ADA FERRER

Insurgent
Guba
Race,Nation, and Revolution,1868-18g8
The Universityof North CarolinaPress ChapelHill & London
 --\

O 1999The University of North Carolina Press To rnyparents,

A11rights reserwed
Set in Minion and Franklin Gothic type by KeystoneTypesetting,Inc. Ram6n and Adelaida Ferrer
Manufactured in the United Statesof America
In memoryof
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability
of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council
Rita Blanco Garcia,1888-1975
on Library Resources.
Portions ofthe introduction, chapters3, 5, and 7, and the conclusion were
adapted from materials that frrst appeared in the following articles:
"Cuba. r8g8: Rethinking Race, Nation, and Empirei' Radtcalt*sto'ry ReviewT3
(Winter 1999):zz-46. Used by perrnis$ion of Cambridge University Press.
"social AspectsofCuban Nationalism; Race,Slavery,and the Guerra Chiquita,
r8z9-188o;' Cuban Studieszr (rggt): 37-56. Original material reprinted by
permissionoIthe Universityof PittsburghPress.
"Rustic Men, Civilized Nation: Race,Culture, and Contention on the Eve of
Cuban Independ encel' Hispanic Arnerican Historical Review78 (November
rggS'):663-86t"The SilenceofPatriots: Racial Discourse and Cuban
Nationalism," in JosdMartl\ "Our America": From National to Hemispheric
Cubural Studies, edited by Ieffrey Belnap and Raril Ferndndez, zz8- 49.
Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press,1998.Original material reprinted by
permission of Duke University Press.

Library of CongressCataloging-in-Publication Data

Ferrer, Ada.
Insurgent Cuba: race, nation, and revolution, 1868-1898/ Ada Ferrer.
p. cm.
lncludesbibliographicalreferences (p.) andindex.
rsBNo-8078-25oo-x(alk. paper).-rsnN o-8078-479-6 (pbk.: alk. paper)
r. Cuba-History-Insurrection, 1868-1878.2. Cuba-History-1878-1895.
3. Cuba-History-Revolution, r895-1898.4. Racism-Cuba-History-r9th
century. j. Blacks-Cuba-Politics and government-History-l9th century.
6. Cuba-Race relations-Political aspects.I. Title.
Ft785.F36 1999
g7z.9t' o5-dczr 99-13684
CIP

03 02 01 oo 99 5 4327

5.
Writing the Nation
Race,Wat and Redemptionin the
Proseof Independence,
1886-1895
By the earlyt89os,colonialauthoritiesand anticolonialactivistshad reached
a stalemate.Independenceactivists,for their part, organizedconspiracies,
revolutionary clubs, and filibustering expeditions.As yet, however,none of
theseefforts had succeededin producing the covetedrebellion.The colonial
state,meanwhile,attemptedto tighten its hold on the island with new mea-
sures,reforms,and institutions. Yetits best-laidplans seemedonly to exacer-
bate endemic threats of unrest. To the persistenceof such threats, colonial
authoritiesand their alliesrespondedwith a familiar weapon:they character-
ized the separatistendeavoraspreludeto racewar and the desiredrepublic as
Haiti's sr-lccessor.
And, eventhough the end of slaveryand the increaseof the
white population wereerodingthe traditional basesfor suchclaims,the claims
themselvescontinued to be made, and (as we saw early in the preceding
chapter)they continuedto be heeded.
IA4ratever the growingweaknesses of the colonialstate,then, the nationalist
effort to defeatthe metropolitan power was also,of necessity,a cultural and
ideologicalstruggle.For almost a century,analogiesto Haiti and allusionsto
black revolt and social chaosservedto compromisethe appealof a political
sovereigntywon through widespreadmobilization. To launch a successful
, rebellion,then, requiredthat independenceactivistssupplyresponses to these
racial claims; they had to invalidate powerful and longstandingarguments
againstindependence. This effort led patriot-intellectuals-black,mulatto,and
white-to rethink the relationshipbetweenrace and nation. In the process,
they cameto destabilizewhat had been a central claim of Cuban historical
knowledge:namely,that the island'sdemographicprofile and its history of ra-
cial slaveryincapacitatedit for nationhood.In explicit oppositionto this claim,
patriot-intellectualselaboratedan alternativeconception,a conceptionof a
racelessnationality that would cometo dominateCubanthinking on raceand
112
nationality,evento this day.But claims about a Cuban nation born of racial
transcendence-nolessthan colonial claimsabout the raciallyderivedimpos-
sibility of that nationhood-were historical products that aroseat a particu-
lar historical moment. Thus if the Haitian Revolution of the r79oshelped
produce a particular way of understanding raceand nation in nineteenth-
century Cuba,the anticolonialmovement(especiallyin the r8gos)would pro-
duce a different conceptionof raceand nation for the twentieth century.It is
to this processof reconceptualizingraceand nationality in the r89osthat we
nowturn.
Writing and Preparingl War
The ideological campaignto negateSpanishrepresentationsof the na-
tionalist movement was carried out largely in writing-in periodical, pam-
phlet, and testimonial literature publishedboth in exile and on the island.
Spanishconcessions and political reformsafter the tteatyof Zani6nproduced
somemeasureof liberalizationin the island'scultural and political life. In 1886,
the colonialstateabolishedpresstribunals,which had madeauthorssubjectt<l
prison sentencesand expatriationfor publishing materials conftarYto what
officialstermed Spanish"national integrity." Moreover,in a caseinitiated by
mulatto iournalist Juan Gualberto G6mez and Spanishabolitionist lawyer
RafaelMarla de Labra,the SpanishSupremeCourt in Madrid establishedthe
legality of separatistpropaganda,so long as it did not advocatethe use of
violencefor obtaining independence.As a consequence of thesereforms,Ha-
vana witnesseda minor publishing boom in the late r88osand early r89os.
More than five hundred magazines,newspapers, and other serialpublications
appearedin the city in this period. Editors of magazines(such as Revista
Cubana,EI Figaro, and HojasLiterarias)becamemore forward in their crit-
icismsof Spanishrule and of Spanishoffcials on the island.And the new laws
alsomadepossiblethe publication of bookssuchasRaimundo Cabreris Cuba
y susjueces,whichopenlycondemnedSpanishadministrationon the island.It
first appearedin 1887and immediatelybecamepopular enough to warrant
four reprintings in the sameyear.Thus the liberalizationof colonial policies
createdan openingfor the publication on the island of what one scholarhas
referredto as"decidedlydaring" and "subversive"ideas.l
Even more daring were anticolonial writings produced in exile. Veteran
officersand conspirators,pardonedby the Spanishstateat the end of the first
war, gravitatedto politically active exile communities on both sidesof the
Atlantic, from Paristo BuenosAires.The largestand most vocal groupscon-
gregatedin New York and Florida,whereSpanishoffrcialsestimatedthat thou-
sandsof expatriateswere activelyinvolvedin separatistconspiracy.2 Shielded
WRITING THE NATION : 113
 from the powerof colonialofficials,they organizedclubs,collectedfunds,gave
public speeches,and published pamphlets,books, and newspapers,which
then circulatedclandestinelyacrossthe island.Together,the writings produced
in exile and in Cuba during the decadeprecedingthe final war of indepen-
dencemade a powerful public casefor the merits and justice of separation
from Spain.
Among the most popular and voluminous of thesenew pro-independence
writings were those that provided firsthand accountsof the Ten Years'War.
Theseincluded F6lix Figueredo'sLa guerrade Cubaen $78, which was pub-
lishedin serializedform in La Revistacubanain 1889,and full-lengthaccounts
suchasRam6nRoa'sA piey descalzo (r8go),Manuelde la Cruz'sEpkadiosdela
revoluci6ncubana(t89o), and Enrique Collazo'sDesdeYarahastael Zanj|n
(r8S:). All becameimmediatelypopular-Roa's and Cruz's boasting second
editions in the year of original publication. Thesememoirs, now classicsin
Cubanhistory,havebeenwidely usedby historiansasprimary sourcesfor the
study of the war of 1868;they were, after all, eyewitnessaccountsof that
insurgency.In this chapter,however,theseworks areusedfor a quite different
purpose.The books listed above,and othersof the sameperiod, werewritten
on the eve of the final war of independenceby figures activelyinvolved in
anticolonial conspiracy.As such, they representimportant sourcesfor the
study of separatistpreparationfor the final war. Their authorssawthemselves
aswriting for a new generationof Cubans,who could usethe inspiration and
exampleof "the men of 68" to strengthentheir commitment to an indepen-
dent Cubanrepublic.They soughtto generatepatriotism with talesof bravery
and hardshipand to uncoverold failuresin order to achievenew successes in
the strugglefor independence. The memoir and essaywriters of the late r88os
and early r89osthus wrote to recapturethe experiencesof the old war, but
perhapsmore so to help pavethe way for the war to come.
' That these books were
conceivedof as lessonsor guidelinesfor future
revolutionaryattemptsis confirmedby someofthe debatesthat ensuedimme-
diatelyafter their publication. one suchcontroversyfollowedthe publication
of Roas A pie y descalzo in r89o.3Roahad beensecretaryand aide-de-campto
someof the principal generalsof the first war, including Mriximo G6mezand
IgnacioAgramonteLoynaz.His narrative,a collectionof fourteen "episodes"
that occurredduring the critical period betweenr87oand r87r,focusedon the
grim realitiesof war-on the perpetuallack of suppliesand the stateof demor-
alizationamongthe Cubantroops. His purpose,he wrote, wasto presentnot
an epic of war heroesbut a candid accountabout modestpeoplewho, "bare-
foof ?ritd--walking,"suffered the adversitiesof those yearsof crisis within the
war. Roa's realistic portrayals resulted in lively debates over what kind of
114 : PEACE
representation of the first war would most benefit those men preparing for the
next one. A principal protagonist in the debate was Jos6 Matti, writer and
independence activist, who in exile in t89z organized the Cuban Revolutionary
Party (PRC) to plan and direct a new insurrection against Spain. In a speech
given at a separatist gathering in Thmpa on November 26, r89t, Martf con-
demned Roa's book, suggesting that its main purpose was to stimulate and
sustain "fear of the tribulations of war . . . [and the] fear of going barefoot."
Marti further implied that promoters of such fears were "impure people re-
ceiving payment from the Spanish government."a Marti's speech,published as
a leaflet in Havana, produced an immediate uproar among independence
activists on the island. Enrique Collazo wrote an indignantlesponse to Marti's
speech. Marti responded in kind, and then so did Collazo. Though these
responses took the form of private correspondence, they were immediately
reprinted for public consumption-Collazo's in La Lucha (Havana), Marti's in
El Yara (Key West). The public debate ended formally ayeat Iater with the
signing of a document in which representativesfor both men agreed toraban-
don the argument.s
In the caustic back-and-forth attacks between Marti, Collazo, and others,
the events and course of the first war were never in question. Marti's attacks on
Roa'sbook never denied that insurgents had often felt demoralized or that they
fought barefoot and without horses. Nowhere did he challenge the truthful-
nessof Roa's account. Rather, the goal of his criticism was to "publicly censure
those who discouraged their people in the hour in which they seemedmost to
need encouragement."6And Roa's purpose was not to dishearten but "to serve
as experience, so that in the hour of sacrifice [Cubans might] go in full knowl-
edge and with their spirits strong, to avoid regrets."TThe debate between the
two demonstrated that they both saw in the new writings about the first war a
medium in which they could influence the course of a new one. For these
writers, and their activist readers, the concern was not only an accurate Por-
trayal of the past but also a specific vision of that past-one that would serve
the needs of the independence movement in the present. Clearly they saw their
writing as more than representation; they saw it also as weapon and war
strategy, as a central part ofthe very process ofinsurgency they were seeking to
describe. More than simply a set of texts, then, this prose of insurgency was
itself a kind of historical event, emerging in a particular context and as part of
overlapping and sometimes competing political projects.s
To read the patriotic writings of the period in this manner in part assumes
that there existed an audience willing to be swayed and captivated. Yet colonial
slaie. societies did not generally produce large reading and writing publics.
Which Cubans would have actually had accessto the war memoirs and patri-
WRITING THE NATION : T15
 otic essaysofthe yearsprecedingthe final war?According
to spanish census island,.and thoseproducedon the islandwerereprintecland circulatedin exile.
materialsfrom the period, 35 percentof personsidentified
as white andp Speakersand leaderstraveledbetweencommunities,persuading,organizing,
percentofthose categorized ascoloredcould eitherread or write in rgg7.The conspiring,and establishinglinks arnongexpatriatecommunitiesand between
percentageof readersin the city of Havana,where
most of the books were thosecommunitiesandislandseparatists. Here,then,werethe makingsof a po-
publishedand circulated,wassignificantlyhigher.
There the literacyrarewas tentiallyrevolutionarypublic,of a transnationalnationalistcommunity,which
7o percentamongwhitesand zg percentamongpersonsof color.eThat
several could serveasthe groundfor theideologicaldevelopmentofinsurgency.rs
of the books discussedberowwerereprinted shortry after
theyfirst appeared
suggeststhat they had sufficientreadersto exhaust
first editions in relatively War Memoirs and the Retrieval of the Black Insurgent
little time. we also have evidencefrom participants
in the final war who what this public encounteredin readingor hearingabout the new writings
testifiedlater that the writings of the ninetieshad exerted
a greatinfluenceon was something largely unprecedentedin public discourseabout cuban na-
their decisionto join the movement.one officer,serafln
Espinosay Ramos, tionality. As part of a dialoguewith the spanish portrait of the cuban re-
recalledthe personalimpact on him of Manuel sanguily'sjournal
HojasLite- bellionsasracewars,separatistwriters conducteda sweepingreevaluationof
raries,as well as the impressionmade on him by
Roat A pie y descarzo, by the role of the blackinsurgentin the processof making the nation. This act of
cruz's Episodios dela revoruci6ncubana,andby somesecretrycirculated
copies reexaminationinvolved, on the one hand, telling storiesabout the everyday
of essaysand speechesby los6 Marti.l' In addition, from
recordsof porice activitiesof war of unknown black insurgentsin the Ten years'war. on the
searches in the homesof Havanaworkerssuspectedof sympathizing
with the other hand, it involvedthe formulation of an ideal black insurgen! who rose
insurgentcause,weknowthat someof them owned.opi"solseparatistpoems
aboveothersin actsof selfless(and, aswe shall see,,,raceless',) patriotism. In
and pro-independence newspapers andbooks.lr the process,the figure of the black insurgent,dreadedemblemof racewar and
The public for thesewritings, however,went beyond
literateresidentsof the blackrepublic,wasneutralizedand madean acceptable-anclindeedcentral-
island' Even those who could not read, especially
when they lived in the componentin the strugglefor Cubannationhood.
national or provincial capitals,had other waysoflearning
about the contents one apparentbeneficiaryof this processof neutralizationwas an elderly
of thesewritings. The bookswereoften reviewed
and debatedin the press,and slavenamed Ram6n.In the early r89os,he went from being the causeof the
in cities,at least,newspapervendorscommonly
announcedthe contentsof ar- deathof carlos Manuel de c6spedes, the leaderof the first insurrection,to
ticlesin the newspapersthey wereselling.r2Through
thepregones(announce- beinga faithful and trustworthy slavewith no connectionto the ..fatherof the
ments) of street vendors,nonliterate people became
of articles and. patria|' In the r87osand r88os,the conventionalaccountof cdspedes'sdeath
storiesthat interestedthem and that they could "."u..
rater pursue through insti- maintainedthat his whereaboutshad been revealedto Spanishtroops by an
tutions, friends, or family members.Someof the
pro-independencewriters agingformer slavenamedRam6n,who betrayedthe libeiator of slavesin ex-
activein this period werebrackand mulatto journalists
wh. publishedmuch changefor his personalfreedom. (one variant of the story held that a slave
of their work in the black press.At meetingsof recreational
and instructional namedRoberthad denouncedcdspedesin exchangefor his life upon his cap-
societies(manyof them organizedby and for former sraves),
readingmembers ture by spanishforces.)Now in the r89os,asindependenceactivistsprepared
could inform nonreadingmembersabout publicly
debatedbooks alnaarticles the ideologicaland political groundwork for a new rebellion, severalnew
in the press.Many ofthesesocieties,in fact,established
librariesand organized accountsappearedto disavowthesetheories.The new accountsmaintained
classes and readingsfor their members.In addition, tobacco
workershad the that the elderlyRam6n,known to everyonein the areaas "pap6 Ram6n,"did.
opportunity to hear books and articlesread aloud
to them as they worked.l3 not know c6spedesand playedno role whatsoeverin his death.The Spanish
Thus, despitethe fact that the majority of cubans
could not read,the written soldierswho killed c6spedeswere, in fact, surprisedto learn that they had
debatesand discussionsover nationality and independence
made their way killed the presidentof the cuban republic.And this surprise,the new theories
into arenasaccessible to both literateand nonliteratepeople.ra
maintained,revealedthat c6spedes'swhereaboutscould not have been dis-
This local public of reading and nonreading individuals,
moreover,was closedby a slave,or by anyoneelse.
linked to a largertranslocalpublic with outposts 'rhe
in suchpracesasNew \brk, reformulation of the story is significantwithin the contextof the r89os.
Thmpa, Kingston, and paris. writings produced in
exire circuratedon the c6spedes,though censuredby elementsof the independencemovement for
116 : pEAcE
WRITING THE NATION : 117
f,- favoring the military over the civilian elementsof the revolution, was already
recognizedas a heroic national figure. His most compellingact had beenthe
granting of freedomto his slaves,who then joined the new Cubanarmy.That
he might havebeenmurderedasa resultof the betrayalof an ungratefulslave
could only help sustainthosewho invoked the dangersof insurrection and
independence.In the retelling of the story in the nineties,the elderly soldier
"wept desperately''over C6spedes's untimely death,but everyonearound him
consoledhim, certain of "the honor" and "total innocence"of the "poor and
valiant old man."r6Thus in the r89os,Ram6n-suspected|udas-was reap-
propriatedand transformedinto the benignPapf Ram6n.
Other writings of the r89osgo further in placingan innocuousblack figure
at the centerof the Cubaninsurgency.In 1892,the popular Dominican-born
generalMrlximo G6mez,for example,publisheda smallbook entitled Elttiejo
Edud,o mi illtimo asistente(The old Edud,or m)'last assistant)in KeyWest.In
it he told the story of one of his assistants
during the TenYears'War,an elderly
blackman namedEduardowho had beena slaveon a coffeefarm until a local
insurgentleader"took him" to the insurrection.G6mezdescribedthe former
slaveas a natural leaderand a superior intellect. But above al),,G6mez por-
il. trayedhim as aloyal servant,who, after the war was over, declaredhimself
willing to follow G6mezwhereverhe went.17G6mez'sassistant,like Pap6
: Ram6n,wasa neutral figurewhom audiencescould useto temper the power-
ful Spanishimagesof the black insurgent.
The black insurgentportrayedin pro-independencewritings of the r89os
was,however,more than just safeor unthreatening;he wasalsoa Cubanhero
and patriot. Among the idealrepresentations of this blackinsurgenthero were
Manuel de la Cruz's portrayalof an officer named Fidel C6spedes in his Epz-
sodiosde la reyoluci1ncubana(r89o)and EnriqueHern6ndezMiyares's"negro
bayam6s"from his r89zpoem titled "1868."18 Both characterswereblackinsur-
gentsand fearlesswarriors. Capturedby Spanishforcesand giventhe oppor-
tunity to savethemselvesby denouncing their compatriots, they opted to
sacrificetheir own livesor to suffermutilation beforeservingSpanishinterests.
In both the episodeand the poem, moreover,an implicit connectionis made
betweenthe heroicblackfiguresand the benevolentwhite father of the nation,
CarlosManuel de C6spedes. Fidel C6spedes, of course,sharedhis name with
the foremost independenceleader.The unnamed insurgent in Hern6ndez
Miyares'spoem, meanwhile,was identified only as a person from Bayamo,
which wasC6spedes's hometown.The authorsthus madeclearthat they were
providing a different,but indispensable,perspectiveon C6spedes's rebellion.
Moreover,by titling the poem simply "r868i' Hern6ndezMiyaresrepresented
the black insurgent as the essenceof that war. He askedrhetorically: "Who
amongmy listeners,would daredoubt his valor?"Ie
rt8 : peece
But his was a particular kind of valor. It was the valor of a slavewho,
liberatedby the rebels,now fought valiantly on behalf of his liberators.The
source of his valor, and indeed of his very participation in the separatist
struggle,was not found in his political ambition or ideologybut in the grati-
tude he felt toward the independenceleaderswho grantedhim his freedom.
Though this black insurgentparticipatedin the strugglefor Cuban indepen-
dence,he himselfwasnot represented asindependentbut asa kind of subser-
vient and,in a sense,obedientinsurgent.
Examplesof this kind of depiction abound in the period just prior to the
final war. Sothe samer89o collectionthat extolledthe braveryof Fidel C6spe-
desportrayedanotherinsurgentof color, identified simply as"a mulatto who
had beenthe slave"of a Captain Edmundo Agtrero,to whom he was now an
"assistant."In the story,the assistant,the captainwhom he served,and other
Cuban insurgentswere capturedby Spanishforcesand told that they could
sparetheir livesby submitting to Spanishlegality.All the prisoners,with the
exceptionof Agtiero and the mulatto assistant,took a step forward and ac-
ceptedthe offer.Agiiero attemptedto get his former slaveto turn himself in
and savehis own life. But the assistantresponded:"No, Captain,your fate is
my fate;we will die together."And they did-"the sincereand heroic master"
and "the dignified and redeemedslave."zo
More eloquent,perhaps,was Ram6n Roa'sportrayal of a black insurgent
named Ios6 Antonio Leg6nin an article entitled "The Blacksof the Revolu-
tion," which first appearedin t892. Here Roa representeda childlike and
submissiveslaveturned insurgent.He describedthe prewarLeg6nthus: "This,
our Jos6Antonio Leg6n, [was] of averagestature,astoundingagility' impon-
derablesagacity,and an audacity,of which he himself was unaware,just as a
child is unawareof his mischief.When the revolution beganin SanctiSpiritus
he wasa'negrito' slaveof a Cubanwho pursuedideasof independencefor his
nativeland." Roa explainedthat Leg6nfought with valor and enthusiasmfor
the Cubancause,until his masterwaskilled by Spanishforces.Then he became
"taciturn and preoccupied,concernedonly with destroyinghis enemy,asif he
wantedto avengea personaloffense."Still, he fought feadessly, and soon scars
everywhere"interrupted the blacknessof his skin."He was eventually captured
by the Spanish,and given the option of deserting and saving his life, he
responded:"Well, when nty tnaster-who raisedme and who was good-was
'Jos€
dying, he told me: Antonio, neverstop being Cubanj and the poor man
left this world for another.Now I complyby beingCuban until theend.. . .You
cankill me if you wantJ'2rAnd kill him they did. But the soldierthey murdered
wasnot the sameslavewho had joined the rebellionmonths earlier,for in the
courseof fighting the war, Leg6nhad gonefrom being "un negrito" and a slave
WRITING THE NATION : 1T9
 to being simply "Cuban." Even his black body had been lightened by the
numerousscarsof CubaLibre. He had not, however,demandedthis transfor-
mation from black slaveto Cuban soldier and citizen for himself. Rather,he
wasfreedby a benevolentmasterwho, upon his death,expressed his wish that
Leg6nbe and remain Cuban.By resistingthe authority of Spain,he wasthus
consecratingthe wishesof his master.In this manner,the rebellionofboth for-
mer slaves(Leg6nand Agiiero'sunnamedassistant)wasrenderedunthreaten-
ing becausethat rebelliousness wasrepresented asan outcomeof their masters'
will and not of personalinitiative or political conviction.z2
Opponentsof independence, and evensomeof its proponents,had long
characterized the black insurgentasa threat.In the r89os,independencepro-
pagandistsportrayeda differentinsurgentof color: one who felt himselfto be,
and who wasrecognizedby his fellow soldiersas,Cuban.And asa Cuban,who
naturally lovedhis countrS he fought valiantly.Furthermore,when the slave's
masterwas a Cuban insurgent,his love of country could be portrayed as an
extensionof his lovefor his former master.Thesefigures,whetherthe mythical
bayamds of the poem or the real-lifeand innocuousPap6Ram6n,had certain
commonalities.They were all characterswho obedientlycompliedwith their
duties as soldiers-and as servants-of the Cuban nation. Politically, they
would be incapableof imagining a black republic.
Socially,aswell, they posedno threat of disorder.Evenwith weaponsin his
hands, the black insurgent of the pro-independencewritings respectedthe
norms that relegatedhim to an inferior socialstatus.Thus Manuel Sanguily,
a prominent Havanajournalist and a white veteranof the Ten Years'War,
painted a vivid portrait of deferentialblack insurgents.Writing of the daily
interactionsbetweenwhite and nonwhiteinsurgentsin the war,he arguedthat
"boundarieswereneverconfused,nor werenatural differenceserased,nor was
equilibrium lost for a single instant. Each one occupiedalwayshis proper
place. Different spheresremqined independentfrom one another,without
anyonehavingto demandit nor evento commenton it."23Thus Sanguilyand
others constructeda world in which the enslavedman could violate enough
prescriptionsofcolonial societyto threatenthe colonialorder,but not enough
to overturn traditional norms of socialinteraction.
Suchrepresentations werepredicated,in part, on a division betweenpoliti-
cal and social spheres.In a political sphere,the slavewas allowed enough
agencyto becomea submissiveinsurgent.But in daily socialcontactbetween
those identified as white and those identified as black, the norms of racial
etiquettewere alwaysmaintained.Thus the "regime of equality,"which San-
guily saidwasproducedin the fieldsof the insurrection,could coexistwith the
"most profound order."2aThey could coexistwithout contradiction because
I2O : PEACE
that "regime of equality" was seenas somethingthe black slaveneither de-
mandednor constructedfor himself. Equality was castas a gift of the white
leadership,and the black slave,knowing it was a gift, enjoyedit respectfully
and obediently.The transgressionof boundariesthat allowedhim to challenge
colonialism and slaverywas, in thesewritings, lessa transgressionthan an
extensionof his subservience to a white insurgentmaster.25 And his heroism
wasone groundedin gratitudeand unrelatedto blackpolitical desire.
In fact, the black insurgent'sdesirability within the national project de-
pendedon the erasureof anyhint of his own desire.Thus the blackinsurgent
in the prose of independenceappearedto lack not only political agencybut
also any trace of sexualwill. Indeed,the absenceof sexualitywas essentialto
the portrayalof his political passivityand deference.Recallthat Spanishrepre-
sentationsof dangerousblackinsurgentsoften includedallusionsto blackmen
seducingwhite women; so black leaderslike Guillermo Moncadaand Rust6n
were discreditedwith stories about defiled white womanhood. In the late
eightiesand earlynineties,however,pro-independence writers explicitlycoun-
tered suchimages,depictinga black insurgentincapableof posingany sexual
threat. Sowrote Sanguily:"Never did the black man fel negro]evendream of
possessing the white woman lla blanca);and there [in the war] living in the
midst of the wilderness,neverdid we learn of a singlecrime of rape,or of any
attempt againstthe woman, forsakenin the lonelinessof the mountains."26
Evenwith clearopportunity, Sanguilysuggested, the black insurgentshowed
no inclination to subvert racial and genderhierarchies.Nowherewas white
recognition of the absenceof that desire more visible than in Marti's 1894
description of SalvadorCisnerosBetancourt,the aging insurgent-aristocrat
who during the TenYears'Wardecidedto bury his white daughterin the same
graveasa black man. In this moment, which Marti exaltedas emblematicof
the revolution, unity betweenblack and white, betweenslaveand master,was
givenliteral and permanentform in the union of the bodiesof a white woman
anda blackman.27 Yetevenherethat union posedno threat-not onlybecause
it occurredin deathbut alsobecauseit represented,not black will, but white
benevolenceand generosity.
In the yearsbeforethe final war, writers, officers,and readerslooked back
on the blackinsurgentofthe r87osand conferredupon him the traits ofloyalty
and submissiveness to the causeof Cuba Libre. It was impossiblefor any of
thesefiguresto betraythe causeof Cuba,to threatenwhite women,to harbor
hatredfor their former white masters,or to supportthe idea of a blacknation.
Comparethis renderingwith imagesprevalentin the r87osand earlyr88osof
the black insurgentleaderGuillermo Moncada.One correspondentfrom the
United Statesrecountedsome of the rumors that prevailedabout the black
WRITING THE NATION : I21
 generalin the r87os:"a man . . . asferociousin dispositionasterrible in aspect,"
who was said to kill every white man who fell into his hands and to keep
women (white and otherwise)in "harems."28 Yetby 1888,a popular compila-
tion ofinsurgent biographiesdescribedthe black generalas "good and trust-
worthy" and asproof of what "strong allies"men of color could be if nurtured
and educated"only in virtues" from an earlyage.2e By the earlyr89os,the black
insurgenthad beenreconfigured:the terrible Guillerm6n had givenwayto the
loyal Edudand the innocent PapilRam6n.30
Reconstructing the len Years' War
This construction of a passiveand safeblack insurgent becamepossrble
onlywithin abroaderreinterpretationof the war in which the blackinsurgent
fought. In the memoirs and "episodes"discussedabove,and evenmore so in
the political essayspublishedin newspapers and magazines, the Tenyears'war
becameCuba'sredemption. According to thesewritings, prewar Cuba had
beena prosperousisland,but its wealthwassoiledby the subjugationof black
men and women in slavery.Then the war had comeand eradicatedthe stainof
slavery.In its battlefields,the rich white slaveowner servedcuba: and with his
ili
l;, serviceto the nation he had "washedawaythe guilt of [a] weatthaccumulated
through the fruits of slavery."3l By freeinghis slaves,he redeemedhimself and
the nation: "And the Cubansroseup in war, [and] from the first day of liberty
theybroke the shacklesoftheir slaves;they converted,at the costoftheir lives,
[a] Spanishindignity into a nation of freemen,"wrote Marti in :'894.32
This portrayal of the Ten Years'War as Cuba'sredemption was prevalent
among other writers of the r89os.Manuel sanguily, the lawyer-journalist-
veteranwho had earlier celebratedthe sexualpropriety of the black soldier,
agreedwith Martit generalformulation. In 1893,he wrote of a prewar Cuban
civilization "groundedin iniquity and violence"and of a war in which white
Gubans,formed in the midst of tainted and immoral wealth,had risen up ro
destroythe institution of slaveryon the island.The Cubans,he wrote, "shed
their blood and ruined themselvesvoluntarily to repair, at the cost of their
treasuresand their blood, of their fortunes and their lives, the errors and
iniquitiesthat othershad committed,in order to puri!'with their sacrificeand
to sanctifrwith their martyrdom the profanedsoil of their nation. we haveall
sufferedfor the other: the black for the white, the Cuban for the slave."33
Provisionally,then, the slatewasclean.The blackresidentof cuba had suffered
under slavery'but his white master,now compatriot,had sufferedlater to free
him. For both Marti and sanguily,the war had thus resolved-materiallyand
morally-the dilemmas of slaveryand nationality.
Sanguily,however,went further than Marti in detailingthe implicationsof
I22 : PEACE
that mutual redemption,for he concludedthat samearticlewith the extraordi-
nary claim that in this processof redemption it was "the blackswho [had]
come out ahead."History had favored the slave-insurgentwho gained his
freedom and had forgotten the master-insurgentwho sacrificedhis life and
fortune for the liberty of others. Elsewhere,Sanguilyassertedthat though
many men of color had fought for Cubanindependencein 1868,"the Revolu-
tion, in its character,its essence,
and its aspirations,wasthe exclusivework of
the whites.The man of color wascalledby them and by them placed,for the
first time in thehistoryof Cuba,in a position tofigure,to lend eminentservices,
[and] to distinguishhimself as much as the whites."3aWhile Marti did not
arguefor the exclusivityof white designs,he did representthe revolution asthe
black persons salvation.So he wrote, "It wasthe revolution that returned the
black race to humanity, and that made the dreadful fact [of slavery]disap-
pear.. . . Shewasthe mother,shewasthe saint,shewasthe one that seizedthe
master'swhip, shewas the one who gavelife to the black man [el negrol of
Cuba,shewas the one that lifted the black man from his ignominy and em-
bracedhim-she, the Cubanrevolution."3s
It wasin this achievementof war that the independencewriters of the r89os
locatedthe origins of the former slave'sindebtedness and devotion.And it was
on the basisof this vision of the war and of the black insurgentthat patriot-
intellectualsdismissedthe possibility of racial conflict. Thus Sanguilywrote,
"When he should havehated,the black man felt no rancor,nor did he have
sufficient force, will, or conditions to avengehimself and rescuehis liberty.
Now he has only reasonfor satisfactionand recognition.His slave'sshackles
werebrokenby the bonesof two generationsof Cubans,innocentbeforeHis-
tory and deservingof the love and gratitudeof the redeemed."36 The implica-
tion of Sanguily'sreasoningwasself-evidenl it madethe elasticand powerful
idea of racewar-of Cubanblacksrising up againsttheir mastersand against
all white men to avengetheir servitude-"simply an absurdity."37 In general
terms, Marti concurred,insisting that the idea and fear of racewar did not
arisefrom black political activity or ideologybut from Spanishmanipulation.
Thus he arguedin 1894that a principal objectiveof Spanishagentswas "to
nurture the fearthat Cubansmight havetoward the revolution,assumingthat
with it will comewhat one or anothercowardor spydaresto call [a] 'racewar,'
forgetting the supremelessonof thoseten constructiveyearswhen so many
times we died together,in eachother'sarms."38 This forgetfulnesson the part
of white Cubansand this deceiton the part of Spanishagentscould be the only
possiblesourcesof the fear of racewar in Cuba,for this reinterpretationofthe
Ten Years'War invalidatedany such fear. On this basis,Marti concludedin
1893,"Therewill neverbe a racewar in Cuba."3e
rMRITING THE NATION : T23
 Jos6Marti (FrornJos6Marti, Obras
Jr-ranGualberto G6rnez (Front JtLarr
completas,editedby M. Isidro r\ldndez
GunlbertoGrjmez:Su lnbor patri6tica y
[Havana:EditorialLex,ry461) sociol6gicaIHavar.ra:Ranbla, l]ouza, y
cia., ry14)

Nationalist writers thus constru cted a war of mutual redemption and a

G6mez assertednot only the unwillingnessof the black population to supporr
black insurgent who, grateful for that redemption, protected rather than en-
"absurd" and "criminal" projects but also his own unwillingness to lead or
dangered the nation. The legacy of that war, then, was the impossibility of
participate in anything resemblinga racewar. Thus in rg9o, he wrote: "If some
racial conflict.
day-[a day] that wili never come-the black race here should need to combat
In constructing this image of war and nation, black writers were critical.
the white one . . . it would have to find another man to counsel or guide it.
Like their white counterparts, writers of color-foremost among them
fuan BecauseI representthe politics of racial fraternity, and should this
Gualberto G6mez, Rafael serra y Montalvo, and Martin Monia Delgado- Ipolitics]
fail, the sentiment of honor, the respectthat I owe to my own past, and the
extolled the war, in general,and the black insurgent, in particular. But, as in
sincerity with which I professand defend rny convictions, would force me to
the writings of white nationalists,that insurgent, though invariably heroic, was
disappearfrom the public scenewith the failure of my opinions.,',r:
also inherently unthreatening. Like their white counterparts, they constructed
As in the writings of Marti and Sanguily,the claim in brack journalism that
a black insurgent incapable of jeopardizing the nascent republic. To suggest
blacks would never lead or condone a race war in the r8gos was linkecl to a
otherwise was, as Marti had intimated, to sel'vespain. lournalist Martin Mo-
specificconstruction of the Ten Years'war. For black activists,the war of rg6g
rr.iaDelgado, a former tailor and a founder of black and mulatto recreational
was a "redemptive labor." It had given freedom to enslavedblack people. Black
societies,argued that referencesto racial lvarfare were nothing more than
cubans could not condone a tace war, becausethis act rvould constitute a re-
"Spanish rumors."a0RafaelSerra,a prominent black jour.nalistwho had
earlier pudiation of the accornplishrnentsof 1868.In fact, the idea of black cubans as
been a cigar worker and later an educator, argued that though many insisted "grateful sons of the Revolution" receivedone of its
earliestpublic airrngs not
that "the colored classwas a danger in cuba," black cubans were truly .,a
in the work of Marti or sanguily but in the work of Juan Gualberto G6mez.aa
peaceful and defenselessclass."alIn much the same tone,
]uan Gualberto G6- Thus in their interpretations of the Ten years' war-and of the slave'sand
meL a mulatto journalist, the son of slaves,educatedin paris and Havana, and
the master's roles in that struggle-white and nonwhite writer-activrsrs con-
the most well known of the nonwhite patriot-intellectuals, condemned.the
structed a black rebel who recognizedthe sacrificeof the white master and who
tendency to attribute to those who "exceededall in their wisdom, their pru-
repaid that sacrificewith dedication to his person and his country. The grateful
dence, their spirit of harmony, and their sentiments of subordination and
and loving former slavecould only serve cuba, not threaten it with political
social discipline the most absurd projects and the most criminal tendencies.,'a2
ambitions to a black republic or with aspirations to a transgressiveand dan-
124 : PEACE
: 125
 ManuelSanguily(FromFederico
RafaelSerra(From RafaelSerra,patriota
C6rdova,ManuelSanguilY[Havana:
fHavana:n.p.,1959])
y revolucionario
Ferndndez,
Seoane, y cia.,r9+z])

gerousequality.Their public imagining of 1868thus offeredskepticsevidence

that a new rebellion could succeedwithout generatingracial upheaval.These
black, even as it
political essays,however,did more than neutralizethe image of the black cuba essentially left intact racial categories like white and
nation
insurgent.The pro-independenceliterature also constructeda powerful and argued for their transcendence.And second,the making of a transracial
birth of the
heroicsoldierwho had beenborn with the Cubanrevolutionand who, in the in war-and not in sex-excluded women from the symbolic
1868,but in
processof fighting that war,had becomeintegralto the making and maintain- nation. women did make appearancesin the public portrayals of
as mothers,
ing of a freeCubanrepublic. ways that did not subvert their "foundational exclusion"-usually
bodies were
The revolution,asrepresented in the earlyr89os,had thuscreatedthe basis sometimes as wives or daughters,and generally as women whose
of Cubannationhood.It wasthe sitewhere,in the words of G6mez'"blacks physicallyincapableofproducinganythingotherthanCubanpatriots.as
union had
and whites becamebrothers" and where, accordingto Marti, "facing death' In much of the pro-independence writing, then, black-white
colonialism. And
barefootall and nakedall, blacksand whitesbecameequal:they embracedand been born out of a common armed struggle againstSpanish
that black-white
havenot separated since."Evenin death,the embracecontinued,"asthe souls though generallyrepresentedas a union between men, it was
physical,moral'
of whitesand blacks[rose]togetherthrough the skies."as union that made trre nation possible.The nation-born of the
race and con-
This transcendingembracewasalwaysbetweenmen and its fruit generallya and spiritual embrace of black and white men-transcended
idea-developed
fraternal community inherently masculine.Here the transcendenceof race verted white and black into Cuban. That image and that
and the birth of the nation wereboth made possiblenot by the sexualunion
of racesand the subsequentcreation of a "mestizo" nation-as intellectuals
would argue elsewherein Latin America.a6Rather,racial transcendenceand
national unity were forged in manly union during war. Marti wrote of a
racial transcen-
mestizoAmerica,but not quite of a mestizoCuba.For him' asfor others,racial tion of racial violence, these authors constructed an ideal of
reference
union in Cubawaslessthe product of miscegenationthan of masculinehero- dence not only in abstract or philosophical terms but with constant
ism and will.aTThe differenceis significant.First, the vision of a transracial to concrete political mobilizations, both past and future'
WRITING THE NATION : 127
126 : PBACE
 The Passive Insurglent and the Black Activlst habit of industry.5O Intellectualand socialleadersof communitiesof color put
themselvesat the forefront of thesecampaigns.As elsewhere, they emphasized
The notion of black-white union developed,in a sense,out of a political
consensusbetweenblack, white, and mulatto patriot-intellectuals.But the notions of "racial advanCement," and in order to encoulagesteadyplogless
image itself-and the processof creatingit-was fraught with tensionsand toward its achievement,they organized schools and establishedmutual aid
fissuresthat would deepenevenasits hold becamemore secure,for the ideaof societiesand centersfor instruction and recreation.slThe newly createdso-
a transracialnationality carried competingimplications for the organization cietiesoften sponsoredtheir own publications,which, together with news-
of political projects.And often, it seemed,subtlelines of political difference paperspublished independentlyas general,literary, or political periodicals'
could be mappedonto long-divisivecolor lines. contributedto the flourishingofa blackpressin the later88osand earlyr89os'
For some, one clear implication was that if racial differenceshad been From the pagesofthesenewspapers, writers exhortedtheir readersto support
bridged in revolutionaryefforts ald if racial discussionsservedthe counter- particular politicat positionsand to vote (or abstainfrom voting) in colonial
;iJ
insurgentattemptsof the colonialstate,then continuingto talk aboutraceand elections.some, most notably La Frsternidad and La Igualdad,urged their
ii
persistingin using racial labelswould be counterproductive,an obstacleto readersto support an explicitly pro-independencesolution to the colonial
national unity. Marti, for example,was an important proponent of this argu- question.s2 Articles appearingin the major black periodicalswere sometimes
or
ment, insistingthat "to dwell on the divisionsof race,the differencesof race. . . reprinted or summarizedin newspapersand journals suchasLa Discusi6rc
[was] to hamper the public good."4e But asnationalistwriters calledfor racial Hijas Literarias, and vice versa.Thus the writing of Cubans of color was
other
silence,as they argued that nationality supersededrace, and as they pro- not isolatedfrom the national or colonial press'and journalists from
pounded the imageof a passiveand politically malleableblack insurgent,the newspaperscould engagein lively public debateswith writers from black
recenthistory of anticolonialrebellionand slaveemancipationencouragednot newspapers.
political passivitybut rather political action-and often political action orga- It was through the work of theseblack newspapersand institutions that
nizedexplicitlyon the basisof racialidentification.Thus the imageof the black a concertedcampaignfor black civil rights was launched and led by luan
cuban
insurgentdevelopedin the work of patriot-intellectualscompetbdwith other Gualberto G6mez.In t8gz, the sameyear that Marti organizedthe
Central de las Socie-
constructionsof black citizenship,which emergedevenfrom within the com- RevolutionaryParty,G6mezestablishedthe Directorio
to-
munity of patriot-intellectuals.Iuan GualbertoG6mezand RafaelSerra,for dadesde la clase de color, an umbrella organizationdesignedto bring
getherblack and mulatto organizationsin order to advocate publicly for the
example,wereimportant pro-independence writers,but theywerealsoimpor-
directo-
tant in racially identified political movements.Becausethe disseminationof con.ersiol of civil rights to Cubansof color.As its first public act,the
civil rights legis-
the idea of the passiveblack insurgent occurred preciselyas black political rate petitionedthe Spanishcaptaingeneralto enforceearlier
activism was on the rise, the picture of a deferentialand grateful former lation, the dictatesof which had generallybeen ignored. Lawspassedby the
right
slaveturned insurgentcompetedwith the reality of black and mulatto writers c<llonialgovernmentin 1885and 1887had grantedto personsof color the
public
urging other membersof "the raceof color" to organizefor the advancement to use public roads and public transportation and to be servedin
The new petition now demandedthat the provisions of these
of their race,as,wellas for anticolonialpolitical causes.Thus the imageof a establishments.s3
to free
passiveand racelessblack insurgent came into focus in a context and at a lawsbe enforcedand that, in addition' children of color receiveaccess
public schools.sa Though all the demandswere significant, perhaps the one
moment that encouragedits negation.
of
With the end of slaveryin 1886,newlyliberatedslaves,intellectualsfrom the that received most public attention was the request for the elimination
.'white" and "colored" civil registersand parish books, aswell asthe
classof freepeopleof color, and colonial authoritiesengagedin lively debates separate
referred
over how to facihtatethe transition from slaveto free labor. In thesedebates, elimination of any distinctionsin "titles of courtesy."The petitioners
specificallyto the practice of grantingor employingthe title of don exclusively
white, and sometimesnonwhite, participantsoften assumedthat slaveryhad
inde-
produceda depravedpopulation,which when freedof the restraintsof slavery for cubans identified as white.5sThus at preciselythe moment when
of the pas-
might regressto a stateof immoral savageryand idleness.The transition to pendencepropagandistswereat their busiestpublicizing an image
(themselvesalso
freedom would thus necessitateattention to the moral educationof former siveblack insurgent and citizen,black and mulatto leaders
slavesin order to promote, for example,the institution of marriageand the independenceactivists)launcheda highly public and controversialmovement
WRITING THE NATION : T29
r28 : pEAcE
 that aspiredto changethe way cubans experiencedthe world-the way they
variouspersonsof color took orchestraseatsfor a performance.white mem-
walkeddown the street,how they spoketo eachother,how they learnedto read
bersof the audiencedemandedthe return of their money and from the safety
and write.
of the balconypeltedthe five men of color with rocks.The disturbancedid not
The campaignfor civil rights, and the concessionof someof theserights by
subsideuntil the provincial governorappearedin personaccompaniedby the
the spanish captain generalin Decemberrg93,resoundedacrossthe island,
civil guard.6a
callingpublic attentionto the very thing Marti and othersinsistedtherewasno
In the samemonth, in nearbyuni6n de Reyes,Matanzas,a similar commo-
longer any need to talk about. strugglesover the use and demarcationof
tion beganwhen four black men arrived atthefonda (restaurant)El Gallo and
public spacesoccurredon city and town streetsand werewidely publicizedin
demandedto be seatedin the sectionreservedfor white patrons.6s rhe waiter
the nationalpress.upon publication of the new regislation,local agentsof the
refused,explainingthat he could not servethem in the white sectionbecause
colonial statewere advisedto "attend to individuals of the raceof color who
the owner prohibitedit. The four men then attackedthe waiter,'tausing some
might turn to them for protectionor with complaintsabout infractions"of the
mild injuries to his face."Accordingto newspaperreportsthey alsoshoutedto
new dispositions.s6 There were,in fact, numerouscomplaintsleveledby per_ the waiter, "\Me are as white as you are, that is why General Calleja gave
sonsof color againstrestaurantandcaf€ownerswho defiedthe new laws by
us equality."66
refusingto servethem. caf6 ownerspublicly arguedthat their workerscould
This last claim-that the four restaurant-goersinsistedthat they were "as
"licitly and morally" refuseto servea person of color on the basisof race,
white" as the waiter-is difficult to interpret. Reactionarypopular writings
so long as the refusalof servicewas not expressedin "offensiveor scornful
often castblack demandsfor civil rights as aspirationsto whiteness.so, for
terms."57 Though they might make this argumentto neu/spapereditors,they example,in plays,cartoons,and other satiricalpieces,charactersidentified by
were legallycompelledto provide that service;and potential clientsof color,
thosearound them as"black" or "of color" often assertedthat they werewhite.
when deniedservice,had recourseto localauthorities,who sometimesaccom_
con Don y sin Don (with Don and without Don), a play first performed in
panied those turned awayto seethat they were served.ss[n addition, some
Havana'sAlhambra theateron February 23,t894,mockednonwhite intellec-
black newspaperspublicizedthe refusalof serviceto personsof color by par-
tuals, such as ]uan Gualberto G6mez,who throughout the play repeatedly
ticular establishments, thus publicly chastisingviolators.seEnforcementof the proclaimedhis whiteness.one scenein the play depicteda meetingof a black
new laws,howeverlimited, promptedcaf6ownersto lamentwhat they sawasa
political club in which the presidentand secretaryof the group, identified as
new predicament:"If we do not servethe blacks,we arepersecuted;if we do
D. (for Don) /uan Gualberto,electrifiedhis audiencewith speeche s on racial
servethem, we losethe regularwhite customers."60 Despitethesecomplaints, equality.He beganto addressthem as "our race of color," when he abruptly
caf6ownersoften had more success in denyingserviceto cubansof color than stoppedhimself and then continued:"I havesaid'of color,'forgettingthat we
thelatter had in obtainingthat service.owners of public establishments would are all alreadywhite." This statement,and otherslike it, weremet with shouts
circumventthe law by showingwillingnessto serveclientsof color but then
of "Bravol" from the fictiveblackaudienceon sfageand with laughterfrom the
chargingexorbitantand prohibitivepricesfor their goods-one p eso platafor a audiencein the galleries.6T
bottle of beer;three duros for a cup of coffee.6rIn somecaf6s,ownerswould
In the play,the assertionsof whiteness,and pronouncementsabout black
authorizetheir waitersto deny serviceto blacks,then when the client com-
rights and racial equality,were expressedin languageproper to intellectuals,
plained and starteda scene,the owner pretendedto fire the waiter.The black
but becausethe intellectualsdepictedwereblackand mulatto, actorspurposely
client would leavewithout being served,and the waiter would return to work
deformedthat language.To invent an English-language equivalent,it wasasif
later as if nothing had happened.62 one provincial governor explainedthat "predecessor"became"predecesesor"l "summarize"became"simmarize."And
although initially there had been numerous complaints and protestations,
where one simple word sufficed,ten complex oneswere misused.The play-
"later the agitationsubsidedand blacksstoppedattendingthe caf6s.,,63
wright suggested that for black men to demandpolitical rights or socialequal-
lvhile thesetacticsoften succeeded in barring cubans of color from public ity was for them to assumethat they were white. He and his audiencethen
establishments, it is alsotrue that suchstrategiescould backfireand result in laughedat the assumption,for the bodiesof the men at the meetingand the
violent confrontationsover the use of public space.For example,in
January awkwardphrasesthat tripped fr<lmtheir tonguessuggested that, in the context
1894,at the Estebantheaterin the city of Matanzas,a commotion ensuedwhen
of colonial Cuba,they could not be anything but "colored."6sThe activistsin
13O : PBACE
WRITING THE NATION : 111
the campaignfor civil rights identified themselvespublicly as men of color;
they did not refer to themselvesas white. Their critics, by representingtheir
demandsasabsurdpretensionsto whiteness,repudiatedthe movement.6e
So,in retellingthe story of the confrontationat the Mrtanzasrestaurantand
ofthe protesters'assertionoftheir right to eatwhereverthey liked, the story-
tellersand journalistsmay havecastthat assertionas a claim to the titles and
rights of a literal whiteness.In other words,the statementaboutbeingwhite-
by then part of a stockcaricatureof blackactivismand its demands-may have
beenaddedto the original telling of the story asit circulatedfirst aroundtown
and then in Matanzasand Havana.Another possibilityis that the four black
customerswerefamiliar enoughwith the campaignfor civil rightsand the new
legislationto demandserviceand to mention the captaingeneral'sconcession
of "equality,' but not familiar enough with the argumentsand ideasof the
leadersof the movementto demandtheir rights as"men of color."
Whether or not the Matanzasrestaurant-goersclaimed that they were
white, the leadersof the movementthat helpedmake it possiblefor them to
insist on "white" seatsmade their demandsclearly and publicly as men of
color."We the blacks"or "I, mulatto,"declaredarticlesin the blackpressof the
day."We are men of the raceof color,"beganone manifestocondemningthe
policiesand actionsof both the Liberal and Conservativeparties.T0 "Raceof
color" was the preferredterm of thesewriters and activists. It reflectedthe
desireto encourageunity betweenthoseidentified as"black" and othersiden-
tified as"mulatto" in order to wagea more effectivecampaignfor civil rights.
One famousarticle of r89zin the newspapet La lgualdadasserted:"We admit
the existenceof only two races:the white and the colored Ua de colorT,the
latter composedof blacksand mulattoes,equalby all concepts,branchesof the
sametree, joined by their common affronts and common disgraces."7l fu1d
Marti's warningsabout "the public good" notlvithstanding,it wasspecificaily
as (male) membersof this race that black and mulatto activistsvocally ap-
pealedfor the concessionofequal rights.
Here, then, was an important sourceof tension within the pro-indepen-
dencecommunity.Calls for ncial unity and racialsilenceoverlappedwith the
rise of political mobilization on the basisof race.This is not to suggestthat
white patriot-intellectualsand blackpatriot-intellectualsnecessarilydisagreed
on questionsof political strategyand political principles.Still lessdoesit mean
that white and nonwhite intellectualsconstitutedtlvo distinct factions,identi-
fiable along racial lines. First, nonwhite intellectuals were themselvesdivided
overhow bestto secureblackcivil rights.WhereasG6mezand Serraadvocated
the idea of black political organizationsto demandtheserights, Morfia and
Maceo eschewedthe estahlishmentof separateblack organ2ations and in-
132 : PBACB
sistedthat their rights had to be won, not asblacks,but asCubans.And just as
thereweredivisionswithin racialboundaries,sotoo weretherealliancesacross
them. Blackand mulatto intellectualswerecentralin the processof construct-
ing an ideology of transracialnationalism;they were closefriends and col-
leaguesof men like Martl and Sanguily.G6mez,Serra,and Morria supported
independence,and Sanguilyand Marti supported the causeof black civil
rights.Marti, in fact,lchoseJuanGualbertoG6mezto leadthe new rebellionin
westernCuba-that is) in the sugarregionstraditionally opposedto indepen-
denceand black mobilization Maceoidentified Sanguilyasone of the men he
most wished would lead the rebel republic.T2And those ideas most often
ascribedto Marti-of a Cuba that was more than black, white, or mulatto-
werejust asoften (and ever)presentin the works of blackand mulatto intellec-
tualsand in the lettersand statementsof blackand mulatto insurgents,suchas
Maceoand Moncada.
But despitepersonalassociationand the perceptionof a common political
project for independence,the waysin which white and nornnrhiteintellectuals
constructedthe role of the black insurgent-citizenand the legacyof the Ten
Years'War differed significantly.Thesedifferencesgenerallydid not take the
form of explicit disagreementsover particular points. The distinctions lay,
rather,in what they perceivedto be very different implicationsof convictions
commonlyheld. For example,all the independencepropagandists-regardless
of color-engaged in the glorification of the Ten Years'War, castingit as a
strugglethat had redeemedCuba and freed the African slave.Both groups
further agreedthat theseaccomplishmentsresultedin somemeasureof grati-
tude from the liberatedslaveand his or her descendants.
But while this generalvision wasshared,the precisemeasureof the grati-
tude owedby the liberatedslavebecamethe subjectof heated,and sometimes
hostile,debate.In early1893,for example,a controversybeganin the eastern
town of Santiagobetweenwhite and nonwhite Autorromists,The black and
mulatto membersof the local party told their fellow white Autonomiststhat
they sought"equalityin socialand political relations"within the party and that
if this equalitywasnot concededor pursued,they would abstainfrom voting
in upcoming elections.T3 Their behaviorwascondemnedand misrepresented
in the national and exilepress,wherecritics accusedthe blackAutonomistsof
ingratitude.They arguedthat blackvotersowedtheir allegianceto the Autono-
mists, becausethe "black race" was freed by the revolution. And becausea
good number of Santiago'sinsurgentleadersfrom 1868had later joined the
Autonomist Parry Santiago's Autonomistsactedasif personallyrebuffed.Ta
The black pressrespondedimmediately.On February25,t893,La lgualdad
published an article titled "Por justicia y patriotismo" questioningthe de-
WRITING TIlE NATION : 133

mands for gratitude directed at the black voting population. perhapsmore
important, it alsoquestionedthe claim that "the raceof color had beenfreed
by the whites of the Revolution."It asked:"Did men of color not figure in the
Revolution?Did they not lend eminent services?Did they not distinguish
themselves asmuch asthe whites?Did they not shedtheir blood with asmuch
abnegationasthe most fabnegating]?were they not asperseverantasthe most
[persevering]?were they not the last to surrender?Has it not been said that
when the cuban forcescapitulatedatzary6nit seemedmore like the peopleof
Haiti who capitulated?could the number of men of color in the fields of the
revolution . . . havebeen that insignificant?"7s The article'sauthor implicitly
challengedthe mainstreamseparatistconstructionof black indebtedness. He
deniedthe right of military leadersin 1868and of political leadersin 1893to
summon black cubans to a given position on the basisof gratitude. Black
cubans were not obligedto displaygratitude;they werenot "given" freedom,
for they had fought as hard and long as whites. The author also utilized a
positive analory to Haiti. Parallelsto Haiti, needlessto say,were standard
ammunition in Spanishcounterinsurgency. Among nationalists,on the other
hand, Haiti usually appearedonly insofar as it allowedauthorsto assertdis-
similaritiesand to establisha suitabledistancebetweenthe two societiesand
republics."only crassignorancej' said Marti, would lead someoneto draw
comparisonsbetweenthe two islands.T6 In the article written for the black
paper,however,Haiti wasinvokedto lay claim to political and socialrights.
The publication of "Por justicia" createdan immediatestir. And though the
article censuredthe political behaviorof the Autonomist party,independence
activistsseemedas defensiveastheir Autonomist rivals.Manuel Sanguily,for
example,wrote an indignant article entitled "Los negrosy su emancipaci6n"
(The blacksand their emancipation)asa responseto "por justicia."He began
his article by agreeingwith the black authort contention that blacks had
"figuredin" the revolution.He continued,however,with an important qualifi-
cation: though blackswere present,they had not been asimportant aswhite
elementsof the revolution,who conceived,initiated, and directedthe revolu-
tion. It wasthe white leadership,he said,that had invited the blackman to join
history and humanity. He agreedthat manyblack soldiersstayedin the war
longer than white soldiers,but, reverting to prevalent racial theory, he at-
tributed their tenacityto a biologicaladaptationto tropical climatesand physi-
cal hardship.Moreover,he pointed out that an evengreaternumber of black
cubans had servedin Spanishforcesor had continuedto work in the sugar-
canefieldsof the ingenios,"coritributing in this fashionto the maintenanceof
a powerfi.rlspanishhostility'' sanguilyconcluded:"But it is evenmore incon-
ceivablethat, mindfirl only of closedcasteinterests,[cubans of color] would
134 : PBACB
il
now want to show scorn for the invaluableand magnificentsacrificeof two
generationsof white people,redeemersof the slaveduring the war, his de-
fendersin peace,who realizedthe singular task of breaking their shackles
and living with them as brothers in humanity, justice, and the [nation]!"
Sanguilyreassertedblack indebtednessto white Cubans,and he implied that
this indebtednessshould render black Cubanspolitically deferential.He re-
pudiated their boycott, eventhough the boycott targeteda party he himself
had neverioined.77
That the black article prompted an immediatereactionfrom men such as
Sanguilywassignificant-not becauseof subsequentdebatesover the namber
of personsidentified as"of color" who participatedin thewar but becausethe
responsemadeclearthat black and white journalist-conspiratorssawconnec-
tions betweenmilitary participation in 1868and political participation in the
r89os.78 In the first participation lay claims to rights and citizenshipin the
colony and the republic.Sanguilyassertedthat the responsibilityfor the war,
the attempt at independence,and the subsequentabolition of slaverylay with
the work of white leadersof the 1868struggle.Theirs had beenthe ideasand
the sacrificesthat sustainedthe effort of 1868.Iournalists of color suggested
otherwise.Thus wrote RafaelSerrain 1893:"And when thosegenerouswhites,
those distinguishedmen who struggledto make a nation for us . . . needed
arms and love to follow them, they found arms and love in the existenceof
blacks."Te Serraand other activistsdid not denywhite leadership.Rather,they
suggestedthat black Cubans' debt to that leadershiphad been paid in the
courseof the war. The war had not indebtedthem; it had entitledthem.
Alongsidethe callsfor gratitude camecallsfor political uniry The Cuban
cause,independencewriters argued,requiredunion among all Cubans;from
this union would emergethe strength required to do battle againstSpain.
Cubanunion, moreover,implied a kind of racial silence,for to speakof race,
to dwell on it as Marti had said, compromisedthe successof the national
project.Blackactivists,however,tendedto be wary of suchcallsfor union and
silence.Thus G6mez and Serra urged their readersto exercisecaution in
respondingto them. Union, Serrawarned,waspossibleonly between"sound
and kindred elements."8o Unitybetween"preoccupiedmen-those enemiesof
liberty-and philanthropic men, friends of right and justice,is an unfeasible
task."8lFor union betweenblack and white citizensto be meaningful,he said,
the former had to be allowedto achievepolitical and socialrights. Thus calls
for unity should not inhibit discussionsof race;to draw attention to racial
problemswas not to encouragedivision but to attempt to overcomeit. So
wrote Gdmezin r89o:"I know well that someconsiderthis problem [of race]
so dreadful,that they considerimprudent anyonewho proclaimsits existence,
WRITING THE NATION : 135
 imagining with an incomparablenaivet6that the best way to resolvecertain
questionsis not to studyor evenexaminethem.And I alsoknow that others,in
evident bad faith, spread [the claim] that those of us who proposeto help
arrive at a solution arepreciselythe oneswho cometo complicateit, bringing
asthe consequence ofour effortsthe separationofthe Cubanraces."82
In spite of theserumors, G6mezand otherspersistedin talking about the
"dreadful problem."They wrote about it, moreover,not only asa questionof
racebut alsoasa questionof nationalism.By castingtheir strugglesfor black
civil rights as a part of a strugglefor cuban nationhood,black and mulatto
journalists renderedtheir political activity lesssuspect.But G6mez and the
otherswent further, for by representingtheir strugglesofthe rggosas"cuban"
struggles,they implicitly castthe counterstruggles of their opponentsasanti-
Cuban.G6mezand Serraclaimed,in fact, that the true threat of racewar and
the practiceof racism originatednot among black cubans but among white
ones.Thus wrote G6mezin 1893:"Thosewho refuseto seea black [eI negrolas
their equal, . . . those who want to keep him alwaysbackward,aiwaysde-
meaned,alwaysservile,alwaysignorant . . . thoseare the only onesin Cuba
Ji who carry out a politics of race.. . . Thoseare . . . the true racists, . . and the
fii only onesthat Cubansocietyshould regardasdangerouselements."s3
ffi,'
Like Martl, G6mezand otherjournalistsof color affrrmedthe "Cubanness"
and the rationality of black desiresfor political and social rights. And they
defendedthesestrugglesagainstaccusations of racism,identifying the provoc-
ii.j, ateursasthosewho would deny them thoserights. whereas colonialistshad
i' l ' posited that a strong black presencein Cuba prohibited the colony from
becoming a nation, G6mez and others argued that the major obstacleto
cuban independence lay not in the numericalsignificanceof the populationof
color but rather in white fear and repudiation of that population. Early on
G6mezhad singledout "thosewho insist on seeinga threat in the black race,
thosewho, feigning an imaginary terror for the fate of this nation [puebrol,
accumulateobstacles. . . to the establishmentof a just and democraticsys-
tem."8aSerraagreed,arguingthat Autonomistsand other "worried ones"were
"the obstacleto the natural developmentof our nation and the unforgivable
and miserableenemiesof the cuban cause."Ss white fear was representedas
selfish,for it preventedcuba from achievinga just society;and selfishness was
portrayedasa lack of patriotism,
In 1876Antonio Maceo,confrontedwith rumors about his desireto estab-
lish a black republic,wasalreadyformulating an argumentagainstwhite rac-
ism in the rebelleadership.using that leadership'slanguageof "liberty, equal-
itr and fraternity,"he condemnedthosewho conspiredagainsthim for racist
reasonsasthe embodimentof the antithesisof their revolutionaryprinciples.s6
1 3 6: n s a c n
That argumentwasmadein a private letter betweentwo leadersof a national
movement.On the eveof the final war almost twenty yearslater, G6mezand
other black activistsmade similar arguments.But theseargumentswere now
made openly and addressedto black and white audiences.The act of making
public demandsfor black rights, in and of itself, stood in opposition to the
representationof the passiveblack insurgentin other writings of the period.
The languagewith which those demandswere made further challengedthe
notion of a politically malleableblack insurgentunder the direction of power-
ful and benign white leadership.Black activistsdeployedthe languageof na-
tionalism to condemn their opponentsas men "without patriotism" and to
castantiracismasa defining featureof Cuban national identity.8TTo struggle
for blackrights and racial equality,they argued,wasto strugglefor the good of
the Cubannation. Their activismand argumentsfurther suggested a different
interpretation of the war of 1868.The war rememberedand representedby
Sanguily,Marti, and otherswas a war in which Cubanshad united and re-
deemedeachother and their country.In the writings of the journalistsof color
discussedhere, however,the war of 1868becamethe promise of unity and
redemption, not their fulfillment. They looked to the war and did not feel
entirelybeholden.They felt, rather,entitled to that which the war had prom-
isedto achieve.And what had beenpromisedcould later be claimed.
Gonclusion
Despitethesecompetingopinions about the connectionsbetweenraceand
political activism,it is clearthat the story of the nation'sbirth in the black-
white union achievedin war servedto countercolonialistargumentsaboutthe
racial dangersof rebellion and the impossibility of Cuban nationhood. The
black insurgentand citizenof the pro-independencewritings had nothing in
common with the black insurgentof colonial discourse.Nothing, that is'
excepthis color.But if in procolonialargumentshis color renderedhis politi-
cal aspirationstlansparent and dangerous,in anticolonial writings his color
was unambiguouslyovershadowedby his love and allegiancefor the new
nation. Here, then, was a construction of race and nationality that under-
mined traditional justificationsfor colonialrule: racelessnessbecamethe most
powerful answerto racial fear.
To arguethat new patriotic writings servedto nullify colonialistarguments
should not, however,suggestthat thesepatriotic claimswere "merely polem-
ical responses"to colonial arguments.8s Nor should it suggestthat nationalist
writers did not valuethe principlesof racialequalityor that they invokedthose
principles cynically or instrumentally.What it means,rather, is that anti-
colonial arguments,of necessity,engagedcolonial ones.sePatriotic claims
WRITING THE NATION : 137
about racial integration may have later becomethe republic'sfoundational
story the dominant nationalistnarrativeof cuba'stwentieth century.e'But in
the contextof late-nineteenth-centurycuba thoseclaimswerenothing if not
profoundly counterhegemonic:they took what spanishand creoleadvocates
of colonialism constructedas the principal obstacleto political sovereignty
and convertedit into a central achievementand promise of independence.
Patrioticclaimsabout racialintegration,then,werenot an attemptto preserve
or justifr a status quo but rather a powerful, if incomplete, attack on the
ideologicalfoundationsof colonialrule.

WarAgain

r38 : PEACE
82. Divisi6n de SanctiSpiritus, Diario de Operacionesdel Escuadr6n,desdeel ro de
Abril de r87o,in ANC, FA, leg.1or,exp.38.
83.The referenceto"liberto citizens"(or "C.s [short for ciudadanosl livertos[slc]")
may be found in "Coronel Lino P€rezhaciendoconstarque los libertos Ram6n
Bravoy Bonifacio Carre quedanbajo las facultadesde Jos€M. Quesada,"May 8,
r87o,in ANC, FA, leg. ror, exp. 44.The referenceto the "moreno C." is in Rafael
Bosterto Capilende Auras,December27,11868l, in AHN, SU,leg.5837.References
to "citizens of coior" appear in FranciscoVicente Aguilera to Miguel Aldama,
March 28,1874,in Aguilera,Epistolario,r4o,r44.The lastquote is from Arredondo
y Miranda,Recuerdos dela guerrade Cuba,54.
84. BacardiyMorcar, Cr6nicasde Santiagode Cuba,4:5o.
85.The incident is describedin "Sumariacontrael morenolibre EmeterioPalaciospor
sospechas de hallarseen relacionescon los sublevados,"
in ANC, CM, leg.12B,exp.
allegedwordsin Spanishwere:"que hay,ciudadanito,ya eshora, hojo,
6. Palacios's
ya eshora."
86. Manuel Quesada,a generalin PuertoPrincipe,wassaidto referto blacksascarnal
brothers.SeePiralay Criado,Analesde Ia guerrade Cuba,t637.
87. Rosaly V6zqttez,En la manigua,t3-t8.
88. Cecilio Gonz|lezto Fundora,lanrary 26,1876,in AHN, SU,leg.4936,1"parte,libro
15,doc.no. 5r.
GhapterTwo
r. Fdlix Figueredoto Tom6sAcostaNariflo, published in RevistaCubana6 (Iuly-
December1887):5r3-r4. SeealsoPiralay Criado,AnalesdelaguerradeCuba,t574.
z. For a description of civilians living in rebel territories, see Escalera,Campafia
de Cuba, 64-e5. Civilian camps,known as prefecturas,were composedof men,
women, and children not engagedin battle;they servedthe insurrectionby grow-
ing food, raisinganimals,or making suppliesfor soldiers.And theyweregoverned
theoreticallyby the laws of the rebel republic. For descriptionsof rebel military
camps,see"Memoria reservadade los campamentosde la insurrecci6n en las
jurisdiccionesde PuertoPrincipe,"AHN, SU,leg. 4933,2a parte,libro 4, doc.no. 9r.
3. On the Spanishcampaignin Oriente, seeGarciaVerdugo,Cuba contraEspana,
z6o-7o; on presentationsin that region, see,for example,"Copia de parte de la
columna de lasTunasdel EjdrcitoEspaflol,"ANC, DR, box 466,and Commander
Jos6Ruiz to Colonel Jos€C. S6nchez,April 24, t87o,ir AHN, SU, leg ++ZS.The
towns did not remain pacifiedfor the duration of the war.
4. For detailson Spanishmilitary offensivesand their effects,seeGuerray S6nchez,
La guerradelosdiezafios,2:r-r35,and "Memoria remitida al Ministro de Ultramar
por el Capitln GeneralDon Iosd de la Conchal' March 13,1874,in RAH, CCR,
vol. 6, pp. 15-49.
5. Puerto Principe was the formal name of the jurisdiction, which in this period
belongedto the Department of the Center.The city and jurisdiction of Puerto
Principewerealsocommonly referredto asCamagriey, the region'soriginal Indian
name.The two namesareusedinterchangeablyin many of the sourcescited below.
SeeImbern6, Guiageogrdfica y administrativa,36,2r5.
6. On the conspiracyand beginning of the rebellion in Camagriey,see Guerra y
S6nchez,La guerrade losdiezafios,r:86-nz; GarciaVerdugo,CubacontraEspana,
2r2 : NOTES TO PAGES 40-44
5z-Q; Aredondo y Mirand a, Recuerdos de lasguerrasde Caba,r5-r8; and Captain
GeneralValmasedato Minister of Ultramar, May zt, 1872,in AHN, SU,leg. 4935,r"
parte,libro u, doc.no. 139.
7. On CisnerosandAgramonte,seeGuerray Sdnchez,La gu.erradelosdiezanos,r:89-
9o. In May 1869,Spanishauthoritiescalculatedthat 49 percentof PuertoPrincipe's
suspectedinsurgentswere hacendados (farm owners). Seethe lists of suspected
insurgentsin ANC, AP,legs.59 and 6o. A more systematicdiscussionof the social
composition of the Cuban movement in Puerto Principe and elsewherefollows
later in this chapter.
8. Guerray S6nchez,La guerrade losdiezaiios,t:toz.
9. Antonio Zambranaquoted in ibid., z:r8.
ro. Arredondo y Miranda, Recuerdos de las guerrasde Cuba, z5-26, and Brigadier
Menaquotedin Piralay Criado,Analesdela guerrade Cuba,t:34t.
rr. On connectionsbetweenexileand islandseparatists during the TenYears'War,see
Poyo,"With All andfor the Goodo/Alf" especially5-Sr.
rz. Arredondoy Miranda, Recuerdos de lasgterrasde Cuba,99,t36-37.On the period
of crisisand desertionin Camagiey,seealsoGuerray S6nchez,La guerradelosdiez
aftos,vol.2, chaps.t-z; Piralay Criado,Analesde la guerrade Cuba,z:62, 7r, r87;
and BetancourtAgramonte,IgnacioAgramonte y la revoluci6ncubana,2o3.
13.The figure is from Ibarra, Ideolog{amambisa,rro; and CaptainGeneralValmaseda,
quoted in Pirala y Criado, Analesde ln guerrade Cuba,z:62.Many surrendering
insurgentsfiom the region petitioned to have property confiscatedby colonial
authoritiesaspunishment for their participation in the independencemovement
returned after their surrender.Seethe desembargo files in AHN, SU, leg. 4346,z^
parte.For a recentdiscussionof the political implications of Spanishconfiscation
of creoleproperty during the war, seeQuiroz, "LoyalistOverkill."
r4. Pirala y Criado, Analesde la guerra de Cuba,r.432,and Arredondo y Miranda,
Recuerdos de lasguerrasde Cuba,g9-roo. The statisticson Caonao'sslavepopula-
tion are from "Poblacionesdel Partidoi' in Cuba,Centro de Estadistica,Noticias
estadisticas de Ia isla de Cubaen 1862,n.p. The place-nameappearsasCaunadoin
the census,but the two names were used interchangeably.SeeImbern6, Guia
geogrdfca y admi nistrativa, 49.
r5. ArredondoyMiranda, Recuerdos delasguerrasde Cuba,j2,36.
r.6.Zaragoza,Lasinsurrecciones en Cuba,z:536.For more on the Caonaopresentations,
seeAleidaPlasencia's introductory essayin Arredondoy Miranda, Recuerdos de las
guerrasde Cuba,9, and Guerray Sdnchez, La guerrade losdiezanos,2:18-19.
r7. "Relaci6nnominal de los vecinosde estajurisdicci6n[Manzanillo],"BAN5 (No-
vember-Decembetryo6): 82, andArredondo y Miranda, Recuerdos de lasguerras
deCuba,29,r54.
r8. Arredondo y Miranda, Recuerdos de las gterras de Cuba,136-38.Upon his sur-
renderArredondowasgreetedby a Spanishadvancecolumn, one of whosemem-
bers recognizedhim immediately,addressinghim familiarly as Panchito Arre-
dondo. The man who calledhim Panchitowas los€ del Carmen Miranda, son of
one of his father'sslaves,a woman who had beenhis sister'swet nurse.
r9. Telegramfiom CaptainGeneralValmasedato Ministers of Ultramar and Guerra,
lanuary o, 1872,AHN, SU,leg. 4935,r"parte,libro rr, doc. no. zo.
NorEs ro PAcEs 44-46 : 2t3
20. See"Expedientedisponiendoque a todo negro esclavoque presente20 sele de la
libertad,"PuertoPrincipe,lanuaryzz,r87z,in AGM, SU,Cuba,leg.R-n3.
zt. "Copia delaprodama dirigida a los insurrectosdeHolguin y Tunaspor el cabecilla
D. PedroUrquiza, presentadoel 3o de Noviembre [r8zr]," AHN, SU, Ieg. 4935,L"
parte,libro rr, doc.no. 8.
zz. Piralay Criado,Analesde la guerrade Cuba,u7z7 andz:r23.
23. For Spanishreports,seeCaptainGeneralValmasedato Minister of Ultramar, Feb-
tuaryL5,r87\in "Reconstruccidnde PuertoPrincipel' AHN, SU,leg.4746,t"parte,
exp.6r. The insurgentofficerwasIgnacioMora; seethe entry for September2, t872,
in Mora, Diario, r52. For other descriptionsof the material causesof the sur-
renders,seealsoArredondoy Miranda, Recuerdos de lasguercasde Cuba,r74r'. 92,
and Piralay Criado,Analesde la guerrade Cuba,t635.
24. Quotedin Piralay Criado,Analesde la guerrade Cuba,r634.
25.Ibid.,r:635.
26. See,for example,ibid.,r:745-47;MarcosGarciato DiegoEchemendiayM6rquez,
April r5,1878,ANC, DR, box 47r,exp.7; AHN, SU,leg.4934,2"parte,libro n, doc.
no. rr; and M. L. M. [Melchor L. Mola y Mora], Episodiosde la guerra,rc6-7.
27. FranciscoAcostay Albear,April 22,187r,in Piralay Criado,Analesde la guercade
Cuba,z:tzo.
28. Captain General Caballerode Rodasto Minister of Ultramar, August 3o, r87o,
AHN, SU,7"9.4934,1" parte,libro 7, doc.no. 65.
29. CaptainGeneralJos6de la Conchato Minister of Ultramar, March r3, 1824,AHN,
SU,leg. 4g3l'z^parre,libro r4, doc.no. z. Another copyexistsin RAH, CCR,vol. 6,
seeespeciallypp.2c,-21,3o-3r. The one-quarterfigure is calculatedfrom figures
provided in Captain GeneralValmasedato Minister of Ultramar, May zt, :,.872,
AHN, SU,leg. 4935,1a parte,libro u, doc. no. r39.
3o. "Relaci6npresentadaa S.E.por el secretarioquefu6 del titulado GeneralQuesada.
Ciilculo aproximado de las fuerzas insurrectas existente en la jurisdicci6n del
Camagtiey,"in AHN, SU,Ieg. 4934,t^ parte,Iibro 6, doc. no. 6. Seealso"Memoria
reservadade los campamentosde la insurrecci6nen 1asjurisdiccionesde Puerto
Principe," in AHN, SU, leg. 4933,2" parte, libro 4, doc. no. 9r. For insurgents
documentsprovided to the Spanishby Fern6ndezupon his surrender,see the
collectionRAH, CFD.
3r. Increasingly,and especiallyafter r89o, the independencemovement'smultiracial
characterwould alsobe seizedon by leadersand supporters-black and white-to
uphold the desirabilityand justiceofindependence.Seechapter5.
32.GarciaYerdugo,CubacontraEspana,zo5."Los dos gallosde la tierra / tienen una
guerraatrozI y al que venciereen la guerraI le comerdncon arrozI Los negros."
y. Piralay Criado,Analesde la guercade Cuba,t745-47.
34. On the idea of SpanishCuba among creolesin the period immediatelypreceding
the insurrection, seeSchmidt-Nowara,Empire and Antislavery,chap.5. On the
social and sexual control of white women in slaveand/or colonial societies,and
on challengesto that control, seeespeciallyMartinez-Alier, Marriage, Classand
Colour;Ware, Beyondthe Pale,35-44; Stoler,"SexualAffronts and RacialFron-
trersl' t98-47; and Davin, "Imperialism and Motherhood,"87-r5r.
35.AHN, SU,leg. 4935,f parte,libro rr, doc. no. u.
2 r 4: N o r E s r o P A G E 4s 6 - 5 r
36. Gonzalo de Quesada,quoted in Pirala y Criado, Analesde la guercade Cuba,
2336-37.
37. IgnacioMora, Camagtieyanos, fanuary3, 1872,reprinted in ibid., z:337-39.Onhis
life, see Nydia Sarabia'sintroduction to Ana BetancourtAgramonte,in which
Mora's diary is reprinted, especially34; and TorresLasqueti,Colecci1nde datos,
pt.r,p.345.
38.Mora, Diario,t89.
39.Ibid., r89,t97. Othersagreedthat the Camagieyanforceswerethe most organized
onesfrom a militaryperspective. See,for example,G6mez,Diario decampafia,36-
37;FigueredoSocorr6s,La revoluci1nde Yara,34-36.
4o. Mora, Diario,r89-9o.
4r. Ibid., r8r.
42. "Copia manuscrita de carta de Marcos Garcia dirigida a Diego Echemendiay
M6rquez,"April r5, 1878,in ANC, DR, box 47t, exp. 7. Garcia also allegesin the
letter that he and other separatistcolleagueshad seenletterswritten by leadersof
color in which they wrote that "the moment was near in which the sun of Africa
would shine."
43. Guerray Sdnchez,La guerrade losdiezafios,r:rr. SeealsoDuharte limdnez, "Dos
viejostemores,"
44. "Comunicaci6ndiplomitica encargandoexplorar la opini6n oficial norteameri-
canasobrela anexi6n,"and "Comunicaci6n sobreel estadocritico de la revolu-
ci6n," both in C6spedes, Escritos,rir44,147,
45.The figuresfrom both regionsare from "Censode la poblaci6n,"in Cuba,Centro
de Estadistica,Noticiasestadisticas de la islade Cubaen fi62, n.p.
46. "Relaci6nnominal de los individuos de la jurisdicci6n de Guant6namoque han
tomadoparte en la insurrecci6ni'May 15,1869,in ANC, AP,leg.59,exp.6r. Eighty-
nine percentarelisted as de campo,3percentastobaccoworkers,and 3 percentas
artisans.For lists of suspectedor known insurgentscompiled in other districts
during the first yearsof the rebellion,seeANC, AP,Iegs.59-60. Historian Tadeusz
Lepkowskihasanalyzedsomeof them in "Cuba t86gl' p5-48.
4T."Gubernativopara averiguarsi los individuoscomprendidosen Ia relaci6n. . .
poseenbienes," in ANC, BE,leg. 10,exp. 44.For individual casefiles againstthe
rebelsoldiersactivein this attack"seeANC, BE,tlrg,218,zlto,3143,5lt4,l:lr7-l.8,
r4l7r,r417, t4l9o, :-.>lt,l.:'l9-ro,r5lrz, t8lz6,ztl36,zrl 43,9716o,rozl13,to3l17,
to3l zr, tSzl29.
48. "Relaci6nnominal de los individuos de estaCiudad y jurisdicci6n [Puerto Prin-
cipe] que de notoriedadsehan comprometidoen la insurrecci6n,"Iune V, t869,in
ANC, AP,leg.6o,exp.23.This list hasbeenreprintedin BANI5 (]anuary-February
t9l5): 315-25.The low percentageof individuals classifiedas de campoin Puerto
Principe,ascomparedwith either Guantdnamoor Manzanillo,may alsobe a result
of the more urban characterof the Puerto Principepartidos.In Puerto Principe
urban property holdings outnumberedrural onesby a ratio of more than two to
one. In both Guant6namoand Manzanillo rural property holdings outnumbered
urban onesby a ratio of about three to one. See"Registrogeneralde fincasur-
banas" and "Registrogeneralde fincasrristicas,"in Cuba, Centro de Estadistica,
de la islnde Cubaen t862.
Noticiasestadisticas
NOTES TO PAGES 5r-55 : 2r5
 65. SalvadorCisnerosBetancourtto his nephewand godson,Novemberry, fi79 in
49, Guerray S6nchez,La guerrade losdiezafios,t:27.
AHN, SU,leg. 4936,1'parte, Iibro 15,doc.no. 5o.
5o. On the insurgent invasion of Guantdnamo,seeespeciallyRodriguez,La primera
invasi6n,especiallychap.4i Buznegoet al.,Mayor GeneralMdximo G6mez,voI. \ 66. G6mez,Diario de campafra,83.
chap.z; G6mez,Diario de campafra,2c-211'and Franco,Antonio Maceo,T:58-63. 67. Collazo,DesdeYarahasta eI Zanjdn, ro5-7. Seealso "Carta al parecerde R. P.
On the Santiagocampaign,see"Informe referentea que seriainjusto fijar cuotade Mariinez to Major GeneralVicente Garcial' May r, t877,in ANC, DR, leg. 475,
contribuci6n.. . . ," in ANC, AR leg.51,exp.7. For casesinvolvingslavestakenfrom exp.36.
areafarmsto tle insurrection,seeespeciallythe filesin ANC, AP,leg.62.For cases 68. On obligatorymilitary service,see"Ley de organizaci6nmilitar promulgadapor la
of local freepeoplewho apparentlyjoined the insurrectionin this period and who C6marade Representantes de Cuba en Corojo, Bayamo,Diciembre g rB7" and
r l:.1
"OrdenanzasMilitares para el Ej6rcito de la Repfblica, fechadasPalmarde Gu6i-
were later targetedby colonial officials,see,for example,the following embargo
:'!'r filesin ANC, BE:5/8, r5l23,r82lrg,andg5lzr. maro, Febrero28, rSnl' both in ANC, DR, caja47, exp. 6. Seealso La Rua, la
..' constitucifny la ordenanza.For petitions of family membersfor exemptionsfrom
5r. C6spedes, "Diario,"Augustt,1872,inC6spedes, Escritos,t:345.
See the testimony of D. Baldomero D. Vicentede Orbenejain "Expedi- the draft inr876, seethe lettersof Daniel Acosta,CaridadZamora,and Bienvenido
:f ;
52. Rubio and
t - ti ente gubernativoformado para justificar el conceptopolitico que merecenlos Rizo,in ANC, DR, box 546,exp.3; box 58o,exp.4; and box 5Bo,exp.46, respec-
; r'-.
individuos , . . de la insurrecci6n,"in ANC, AP, Ieg.59, exp. 47. Patuses,likethe tively. For correspondenceon desertionsin this period, see,for example,'l\cta
lrii term patonescitedin chapterr, wasa pejorativeterm meaning"bigfeet,"which was referentea la desercidndel soldadoJosdHern6ndezfirmado por J. M. Rodriguez,
usedby Cubansto referto Spaniards. fechadocampamentoSanFelipe,"Augustr, 1876,in ANC, DR, box 577,exp.28,and
It s".' lettersby JosdLeiva,Arcadio LeyteVidal, and Miguel Miranda in ANC, DR, box
' 53.On Rust6n,seePiralay Criado,Analesde Ia guerrade Cuba,2i24r-42,and S6nchez
Ic:r 5 46,exp.3;box 577, exp.5Uand b ox 475, exp.66, respectively.
l.t I Guerra,Rustdn.
l[t: 69. "Expedienterelativo al Consejode Guerray sentenciaal soldadoAndrds Benitez
I r!'l 54. On Bandera'slife, seePadr6n Vald6s,Generalde tresguerra.s.On controversies
|.$'ij' por el delito de deserci6n,"ANC, DR, box 463,exp.r8.
lrI
surrounding his command in the final war of 1895,seeA. Ferrer,"Rustic Men,
;r.l, CivilizedNation." 7o. TorresLasqueti,Colecci6n dedatos,pt. 1,p. 366.For detailedlistsofPuerto Principe
il:I
trt farms destroyedin the insurrection,seePolaviejay Castillo, Trubajosde organiza-
i$t 55.On Moncada'slife and military career,seePadr6nVald6s,Guillerm6nMoncada,
ti&l
23-69, ardBoL| Guillerm6n,r7-7r. For his role in the seconduprising, seechap- ci6n militar y civil, 492-553.On farms destroyedin SanctiSpiritus between1868
fJ
Lll ter 3 of this book. On the rumors, seeO'Kelly,Mambi-land,o4. and:.877,see"Relaci6nde las fincasincendiadas,"in AHN, SU,leg. 3518,2"parte.
For a generaldiscussionof the economicefilectsof the TenYears'War,seeLeRive-
fIt
t.
56. SeeFranco,Antonio Maceo,rz9-29, and the untitled noteson the life of Antonio
t'
Maceo apparentlywritten by FernandoFigueredoin Maceo,Papelesde Maceo, rend,Historiaecon1mica de Cuba,4fi-65.
'1.
lt
i'xi z:t8o-2o5. 7r. TorresLasqueti,Colecci6nde datos,pt. 1,p. 366.
ll
57. G6mez,Diaio decampafiG,47-48. 72. See,for example,Piralay Cfiado,Analesile la guerrade Cuba,3:4r, and Gallegoy
Garcia,Cubaporfuera,100-106.
58.Quotedin P.Foner History of Cuba,z:237.
7. For lists of amounts paid to individual insurgentsor insurgent companiesfor
59.For generaldescriptionsof the rumor campaignagainstMaceo,seeHern6ndez,
surrendering, see"Cuentade caudales ...p^ra capitulados," AGM, SU,leg.R-499.
Cuba and the United States,13;P. Foner, History of Cuba, 1237, z1.9-z6o;and
Franco,AntonioMaceo,r:gg-tor, SeealsoMinister of Ultramar to GobernadorGeneral,February4, rBZ8,AHN, SU,
leg.4y6,2" parle,libro r7, doc.no. 24, and"Documentosreferentesa lasconferen-
6o. Maceo, Antonio Maceo, t:64-65. A very different translation (including para-
graphsnot in the versionprinted in the abovedocumentarycollection)appearsin ciasen la ComandanciaGeneralde Cubrae incidentecon el cabecillaMaceo,"AHN,
SU,leg. 4937,2" parte,libro zo, doc.no.9.
P.'Foner,History of Cuba,r:259-6a.Both bookscite astheir originalsourcea copy
of the letter printed in Bibliotecade Ia Sociedadde Amigos del Pais,Documentos 74. Seefiles titled "Poblados" in AGM, SU, leg. R-497;"Medidas tomadas para 1a
reconstrucci6ndel DepartamentoCentral,"October :r8,1877,AHN, SU,leg. 4748,
manuscritosde interds(Havana,1885),vol. r, no, 44,which the author was unable
to locate. exp. 139;and "Expedienteproponiendo se reparta entre los agricultoresy pres-
6r. Maceo,AntonioMaceo,t:64-65. entadosde la insurrecci6n,sin exigir rentas durante cinco aDos,las estanciasy
62. MarcosGarciato Diego Echemendiay M6rquez,April r5, 1878,in ANC, DR, box vegasquepertencecenal Estadoen la jurisdicci6n de Manzanillo,"ANC, AP,leg.73,
exP'3'
47\ exp.7.
63. CaptainGeneralIosd de la Conchato Minister of ULtramar,lune3o, 1874,AHN, 75.M. G6mez,Diario de campafia,96. For detailedaccountsof the peacenegotia-
SU,leg, 4935,z"parte,libro 14,doc.no.63. tions, seeespecially, Guerray S6nchez,La guenadelosdiezafios,z:353-62;Collazo,
DesdeYarahastaeI Zanj6n, rc5-57i Gallegoy Garcia,La insurrecci1ncubana,53-
64. CaptainGeneralfos6de la Conchato Minister of Ultramar, March r3, 1824,AHN, 'Ap€ndice que
SU, leg. 4935,2"parte, libro 14,doc. no. z; Memorandum of Ministro de Estado, 6o; and the documentsin contienelas copiasde los documentos
February3,1826,AHN, SU,leC.4g36,t^pafie,libro r5,doc.no. [betweenzr and5o]. relativosa la capitulaci6nde Zanl6nl' AHN, SU,leg. 4937,2"parle,libro zo.

pAGEs 56-60 NorEs ro P A G E S6 t - 6 3 : zt7

216 : NorEs ro
76. The sevenmemberswere president: Doctor Emilio Luaces;secretary:Colonel 93. Franco,AntonioMaceo,\ir44- 45.
"Parteoficial del
RafaelRodriguez;vocales:Brigadier Manuel Su6rez,Colonel Juan B. Spotorno, 94. SeeMartinezCamposto Ministro de Guerra,March 18'1878,in
LieutenantColonelRam6n Roa,ComandanteEnrique Collazo;diputado:Ram6n Ejercito de operaciones de cuba, Estado Mayor General, secci6n 766,resultado
P6reztujillo. obtenido en las negociaciones con las fuerzas insurrectas,"AHN' SU, Ieg. 4937,z"
77. SeeM. G6mez,Diario de campafra,r37. parte,libro zo, doc.no t.
Mayor
78. "ConveniodelZanj6nl'in Pichardo,Documentos paralahistoriadeCuba,ri4o3-4' 95. Ibid., and "Partede operaciones,Ej6rcitode operacionesde Cuba,Estado
79. See"Parte de Ejdrcito de operaciones de Cuba, EstadoMayor General,Secci6n General,Secci6n:a,"AHN, SU,leg. 4936,2^ parte, Iibro 17,doc' no' 2o4'
r7, doc'
266,"AHN, SU,leg. 4937,2"parte,libro zo, doc. no t. 96. Martirez Campos,February18,1878,AHN, SU, leg' 4936,2"patte,libro
8o. Quotedin Franco,La protestadeBaragud,zo. r10.202.
8r. On the activitiesof Maceo in Oriente immediatelyprecedingthe signing of the 97. FdlixFigueredo,quotedin Franco,AntonioMaceo,ri154-55'
quecontiene
peaceof Zanj6n, seeFranco,AntonioMaceo,rirrg-25. 98.MartinezCamposto CaptainGeneral,March29,1878,in'Ap6ndice
82.M, G6mez,Diario de Campafia,l41g-4ol Franco,AntonioMaceo,ri737, las copiasde documentosrelativosa la capitulaci6nde Zanj6n"' AHN, SU, leg.
83,A. Maceoto A, Martinez Campos,Februaryzr, 1878,AHN, SU,lrg. 4937,2^parte, 4937,2" parte,libro 20,doc.no.10.
libro zo, doc. no. 9. 99. For detailson the final negotiations,seeFranco,AntonioMaceo,1:154-58'
84.A. Maceoto B. Reigosa, Marchr8, 1878, AHN, SU,leg. 4936,2^ parte,libro 17,doc. roo. Seeespeciallythe lettersin AHN, SU,leg. 4937,2u parte,libro zo, doc. no. ro. See
no.204. also "Estractode los partesde novedadesrecibidosdesdeel 5 al z5 de estemes
Arsenio
85.Jovellarto Consejode Ministros and Ministro de Guerra,March 19,i878,in AHN, lJunio r8Z8]i' AHN, SU, leg. 4936,2aparte, libro r7, doc' no' r97, and
SU,+g26,2"parte,libror7, doc.no. 87. MartinezCampos to General Pendergrast, El Cristo, May 25,1878, ANC, DR' box
86. Pieltain,La isla de Cuba,zz. 468,exp.5r.
87.MartinezCamposto CaptainGeneral/ovellar,February28,1878,in "Documentos ror. GeneralPratsto Generalen lefe,May 22,1878, in'Ap6ndice," AHN, SU' l"g. 4937'
referentesa lasconferenciasdel Centro,C6maray GobiernoInsurrecto,"AHN, SU, 2" parte,libro zo, doc. no. ro.
l"g,4937,24parte,libro zo, doc.no. z. toz. MartinezCamposletter,Februaryr8, 1878,AHN' SU,Ieg' 4936,2"parte,libro 17,
88. Arsenio Martinez Campos to CaptainGeneral,February8, 1878,in "Documentos doc.no. zoz.
referentesa lasconferenciasdel Centro,C6maray GobiernoInsurrecto,"AHN, SU, ro3. Franciscolbafrez,Junta Central Protectorade Libertos,to GobernadorGeneral,
leg.4937,2aparte,libro zo, doc.no. z. September zz,I874,AHN,SU,leg.4882,vol. 3, exp.49.
89. Cuban nationalist historiographyhas consistentlyand effectivelycontrastedthe ro4. R. Scott, SlaveEmancipationin Cuba, 15; Tielles y Govin, Bibliotecahist6rica
eventsat Zanj6n and Baragu6,qualifiring them respectivelyas illegitimate and cubana,3:5fi;and"convenio delzani6]nl'in Pichardo,Documentos para la histo-
Iegitimaterepresentationsof the nation. See,for example,Franco,La protestade ria de Cuba,ri4o3-4'
Baragud;CeperoBonilla,"Azicary abolici6n,"16o;arrdIbarra, Ideolog{amambisa, ro5. Moreno Fraginals,Cuba/ Espafia,Espafia/Cuba,255.
r2o-21.The idea of the contrastbetweenunprincipled concessionat Zarl6t and ro6. GeorgeVecsey,"Cuba Wins; Therefore,Cuba Wins," New YorkTimes,AtoglusI 4,
principled intransigenceatBaragtt| was more recentlyredeployedby the Cuban 1gg1,sec.8, p. z. stories about GenaroLucumi and Irene were told to me by my
governmentafterthe fall of statesocialismin the SovietUnion and EasternEurope. mother (AdelaidaFerrer) and my aunt (Ada Fern6ndez)'who were among the
This collapsewas characterized by the Cuban govetnmentasthe moral equivalent childrento whom they told their stories.
of the surrender atZanj6n, while the Cuban leadership'sinitial decisionto reject
,capitalistreform was likened to Maceo'sprotest of 1878.All over Havanain the Ghapter Three
earlyr99osplacardspresentedthe government'sstanceas"an eternalBaragu6." r. Luis Dab6n to Captain General,March r'5,1879,in RAH, CCR, vol' 7 (glZS+z),
9o. Franco,La protestadeBaragud,47-48. p. zr7, and..sobreel estadodel departamentooriental," September1879,in AGM,
9r. FigueredoSocorr6s,La reuoluci6nde Yara,287. sU, cuba, Ieg.R-5r7.Seealsothe telegramsexchangedbetweenlocal and Havana
92. Quotedin Franco,AntonioMaceo,r:r48.The other actwasthe initial declarationof offi.cialsin June1879,in AHN, SU,leg.4938,raparte,libro z, nos' 6o-7o'
war by Cdspedes.Maceo was not alone in claiming attributes that colonial dis- z. BacardiyMoreat, cr'nicas de santiagode cuba,6:285-86,and o. Melena(pseu-
coursehad earlierreservedfor the personof the colonizer.Guillermo Moncada,a donym for Flor crombet) to Jeancourteneaux, llanuary 18791, in cuba, Archivo
black generalfrom Santiago,expressed someof the samesentiments.Shortly after Nacional, Documentos para servira la historiade la Guerrachiquita, r:r39.Seealso
the signingof the peacetreatyinZanj6n, he wrote to a fellow insurgentexpressing the reports of Spanish officer Manuel de Tejera to Comandante General de Cuba
his disgust: "We can never acceptpeaceunder the humiliating and ridiculous of
aboutthe activities Jos6 Maceo and Silverio del Prado,datedNovember tt, t878,
conditions that Spain has offered us." Seehis letter to Major GeneralVicente and December4,t878,both in AGM, ${J,Cuba, leg.R-5r7'
28,t879,and
Garcia,February19,1878,ANC, DR, box 475,ery.75. 3. See"Noticias de la campafla,"La Vozde Cuba(Havana),November
218: NorEs ro P A G E S6 3 - 6 6 NorEs ro PAcEs 67-72 i 219