Origins and Family Felipa was born in the
Kingdom of Algarve's city of
Tavira, 1556, the daughter to Manuel de Sousa and Maria Goncalves,
Christian natives of the same locality. She then traveled to
Salvador,
Brazil, on condition of marriage to a
New Christian silk producer. After being widowed, she married the mason Francisco Pires. She worked as a seamstress and had no children from either marriage. and
Index-banned by the church. Her accusations gave rise to a lawsuit in which 29 women were accused of homosexual practices. Arrested to testify before the Tribunal of the Holy Office, Felipa had to defend herself both against the charge of
"sodomy" with other women, and new accusations of
crypto-Judaism. She eventually confessed to acts of lesbianism with at least six women in eight years.
Confession Proclaiming that her affection for the female gender was natural and without sin, Felipa revealed that in 1583 she fell in love for the first time with a woman, Maria Peralta, daughter to
New Christians Gaspar da Vila Costa and Ana de Siqueira. The two continued to meet in secret even after Maria's marriage to Thomas Bibentaon. After their relationship ended, Felipa kept other sporadic lovers, only returning to fall in love years later with the Lisbon-native Paula Siqueira, daughter to Manuel Pires and Mecia Roiz. The two had maintained a relationship for more than three years. Confronted with the fact that her beloved had accused her of
sexual harassment and of
coercion, Felipa revealed that she had in her possession several love letters that she had exchanged with Paula Siqueira, which were later used as evidence during the trial. At the end of the inquiry, when the inquisitor asked why she had not confessed her sins previously, Felipa claimed she had been told by the
Jesuit Antonio Velasquez that it was enough to confess sacramentally every Sunday, being forgiven everything, since the actions performed were
"always without any other Instrument, more than their bodies alone." This proved their sexual preferences were known to the local church, and according to then Catholic doctrine and local customs, acts of eroticism among women without
penetration were considered less sinful.
Sentence Of the 29 women accused of
lesbianism in the
Bahia Captaincy, seven were tried and convicted. Felipa was the most severely punished, but was spared the penalty of
death by burning solely because her sexual acts didn't involve penetration. On January 26th, 1592, she was removed from the House of Inquisition dungeons in the
Terreiro de Jesus, and forced to walk barefoot through the city streets in a procession of humiliation to the Church of the See. There, she heard her sentence, standing with a lit candle in her hands, and wearing a raw linen robe (this publicly identified her as one accused of heresy). She was condemned to
scourging,
exile, a
fast on bread and water for 15 Fridays and nine Saturdays, 33 prayers, and payment for legal processes equivalent to three months work. After the public reading of the sentence, she was tied to the
pillory and scourged. It was in the dungeon where she received medical attention for her injuries, lasting four days. She was expelled from the captaincy January 31st after her recovery. Since then, any further information about her whereabouts or end of life has been lost. Her accuser, Paula Siqueira, had a milder sentence of six days prison and a fine, two public appearances as defendant, and certain spiritual penalties. It is thought she was the wife of Antonio de Faria, Major-Provider of Fazenda Real, and consequently, possessed a title or rank higher than many of the other women charged, hence the lighter sentence. == Legacy and Tributes ==