JUANA INES DE LA CRUZ 1651 1695 SCHOLAR AND POET DE LA CRUZ JUANA INES 1651 1695 ARTS EDUCATION GLOBAL RELATIONS JUANA INES DE ASBAJE WAS BORN NEAR MEXICO CITY ON NOVEMBER 12 1651 FROM A YOUNG AGE SHE SHOWED PROMISE OF GREAT INTELLECTUAL ACHIEVEMENT THOUGH FAME OF HER INTELLECTUAL ABILITIES SPREAD ASBAJE WAS DENIED AN OPPORTUNITY TO ATTEND THE UNIVERSITY OF MEXICO AS WOMEN AT THAT TIME WERE NOT ALLOWED TO PURSUE HIGHER EDUCATION IN FEBRUARY 1669 ASBAJE ADOPTED THE NAME SOR SISTER JUANA INES DE LA CRUZ AND ENTERED THE CONVENT OF SAN JERONIMO THE CONVENT OFFERED WOMEN THE FREEDOM TO STUDY OVER THE NEXT 25 YEARS AT SAN JERONIMO DE LA CRUZ ASSEMBLED A LIBRARY OF OVER 4000 VOLUMES AND COLLECTED MANY SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS DE LA CRUZ BECAME WELL KNOWN FOR HER WRITING PARTICULARLY HER DEFENSE OF WOMEN WHO CHOOSE INTELLECTUAL PURSUITS OVER MORE TRADITIONAL ROLES HER WORKS INCLUDE FLOOD FROM THE MUSES SPRINGS SECOND VOLUME OF THE WORKS OF SISTER JUANA INES DE LA CRUZ AND FAME AND POSTHUMOUS WORKS OF THE MEXICAN PHOENIX AND TENTH MUSE IN HER LATER YEARS DE LA CRUZ SOLD HER BOOKS AND SCIENTIFIC EQUIPMENT AND GAVE UP ALL CONTACT WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD SHE DIED IN 1695 WHILE NURSING HER SISTER NUNS DURING AN EPIDEMIC
