Marta Duran and Juana Luna
One of the last, classical-styled duels between women occurred in May 1900 in Mexico-and once again the motive was love. Marta Duran, a society lady, was attending a ball with her lover Rafael Riquelme. However, she was alarmed to notice that Rafael’s eye was roaming- specifically in the direction of Juana Luna. It seemed that Juana was not displeased with Rafael’s interest in her and was indeed actively encouraging it. An argument broke out between the two women, and eventually, Juana challenged Marta to a duel.
The next morning, the two ladies, with their two seconds traveled in separate carriages to a deserted area on the outskirts of Mexico City. There, they attempted to resolve the matter with swords. The fight was not to be settled by first blood- nor was it over quickly as Marta and Juana fought for several rounds. In the second round, Marta was severely wounded but still would not concede. However, by round three, she was sluggish from blood loss and Juana took advantage of this to end matters by injuring her sword-bearing arm. Marta had no choice but to concede the fight and vow to give up Rafael. She and Juana then kissed and parted.
However, there were repercussions to this duel. Marta’s wounds were so severe that she needed to see a surgeon illegally as in Mexico government permission was required for surgery and seeking it would mean revealing Marta had fought a duel. However, the police learned she had received illegal treatment and began an investigation. Marta was taken to Juares Hospital for treatment. However, it seems that Juana and the seconds were arrested and placed in solitary confinement in prison. Unsurprisingly, these events somewhat cooled the ardor of both women and in the end, both Marta and Juana happily gave up Rafael.
Where Do We Get this Stuff? Here are our sources:
Top 10 Female Duels And Duellists, Hannah Janssen, List Verse, September 4, 2017
7 Duels Between Women, Livius Drusus, Mental Floss, February 26, 2016
10 Most Bizarre Duels in History, Alexander Meddings, History Collection, September 25, 2017
History of the Scots Greys, G F Bacon, The Navy and Army Illustrated, January 15th, 1897
Mademoiselle Maupin, The Vintage News, Tijana Radeska, Sep 5, 2016
A Curious Guide to London, Simon Leyland, Bantam Press, 2014
Local and General News, Ashburton Guardian, Volume XIV, Issue 2799, October 14, 1892
Duel, James Landale, Canongate Books, 2005
Bentley’s Miscellany, Volume 57, Richard Bentley, 1865
1900: Women Duel: In Our Pages 100, 75 and 50 years ago, The New York Times