Spain, her date of birth and of death are unknown. She was known as "The Matron" of the conquest among her companions. Her name is mentioned in the letters of Francisco Cervantes de Salazar and Bernal Díaz del Castillo. Her husband was Miguel Rodríguez de Guadalupe, of whom not much is known. She arrived to the New World prior to 1521 and joined Cotrés expedition
Isabel was in charge of the medical part of the expedition. She had the idea of creating an established group of nurses that would accompany the soldiers consistently. She trained and coordinated young women, from both Spain and the allied native nations, that desired to take part in the conquest to treat war wounds and form a corps of nurses that followed the conquerors and intervened after, or even during, battle, to assist the wounded. She might have also served as a woman soldier, as several of her underlings also did
Some of the women under her command were Beatriz Palacios, Juana Mansilla and Beatriz Muñoz. It is likely that Isabel took over other management duties regarding settlements or food rationing
Her healing ability was so outstanding that she was said to have a "gift". When the conquest was over, and after several of her companions and former patients acted as witnesses, the Spanish Crown granted her the title of "Honorary Doctor", a profession reserved only for men at the time, and granted her permission to freely exercise medicine in the lands of Nueva España. This makes Isabel one of the first recognized female doctors in western history
After her intense life of service she settled in Tacubaya, where her service had earned her and her family some terrain, and continued practicing medicine among her local community
Tale of last 90 minutes of of Isabel Rodriguez
In the emergency room at Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital, Edith Isabel Rodriguez was seen as a complainer. an emergency room nurse told Los Angeles County police who brought in Rodriguez early May 9 after finding her in front of the Willowbrook hospital yelling for help. The 43-year-old mother of three had been released from the emergency room hours earlier, her third visit in three days for abdominal pain. She’d been given prescription medication and a doctor’s appointment
Turning to Rodriguez, the nurse said, “You have already been seen, and there is nothing we can do,” according to a report by the county office of public safety, which provides security at the hospital
Parked in the emergency room lobby in a wheelchair after police left, she fell to the floor. She lay on the linoleum, writhing in pain, for 45 minutes, as staffers worked at their desks and numerous patients looked on. Alerted to the “disturbance” in the lobby, police stepped in -- by running Rodriguez’s record. They found an outstanding warrant and prepared to take her to jail. She died before she could be put into a squad car
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