THE HISTORY OF CUBA
Strangely enough, in view of the number of books that have been written
about Cuba, there is no adequate history of the Island in the English
language--none that may be justly deemed comprehensive and trustworthy.
Many important events in the life of the country have never been
properly recorded and much that is of great interest still reposes
undisturbed in scattered documents. A candid account could hardly be
expected of a Spaniard or a Cuban, but it might be supposed that an
American would treat the subject with impartial fairness. None however
has done so, thus far. A recent effort by a prominent educator is
typical of the books on Cuba which are designed for the use of students
in our schools and elsewhere. By the author in question the Spaniards
are unstintingly condemned and the Americans unqualifiedly praised. The
Cubans are portrayed as heroic embodiments of all the virtues. Our
successes in the Spanish American War are described as brilliant
victories. In short, the most distorted impression of the facts is
conveyed.
This condition is regrettable because a true understanding of any people
and their country must be based upon intelligent knowledge of their
history, and this is peculiarly so in the case of Cuba and the Cubans.
Even though he had the ability to remedy the defect, the limits and
design of the present volume would preclude the writer from making the
attempt in its pages. The brief historical sketch given here, must be
made entirely secondary to the main purpose of presenting a picture of
the Island and its inhabitants as they are to-day, and of taking a
survey of the economic conditions affecting them. The following account
is restricted mainly to such phases of the country’s history as have had
permanent influence on the character, customs and welfare of the people.
Upon discovering the Island of Cuba, Columbus named it Juana, in honor
of Prince Juan, the son of Ferdinand and Isabella. On the death of
Ferdinand, Velasquez substituted the name Ferdinandina. The Island was
subsequently called Santiago, after the patron saint of Spain, and
still later, Ave Maria. Through all these changes of official style the
natives retained the name Cuba, by which their country had been known
before the advent of white men, and the Indian appellation was soon
adopted by the aliens.
The Indians whom Columbus found upon the Island were of gentle
disposition and peaceful by inclination and practice. The nine divisions
of the country were governed without friction by as many _caciques_,
independent of one another and equal in rank. The people rendered them
unquestioned obedience and were accustomed to an autocratic rule.
Hospitality was an universal trait and the invaders were made free of
the land without the slightest opposition. Furthermore, these Indians
accepted baptism and the doctrines of Christianity more readily than any
others with whom the Spaniards came into contact.
But for one condition, the factors were present for the peaceful
subjugation and government of the aborigines. The obstructive element
was found in the constitutional aversion of the natives to physical
exertion in any unnecessary degree. Their soil responded generously to
the slightest appeal in the form of casual cultivation, and the
materials for their scanty clothing might be gathered without trouble.
They had never experienced any need to work and their climate was
conducive to careless indolence. No doubt their habit of life had
produced weakness and lack of stamina. Thus disinclination grew into
disability. Flaccid muscles and unused limbs caused apparently strong
and robust men to faint and fall under tasks which we would consider an
ordinary day’s labor.
The Spanish adventurers, who found the natives in possession of nuggets
of gold and rude ornaments fashioned from the precious metal, set them
the onerous task of mining. They perceived the aversion of the Indians
to labor, but could not comprehend their inability. _El execrable sed
d’ore_ prompted them to the commission of pitiless barbarities in the
effort to force the slaves to increased exertion.
Under this treatment the natives died in great numbers. A few feeble
attempts at armed resistance hastened the end. In an incredibly short
time, if we are to accept the most reliable estimates of the number of
the aboriginal population, the male Indians were completely
exterminated.
It is impossible to say with any degree of precision how many
inhabitants the Island of Cuba contained at the time of its discovery.
Las Casas and Peter Martyr are led into exaggeration by their righteous
indignation at the cruelties of their countrymen. Their figures are
highly improbable. If the native population at the time the Spaniards
first settled in the country is estimated at half a million there is
little likelihood of undershooting the mark.
Oviado declares that in 1535--less than fifty years after the
discovery--there were fewer than five hundred Indians left within the
borders of the Island. Among this remnant females were largely in
predominence. They had not been subjected to the same extremes of
hardships and cruelty as had the males, and many of the Spaniards had
taken native women under their protection as concubines. This condition
led to the perpetuation of the Indian blood after the last of the pure
bred aborigines had disappeared. To-day, one meets, on rare occasions, a
Cuban peasant whose appearance suggests Indian ancestry, but the strain
practically died out long ago, and has left no impression on the Cuban
character or customs.
Cases in which the aboriginal stock is suggested are more frequently
encountered at the eastern end of the Island than elsewhere, and a
plausible explanation might be found in the fact that its wild
mountainous recesses would have afforded safe retreat to such of the
Indians who may have fled there from the persecutions of the whites. In
this way it is possible that a small number of the natives may have
survived for a considerable period after official knowledge of their
existence had ceased.
Some years ago, at Holguin, a youth was pointed out to me, who exhibited
in features, skull formation, and complexion, marked resemblance to an
Indian type. The _padre_, who had drawn my attention to the young man,
scoffed at my suggestion of accident, and declared his conviction that
it was a pronounced case of atavism.
The first permanent settlement of the Spaniards upon the Island of Cuba
was made at Baracoa, in 1512. At its head was Captain Diego Velasquez,
who, until his death in 1524, continued to rule Cuba, as _Adelantado_,
under direct responsibility to the Governor and _Andencia_ of
Hispaniola, or Santo Domingo. He had five successors in this office. The
first governor, appointed by and immediately answerable to the Crown,
was Hernando de Soto. The line of captains-general began with Don
Gabriel de Lujan, who assumed the post in 1581.
In 1514, Velasquez founded the towns of Trinidad and Santiago, for the
purpose of facilitating communication with Jamaica, and established
settlements at Remedios, Bayamo, Puerto Principe, Sancti-Spiritus, and
San Cristobal de la Habana, the last named being located where the town
of Batabano now stands. Five years later, the name of Habana was
transferred to a small settlement on the spot where the capital now
stands.
Baracoa was the first bishopric and seat of government. In 1522 Santiago
became the centre of both civil and ecclesiastical jurisdiction, and in
1552 the capital was established at Habana.
The settlement of Cuba proceeded slowly. During the hundred years
following its discovery, only two towns were founded in addition to
those which have been mentioned, namely, Guanabacoa and El Cobre. In the
seventeenth century but two more of any importance came
[Illustration: BAYAMO.]
into existence, these being Matanzas and Santa Clara. Nine more were
created in the course of the next century. At the close of this period
the Island contained about two hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants,
while the development of its natural resources can scarcely be said to
have begun.
The backwardness of the colony was not due to lack of energy on the part
of the Spaniards, who in the days of the _conquistadores_ displayed that
quality in a remarkable degree. A combination of conditions, some of
them entirely beyond the control of the settlers, retarded the
development of the Island. A large proportion of the first comers were
transients, staying for a while, but responding ultimately to the
greater allurements of the mainland. Their object was gold, and in this
respect Cuba proved disappointing. After a while the large landed
proprietors, who had received royal grants, began to raise cattle and to
breed horses. For some time large quantities of meat and mounts for the
troops were shipped to Terra Firma. But this source of profit expired
toward the close of the sixteenth century, when the continental
settlements became able to supply their own needs in these respects. At
this period the cultivation of tobacco and sugar-cane was introduced. At
the outset these industries suffered from a paucity of labor, and a
royal license was obtained for the importation of negroes from Africa.
The shipment of the blacks in large numbers to the Island continued
until, toward the middle of the nineteenth century, their proportional
place in the population became a source of grave anxiety to the
authorities. The successful revolt of their race in Haiti and the
abolitionary agitation throughout the civilized world created unrest
among the slaves in Cuba. Although there was no organized uprising,
frequent mutinies occurred in different parts of the Island. The most
cruel measures of repression were put into force, with the result of
cowing the negroes for a while. It is probable however, that only the
growth of the revolutionary movement prevented a general uprising of the
blacks in Cuba before their emancipation, which was officially decreed
in 1887.
The population of the Island in 1846 was about nine hundred thousand.
More than half of the number were negroes, three-fourths of them slaves.
According to the latest official figures, less than thirty per cent. of
the present population are colored. How has the proportion sunk so
greatly in sixty-five years? Where have the negroes gone? What has
become of their children?
A writer in a volume on “Cuba,” issued by the United States Bureau of
the Census, states: “The diminution of the proportion of colored
inhabitants during the last half century is doubtless but another
illustration of the inability of the colored race to hold its own in
competition with the whites, a truth which is being demonstrated on a
much larger scale in the United States.”
This is not at all convincing. The negroes have not been to any
appreciable degree subjected to competition in Cuba. The climate and
latter-day conditions are altogether favorable to their survival and
increase. Two official reports indicate that they held their own under
the more arduous life of slavery.
We must look for an explanation elsewhere, and the most plausible seems
to be that there is a much greater distribution of negro blood in Cuba
than the statistics indicate. The enumerators who took the census under
our military occupation acknowledged the difficulty of distinguishing
among a people whose prevailing physical characteristics are dark skin
and black hair, and expressed their suspicion that a large number of
those who returned themselves as “whites” had negro blood in their
veins. Those who have lived long and travelled extensively in Cuba,
generally entertain the opinion that the proportion of pure whites in
population is considerably less than seventy per cent.
The unqualified terms of condemnation in which most of our writers refer
to the Spanish rule of Cuba, can only be accounted for on the assumption
of ignorance of the history of the Island and the general conditions of
the times. Spain had an admirable code of laws for the government of her
colonies. This code, called _Las Leyes de Indias_, was formulated during
the reign of Philip the second. It was designed to insure the humane and
equitable treatment of the native subjects and, considering the times,
was a highly enlightened measure. The laws were frequently violated by
colonial governors, but it was hardly in the power of the home
government to prevent such abuses. In those days of long distances and
slow communication, it was necessary that viceroys should be invested
with practically unlimited powers and undivided authority. The only
alternative would have been the adoption of some form of popular
government, which no nation had at that period dreamed of applying to
its distant possessions. As a matter of fact, a liberal policy prevailed
in Cuba during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Public
assemblies of citizens were held to elect the members of municipal
corporations; no taxation was permitted without the sanction of these
bodies;[1] charges were freely lodged and sustained against governors.
During the same period, the British colonies in the West Indies were not
so well governed as was Cuba and some of their governors were more
flagrantly tyrannical and dishonest than the worst of Cuba’s
captains-general. Spain’s chief fault and the cause of her downfall as a
colonial power, lay in failure to respond to the growth of sentiment in
favor of popular rights. She became more autocratic as other nations
became more liberal. In truth, she had ineptitude for colonial
government, but her sovereigns generally evinced a sincere concern for
the welfare of their foreign subjects.
Cuba entered upon an era of development and prosperity following the
restoration of the Island to Spain by the British in 1763. For eighty
years following the event it was governed by a line of captains-general,
almost all of whom were able and well-intentioned. The first of these,
Count O’Reilly, devoted his five-year term of office to the organization
of a militia force and the execution of other much needed military
measures. Don Antonio Bucarely paid special attention to the
administration of justice throughout the Island and redressed many
popular grievances. Of him was recorded the unparalleled fact that
during his administration not a single complaint against him had reached
the Court of Madrid. His successor, the Marques de la Torre, gained the
affection and esteem of all classes. The benign and talented Las Casas
arrived in 1790, and the period of his governorship is recognized by all
Spanish writers as one of the most brilliant in the history of the
Island. He effected many public improvements and introduced means for
the increase of the industrial and commercial prosperity of Cuba. He it
was, who founded the institution of _Sociedad Patriotica_, which became
so important an agency in the promotion of agriculture, trade,
education, literature, and the fine arts. The recognition of the popular
principle in this institution, and the promotion of liberal ideas by it,
have been highly influential factors in the development of the people
and their country.
To Las Casas, also, the Island is indebted for the establishment of the
_Casa de Beneficencia_, for its first public library, and its first
newspaper.
It is frequently stated that under the rule of Spain education among the
natives was discouraged. Such was not the case. The facilities of the
masses in the country districts for acquiring such education as their
classes usually enjoyed at the same period in Europe was, at least,
equally as great. The priests maintained parish schools throughout the
Island, and received pupils free without the distinction of classes or
color. In the capital the opportunities for learning were unusually
good. The Jesuits, Dominicans, and other orders, provided thorough
classical education and instruction in foreign languages. Almost every
religious institution had some sort of college or attached to it. The
University of Habana was established in 1721. It became the object of
special favor by Las Casas. He increased the endowment and extended the
scope of its utility by creating several new professorial chairs,
notably one of medicine. He also lent aid and encouragement to the
Jesuits, in improving their colleges.
Following Las Casas came several other benevolent governors, of whom the
Conde de Santa Clara, the Marques de Someruelos, and the Espeletas,
especially left records of wise and useful administration.
The chief features of the history of the Island previous to the opening
of the eighteenth century, were the settlements created by the first
governor, the usual _repartimientos_, or distribution of the territory
and its inhabitants among the Spanish adventurers who led the early
expeditions of the Indians, the introduction of negro slaves, the
attacks by buccaneers, and the capture of Habana by the English. The
century closed with a notable advance in commerce and industry, and a
period of excellent government. This, though essentially despotic, was
benevolent and well adapted to the conditions of the time. Under it the
Cubans
[Illustration: THE PRADO, HABANA.]
enjoyed a fair degree of prosperity, despite the short-sighted
commercial policy to which they were subjected. That they were generally
contented, and well affected towards the mother country can not be
questioned. The French and American revolutions impressed them greatly,
but did not shake their loyalty. When the news of the abduction of the
royal family of Spain by Napoleon reached Habana, the colonial
government declared war against France, and the populace approved the
act with enthusiasm. The revolt of the colonies on the mainland, and
their disseverance from Spain, left Cuba still attached to the Crown
with a constancy that gained for her the sobriquet, “ever faithful.”
The political changes which took place in Spain in the first quarter of
the nineteenth century were productive of similar changes in Cuba. What
was called a constitutional government was given to the Island. The
sudden introduction of a democratic system of rule to a population
composed of the most discordant elements, and accustomed to autocracy,
could not fail of producing something like the disquieting conditions
that followed the premature establishment of ultra-free institutions in
the countries which had formerly been dependencies of Spain in America.
The masonic societies came into vogue in Cuba, as they did in the
peninsula. From the discussion of religious and political matters, these
associations soon proceeded to the advocacy of revolution. The radical
doctrines which were thus disseminated, readily took root in the minds
of the educated, among whom translations of the works of Voltaire,
Rousseau, and their Italian disciples, were widely distributed at this
time. In 1823 a conspiracy, which extended throughout the Island, was
set on foot by a secret society named “the Sotes de Bolivar.” The
drastic measures that were adopted for its suppression created deep and
widespread resentment against the government.
Upon the restoration of Ferdinand the Seventh, another sudden swing of
the pendulum brought the Cubans again under autocratic rule. Extreme
means were resorted to with a view to stamping out the growing
revolutionary spirit and reducing the people to their former state of
ready submission to authority. None of these measures was so ill-judged,
or so lasting in its evil effects, as the Royal Order of 1825. This
conferred on the captains-general “the whole extent of power which by
the royal ordinance is granted to the governors of besieged towns ...
most amply and unrestrictedly authorizes Your Excellency not only to
remove from the Island such persons, holding offices from government or
not, whatever their rank, class, occupation, or situation in life may
be, whose residence there you may deem prejudicial, or whose private or
public conduct may appear suspicious to you, employing in their stead
faithful servants of His Majesty, who shall fully deserve Your
Excellency’s confidence; but also to suspend the execution of whatever
royal orders or general decrees in all the different branches of the
administration, or in any part of them, as Your Excellency may think
conducive to the royal service; it being in any case required that these
measures be temporary, and that Your Excellency make report of them for
His Majesty’s sovereign approval.”
This order was intended to be observed under the most strict
responsibility, “_le mas estrecta responsibilidad_,” and to be only
temporarily in effect. It remained in force, however, and its terrible
powers later became the scourge of the land, although they were not
immediately felt. The Captain-General upon whom they were first
conferred, General Vives, refrained from exercising them, and under the
judicious administration of Count Villanueva, as Intendant, the people
had no cause to remember the fearful instrument for oppression which
their rulers had at command.
The term of General Tacon (1834-1838) ushered in the era of tyranny,
spoliation and incapacity that marked the government of Cuba in the
remaining period of Spanish domination, during which the revolutionary
spark that was ignited earlier in the century grew into an
inextinguishable flame.
Long before this period the Spaniards and Cubans had drifted apart.
There was nothing essential in common between the latter and the
official class or the soldiers, unless we allow for some degree of
common origin. The natives had gradually learned to entertain hatred for
the Spaniards, who, in their turn, felt the greatest contempt for the
Cubans. Neither side took the least pain to dissemble their feelings,
except that in Habana friendly relations were, as a rule, maintained
between the two classes, and this even during revolutionary periods. The
relations and sentiments of the governing class and the people to one
another were much like those which existed between Norman and Saxon in
the century following the Conquest.
The first Spanish immigration to Cuba commenced early in the sixteenth
century, and consisted mainly of adventurers who accompanied the early
expeditions, and who settled permanently in the country, after returning
to Spain and transplanting their families. These first settlers were
mostly of Castilian or Andalusian origin and their descendants furnished
the best native blood of the Island. Shortly after, emigrants from the
Basque Provinces and from Catalonia began to come in. These belonged to
the peasant class, and from them the _guajiro_, or poor white, of the
country districts has sprung. After the abolition of slavery a number of
Galegos came over to seek employment in the houses of the wealthy.
Aside from a handful of French refugees, the white population of the
Island was almost exclusively composed of Spaniards or people of Spanish
descent until a late day. Under such circumstances of racial, religious
and political affinity, a practical government might have maintained
peace continuously but for conditions which gradually moulded the Cubans
into absolute antagonism to the Spaniards.