Anne Bradstreet was born in Northampton, England in 1612. Her maiden name was Anne Dudley. She was given little education as a child; however her father did provide her with adequate sources of education with tutors. At a young age she had a desire to learn and a desire to read to gain knowledge. Her father, Thomas Dudley, was
an assistant at a prominent estate in England, through this she was able to have access to various amounts of books and other educational resources. In 1628, at the age of sixteen, she married Simon Bradstreet, an assistant to her father. They then formed a coalition to defend their puritan ideals from those who threatened it. On March 29, 1630 she, along with her family traveled to the New World to escape from the religious persecution in England. In Massachusetts her father and husband eventually became governors and prominent figures in the colonies. But with the education that she had received from her tutors she was not content to live the accustom life given to women in the New World. So Anne began to write. Her original topic that she expressed was her unhappiness with the unfair treatment of women at the time. But gradually her writing tended to be more focused on her husband, and as a result it drew criticism from those saying she was deviating from God. She believed that man and woman were equal and felt that Biblical preaching taught this so as she continued to write of her works began express her values and beliefs in God. She also wrote about her reason for traveling to the New World. In these poems she expressed how she felt God was working in her life. Her early works were not popular however they did inspire her to write more and eventually become a very famous and prosperous author. Although she was not accepted at the time she is now considered one of the most accomplished female authors in American history.
In 1648 de la Cruz was born in the village on San Miguel Mepantla. She is said to be the illegitimate daughter of Spanish Captain Pedro Manuel, however he was never present in her life and she became a �daughter of the church.� At age three her quest for knowledge began. She was taught to read by her sister�s teacher. She finds refuge in her grandfather�s library at his house; her she feeds her hunger for knowledge. De la Cruz would soak up as much information as she could possibly take, and supposedly inflicted punishment on herself when she did not grasp a concept. She would cut off her hair �to punish her head for not learning something.� She lived to learn more and more each day. In 1659 she moved to Mexico City to live with her aunt, and by this time she has grasped such a vast amount of knowledge she ahs been labeled a prodigy. At age sixteen Vicereine Leonor takes her �under her wing� and is taught by her for five years. Her she continues to learn and develop her mind. She is said to have outsmarted every educated man that she came in contact with. During her five year tenure with Leonor she begins to write her poems. February 24, 1669 De la Cruz enters the Covent of the Order of St. Jerome; she remained there until her passing. In the Covent de la Cruz was able to have access to unlimited amounts of information. Thus here much of her writing occurred and knowledge was gained. Between 1673 and 1689 she wrote the majority of her plays and poems. In 1690 was mislead by the Bishop of Puebla, some of her teachings were unknowingly published and this left her open for criticism. Her image was never fully restored. In 695 on April 17 she encountered a plague that she received from her sisters and never recovered.