HISTORICAL – Limitations on arbitrary power were effectively removed by Spain’s 1825 law placing colonial Cuba under a permanent State of Siege. Constitutional guarantees of individual rights were introduced after independence by the Constitution of 1940, partly in reaction to the abuses that had occurred under the Machadato, but many of these returned in the 1950s …
War between the United States and Spain, April 24-August 12, 1898. The Cuban independence struggle became an international issue in 1898 when the United States, angered by Spanish excesses and prodded by those who saw a possibility of its acquiring greater influence in the island, threatened war if Spain did not relinquish its authority. When …
Colonial Period – Prior to the British occupation of Cuba, 1762-1763, the principles of mercantilism ensured that Cuba’s legitimate foreign trade was exclusively with Spain, but this was supplemented from as early as the mid-16th century by significant contraband trading with the French, English, and Dutch, and by licensing foreign participation in the Asiento de Negros. The …
While Cuba’s 19th century development was initially financed by British investment, American investment had become the chief source well before the end of the century. As early as 1896 it had reached some $60 To $80 million. Canadian investment was important in some areas, notably banks and banking and streetcar systems. But even by the 1850s, wealthy Cubans …
Portuguese slavers brought Angolans to Cuba where they were known as Bantus or Congolese. In the mid-1960s, Angola became a focus of Soviet and Cuban attention as three different guerrilla groups fought for the independence of this Portuguese colony. The Communist-supported Movimiento Popular par a Libertação de Angola (MPLA), led by Agostinho Neto, took over …
A term originally applied vaguely to the entire North American mainland adjacent to Cuba, its application was gradually circumscribed by the curtailment of Spanish territorial pretensions in face of French penetration down the Mississippi (and the consequent creation of Louisiana) and of English settlements along the Atlantic coast, which by the mid-18th century had reached as …
Strong in Spain in the 1870s, anarchism reached Cuba through immigration and literature in the 1880s, and its successful appeal to Cuban workers threatened the non-political trade union movement organized by the Partido Reformista. By the 1890s, however, it had been largely suppressed by the authorities, its leaders imprisoned or deported to Spain. After the 1917 …
The usual term to denote any Afro-Cuban religion and all other practices similarly dismissed as superstitions. The word is also used by followers of the cults themselves to denote black magic – the deliberate misuse of legitimate religious techniques for malicious ends. All santeros are supposed to be capable of black magic, but no one admits to …
Under the Spanish colonial administration, prostitution was widespread and regulated. In 1885 there were two hundred registered brothels in Havana. The majority were located in the waterfront and industrial areas of the old city and employed mostly Canary Islanders, Black, mulattos, and poor white women. By 1900 the number had increased by one half. Prostitutes …
A common practice among a vast portion of the population reflecting the traditionally weak popular confidence in economic ventures. Cockfighting as a betting sport has a long tradition in Hispanic countries. The government lottery, introduced in 1812, was most effective in channeling enthusiasm for seeking large economic gains in the shortest possible time. Other significant forms …
