Elisa Bravo facts for kids

Elisa Bravo Jaramillo de Bañados (sometimes spelled Eliza) was a passenger on the ship Joven Daniel. This ship was wrecked off the coast of Araucanía, in south-central Chile, in 1849. There were rumors that she survived the shipwreck and was taken in by local Mapuche people. Her story became well-known and was even featured in two paintings by the artist Raymond Monvoisin.

Elisa was born in Valdivia, Chile. Her parents were Miguel Bravo Aldunate and Carmen Jaramillo Jaramillo. She married Juan Bañados Berendique on October 12, 1846.

The Shipwreck of the Joven Daniel

In the winter of 1849, a Chilean ship called the Joven Daniel was sailing along the Pacific coast of Chile. It was traveling from Valparaíso to Valdivia. Several people were on board, including a trader named Don Ramon Bañados, his wife Dona Elisa Bravo, and their baby.

The ship met with disaster near the Imperial River and was completely wrecked. It is believed that very few, if any, passengers or crew members survived the wreck.

One story says that some survivors found an indigenous village a short distance inland. Even though they were scared, the chief (called a cacique) welcomed them and promised to protect them. The survivors then tried to salvage items from the ship to give as gifts to the chief. However, the situation turned violent, and many versions of the story say that no one from the Joven Daniel survived.

The official report from the commissioner of nations, José Antonio Zúñiga, supported this idea. However, historians in the 20th and 21st centuries, like Gabriel Guarda and José Bengoa, have questioned whether there were truly no survivors. As of 2010, historians still do not fully agree on what happened.

Stories About Elisa Bravo's Fate

Despite the official reports, many rumors spread that Elisa Bravo might have survived. Some stories claimed she was taken in by indigenous people and was still alive, living with the chief.

Troops were sent from Valdivia to try and find her, but they could not even find her body. One indigenous person reportedly told them that Elisa, her young child, and her servant were buried on the beach, marked by just three stones.

Then, in March 1853, a newspaper called The Times in London published a report. It claimed that Elisa Bravo had been found by a farm worker who was looking for cattle in the interior. The worker met a young woman who described herself and her parents in a way that made him believe it was Elisa. The article hoped that "the long lost child will shortly be restored to her parents," but there were no further reports of her being reunited with her family.

Later, in 1863, a traveler named Guillermo Cox claimed to have seen Elisa Bravo. Another report from 1863 said that her captors, fearing revenge from the Spanish, sold her to the Calfucurá people in Puelmapu for a hundred mares (female horses). This report also stated that she died three years later.

Why Elisa's Story Was Important

Elisa Bravo's story became very popular and was used in different ways during that time. It often helped to support existing ideas about indigenous people and was used to justify policies of colonization and bringing Christianity to them.

The story sometimes described indigenous people as changing from welcoming to violent, which was used to suggest they were uncivilized.

Elisa Bravo, on the other hand, was often presented as a brave and good person. She was seen as someone who resisted difficult situations. This part of her story inspired the artist Monvoisin to create his two paintings of her.