Ana Augusta de Castilho was born on 16 March 1860 (some sources say 1866) in the parish of Sé in the town of Angra do Heroísmo, on Terceira Island in the Portuguese Autonomous Region of the Azores.

She spoke at a rally organized to celebrate the defeat in Chaves in October 1911 of troops loyal to the King, who were under the leadership of Henrique Mitchell de Paiva Couceiro.

This was subsequently merged into the Portuguese Women's Crusade (Cruzada das Mulheres Portuguesas), after Germany's declaration of war on Portugal on 9 March 1916.

[1][2][3][4][5] Although the life of the Republican League was fairly short, it produced a newspaper, A Madrugada, with which Castilho was actively involved.

She also worked with Obra Maternal, an institution dedicated to the protection of abandoned children, orphans and beggars, or those who were at risk of falling into the world of crime and prostitution.

She attempted to found an organization called Solidariedade Feminina, with the intention of offering daytime and evening classes for women and for girls over twelve years.