[CUBA/INDEPENDENCE WAR].Biblio.com
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1896RF 818<p><i><b>Collection of 23 original edicts February 1896-September 1898 by the Captain Generals of Cuba 19 by General Valeriano Weyler 4 by General Ramón Blanco the last Spanish Captain General of Cuba. The edicts concern the attempts by the Spanish authorities to control the insurrection. They range from Weyler's efforts to concentrate the population in fortified encampments a measure often considered the precursor of concentration camps to Blanco´s establishing of a ceasefire in 1898.</b></i></p><p>23 ORIGINAL EDICTS; some manuscript annotations and the stamp of the Army of Cuba on some communiqués. The collection includes three items of related ephemera.</p><p>Notable collection of original edicts from Spanish authorities who participated in the Cuban War of Independence and attempted unsuccessfully to end the insurrection. The Cuban War of Independence the War of 1895 is the name given to the final Cuban war against Spanish domination. It is one of the last American wars against the Kingdom of Spain. The war began on 24 February 1895 with a simultaneous insurrection in 35 Cuban localities known as Grito de Oriente formerly known as Grito de Baire and ended in 1898 with the surrender of the Spanish Colonial army to the U.S. military advance with the assistance and support of <i>mambises</i>members of the Independentist Cuban army in the conflict known as the Spanish-American War. </p><p>Details on each of the edicts available on request. G. 11653/ RF 818. X99X001160 </p>
1847LL 559<p><strong><em>"Appointment of Lieutenant General Federico Roncali count of alcoy "as governor and captain general of the island of cuba and president of the courts of the same" in replacement of general leopoldo o'donell. </em><em>Given in the palace on november 30 1847. <u>Begins:</u> Doña Isabel Segunda por la gracia de Dios y por la constitucion de la monarquia española Reina de las Españas.</em></strong> "5750</p><p>Handwritten bifolio on paper with the printed heading of Isabel II. Queen's stamp signature and plate seal with fleur-de-lys shaped paper protection. Signature of Ramón Narváez. On the second page different statements appear in Madrid and Havana signed by the Count of Villanueva also by the Marquis of Selva Alegre.</p><p>Federico Roncali count of Alcoy Cádiz 1800- Madrid 1857 came to generalship at the hands of Espartero. Between December 14 1852 and April 14 1853 he was president of the council of ministers after his time as Captaincy of the island of Cuba a position in which he replaced O'Donell. His mandate in Cuba was characterized by the creation of different infrastructures and the increase in the arrival of Chinese laborers that had begun in the previous period. During his mandate the lighthouse that bears his name Roncali was built of great importance for navigation in the Yucatan Strait "the last place on the island where the sun sets"; it is located at Cape San Antonio which was the last place where the aborigines remained at the time of colonization.</p><p>The document talks about the replacement of Captain General Leopoldo O'Donell the oath that must be taken before taking office and how it should be exercised.</p><p>UNIQUE AND OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE</p>
185487325Havana: Imprenta de la Real Audiencia Pretorial por S.M. 1854. First Edition. hardcover. very good. 3 folding tables. 2 volumes bound in one. 8vo 1/2 contemporary black morocco tear in a table with no loss of text. Habana: Imprenta de la Real Audiencia Pretorial por S.M. 1847 1854. Very good.<br/> <br/> Imprenta de la Real Audiencia Pretorial por S.M. unknown
18995378Puerto-Principe Cuba: Imp. el Progreso-Soledad January 11 1899. Good. Broadside 11.75 x 8.25 inches. Old folds minor chip at top left corner uniformly tanned and somewhat tender. An unrecorded general order issued in Spanish by the American "Jefe de Estado Mayor" Chief of Staff John E. McMahon during the military occupation of Cuba in the Spanish-American War. The order stipulates that a paragraph in a previous order prohibiting the auction of mortgaged property in the province of Puerto-Principe until January 1 1900 is hereby repealed and any further instructions on this matter will come from the Army's General Headquarters in Havana. McMahon issued several general orders during the American Army's occupation of Cuba and all appear to be rare. An interesting artifact from America's expansionist period with no other copies in OCLC auction history or the trade. Imp. el Progreso-Soledad, January 11 unknown
18883032Guanabacoa 1888. About very good. Broadside approximately 12 x 17 inches. Previously folded. Contemporary manuscript rubric and small ink stamp. small patch of ink burn causing separation along rubric line. A few tiny wormholes slightly affecting text. Light tanning minor foxing. An otherwise unrecorded 19th-century Cuban broadside decree announcing the rules for celebrations in Guanabacoa during "las fiestas de su Patrona" taking place on August 14 & 15 1888. The patron saint of Guanabacoa then a small town just outside Havana and now an outlying district of the city is Our Lady of the Assumption and August 15 is the Feast of the Assumption. This broadside prints eight articles the first of which allow games and "diversiones públicas" but prohibit games of chance and gambling of any kind and authorize the erection of food and drink stalls in public places that do not impede public traffic. Permission must be obtained from the municipal magistrates for balls and parties in private houses; shooting guns rockets and fireworks is still strictly forbidden but the lighting of torches is allowed during the saint's procession. Other rules regulate vehicular traffic cafés and restaurants horse races ball games and theatrical performances. A very interesting document of municipal regulation for popular religious events in Cuba during the late-19th century. unknown
18574502Havana 1857. Good plus. Small broadside form approximately 8.5 x 12.5 inches. Previously folded with some separation and minor loss along vertical fold. Completed in manuscript with additional manuscript docketing on blank verso. Ink burn causing additional minor loss in a few small areas. Light edge wear; some staining and offsetting; light tanning. A 19-century Cuban identification form known as a cedula filled out in manuscript to authorize the travel of an Asian indentured servant between plantations in early May 1857. The document was completed for a twenty-six-year-old Asian fieldhand named Chan who had signed a contract to work for one Gallego Toriceo to be transferred to the premises of "P. Soler y Compañia." Printed at the left and right edges are nine articles from an 1855 decree that outline the regulations for issuing and keeping such documents including the following: <br /> <br /> "Estas cédulas servirán de documentos de seguridad y además de licencias de transito para los colonos que se trasladen de un punto á otro de la Isla. Los patronos respectivos cuidarán de que los colonos no emprendan el viage sin licencia expresa suya que haràn constar al pié de la cedula. Si algun colono fuere hallado sin cédula deberá ser detenido y puesto à disposicion del Gobernador ó Capitan del partido mas inmediato e cual dará conocimiento al patrono dentro de segundo dia."<br /> <br /> On the otherwise blank verso is additional contemporary manuscript docketing concerning the transfer of the cedula and therefore the laborer concerned to the receiver located in Matanzas. A very interesting document of the bureaucracy and control of indentured servitude in Cuba during the mid-19th century. unknown
18802592Havana: September 8 1880. Very good. Partially-printed broadside 6.5 x 8.25 inches completed in manuscript in Spanish and Chinese. Small marginal wormhole mild edge wear light toning. Ink stamp of the Consulado General at bottom-center. A scarce certificate issued in 1880 by the Chinese Consulate in Havana authenticating the registration and details of a Chinese laborer in Cuba. The printed form is completed in manuscript with the name of the recipient his age place of origin occupation and place of residence. The present examples were completed for a sixty-year-old laborer from Canton being called Pedro Pulido who was going to work and/or live at 48 Calle Figueroa in Havana. The printed text states that "El Cónsul General de China en la Habana certifica que blank ha hecho constar en este Consulado General ser súbdito de S.M. el Emperador de la China y como tal se halla inscrito en el Registro de dicho Consulado General segun número y filiacion anotados al márgen." The certificate is dated September 8 1880 and is stamped with the seal of the consulate in red and with the rubberstamped signature of the Consul General Lin Liang Yuan. The form are also bears two ink signatures in Chinese in the left margin a rare occurrence. An excellent document of the bureaucracy surrounding imported Chinese labor to Cuba in the last quarter of the 19th century. September 8 unknown
1870231451870. Cuba Chinese Labor Cuban indentured servant contract documenting the state administration of Chinese indenture in western Cuba July 1870 records the municipal enforcement of Cuban contract labor rules for Asian migrants under the post 1860 regulatory system that governed wages discipline illness food and flight. The form cites the Real Decreto of 6 July 1860 and the circular of 27 March 1861 governing the "introduccion y régimen de colonos asiáticos" placing the document within the mature legal framework used to renew and regulate Chinese labor contracts in colonial Cuba. Dated 5 July 1870 it records the continued operation of that system in Matanzas a decade after the initial decree when recontracting rationing medical provision and labor discipline had become standardized through municipal enforcement.<br /> Melchor and Roberto . 5 July 1870. Single sheet. 1 page. Approximately 8" x 11". Printed and manuscript Spanish contract on a form headed "Jurisdiccion de Matanzas." The parties are entered as the colono "Melchor" and "Roberto ." with Melchor identified as a native of a town in China and described as having completed an earlier commitment before agreeing to contract anew with Roberto for "un año." Clause 2 authorizes the patron to assign him to whatever labor his "citado patrono" requires whether in ingenios other fincas or talleres and the wage clause sets compensation at "20 escudos." The maintenance provisions specify daily rations including "12 onzas de carne" and "2 libras de plátanos boniatos ú otras sustancias alimenticias" together with medical attendance medicines during illness and two annual changes of clothing including trousers shirt and blanket. The text concludes with the employer's obligation to pay the twenty-escudo salary by completed months signatures of the parties and witnesses and an official Matanzas stamp.<br /> Contracts of this kind show the process by which Chinese labor in Cuba was renewed after a prior term and folded back into a system that combined wages with coercive control over movement occupation food clothing and bodily maintenance. The references to multiple governing orders the official jurisdictional heading and the stamped validation place the document inside the administrative chain that translated colonial labor law into enforceable local practice. Toning and scattered foxing throughout minor tears to original folds edge wear some minor wormholes and ink offsetting from the manuscript entries; text remains legible and document is in overall very good condition. A strong surviving municipal record of recontracting rationing and wage enforcement within the Chinese indenture system in Matanzas. unknown
1868231331868. Cuba Chinese Labor Cuban indentured servant contract documenting the state administration of Chinese indenture in eastern Cuba in January 1868 with direct evidence of how colonial authorities private employers and local officials formalized the re-contracting of Chinese laborers under the legal framework established after the 1860 royal decree regulating Asian colonos on the island. Printed references within the form cite the Reglamento aprobado por Real decreto de 6 de Junio de 1860 and the Circular del Gobierno Superior Civil de 27 de Marzo de 1861 placing the document squarely within the coercive labor regime that Spanish Cuba built after the suppression of the transatlantic slave trade. The named employer Antonio Gonzalez the identification of the worker as a 37 year old Chinese male "Yuet" and the required signatures and government seal make the sheet a concise administrative record of the contract system through which Cuban planters and officials bound Chinese workers to plantation and rural labor in the final decade before the Ten Years' War.<br /> Tenencia de Gobierno de Holguín. January 1868. One page printed and manuscript contract form approximately 8" x 11". Printed in Spanish with extensive manuscript completion in brown ink. The form opens "Contrata que celebran el colono." and records a renewed labor agreement between a Chinese colono identified in the contract and Don Antonio Gonzalez with manuscript entries identifying the laborer as 37 years of age and supplying the individualized terms of service. The printed clauses set out the structure of the contract in eleven numbered articles including the term of service compulsory labor under the employer's orders days and hours of work subjection to discipline under the Reglamento monthly salary of 14 escudos food and clothing provisions medical attendance and hospital care treatment during illness and the requirement at the end of the contract either to renew service or enter the depósito de cimarrones. The sheet is signed by the patron the colono and the Teniente Gobernador and bears the circular official stamp of the Tenencia de Gobierno at lower left with additional show-through and seal impression visible on the verso.<br /> By 1868 Chinese indenture in Cuba had become one of the island's central labor systems supplying workers to a plantation economy still structured by slavery while giving colonial officials a paper mechanism for disciplining reallocating and surveilling labor. Forms such as this show the overlap between private contracting and state enforcement: the worker's obligations are written into a government template disputes are reserved to local authority and illness wages food clothing and renewal are all treated as administrative matters within a coercive labor order. Very good condition with horizontal fold light toning minor scattered staining and foxing and strong printed text manuscript entries seal and signatures. A compact Holguín government document showing the bureaucratic machinery of Chinese indenture in late colonial Cuba. unknown
1867231471867. Cuba Chinese Labor Cuban indentured servant contract documenting the state administration of Chinese indenture in western Cuba February 1867 records the municipal enforcement of Cuban contract labor rules for Asian migrants under the post 1860 regulatory system that governed wages discipline illness food and flight. Issued on a printed form headed "Jurisdiccion de Matanzas" the document cites the Real Decreto of 6 July 1860 and the circular of 27 March 1861 governing the "introduccion y régimen de colonos asiáticos" then applies that framework to a specific recontracting arrangement between the laborer David and a patron named Juan. Dated 17 February 1867 it shows the continued operation of this municipal contract system after the additional order of 28 March 1866 which is also cited in clause 6 governing illness and compensation.<br /> David and Juan. 17 February 1867. Single sheet. 1 page. Approximately 8" x 11". Printed and manuscript Spanish contract on a form headed "Jurisdiccion de Matanzas." The parties are entered as the colono "David" and "Juan ." with David identified as a native of a town in Asia of "oficio campo" and described as having completed a prior commitment before agreeing to contract anew. Clause 1 fixes the term at "dos años." Clause 2 authorizes the patron to direct him to whatever labor he may assign in ingenios fincas or talleres with work entered with how many hours a day. Clause 4 sets compensation together with daily maintenance including meat and vegetable rations medical assistance and medicines during illness and annual clothing allotments including trousers shirt and blanket. Clause 8 repeats the employer's obligation to pay David punctually by completed months and to fulfill all conditions set out in the contract which bears multiple signatures and an oval district stamp at lower left.<br /> Contracts of this kind show the process by which Chinese workers in Cuba were transferred from one term of service into another through standardized paperwork that joined wages to labor discipline rationing medical provision and restricted mobility. The references to the 1860 decree the 1861 circular and the 1866 order place the sheet within the evolving legal structure that governed Chinese indenture in Matanzas one of the island's major plantation districts. Toning original folds edge wear scattered creasing and light ink offsetting; text clear and overall very good condition. A strong surviving municipal record of recontracting Chinese labor in the sugar zone of nineteenth century Matanzas. unknown
18773543<p>Coleccion de articulos publicados por la voz de cuba sobre la cuestion de vento primera edicion habanaimprenta de rosendo espina 1877 caratulas originaleslibro originalestado regularla voz de cuba fue un periodico cubano del siglo XIX en este libro se publican articulos del ingeniero cubano francisco de albearcon respecto a la construccion del acueducto de vento en la habanaAsí a solicitud del capitán general de la Isla el coronel de ingenieros >Francisco de Albear y Fernández de Lara presentó en 1855 una "Memoria acerca del Proyecto de conducción a La Habana de las aguas de los manantiales de Vento" que proyectaba un sistema de acueducto de mampostería cerrado que conduciría por gravedad las aguas de dichos manantiales hasta su destino final a una distancia de once kilómetros. En la Memoria Albear realizó un estudio de los antecedentes y las posibilidades de aprovechamiento de los acueductos anteriores efectuó un cálculo de la dotación de agua para la ciudad valoró las dificultades para lograr la obra de captación en Vento y propuso el trazado del canal hasta el depósito.</p><p>Atendiendo a la extraordinaria complejidad de la obra y a las dificultades de su ejecución en el convulso período de la >Guerra de los diez años Albear elaboró y presentó en 1876 dos nuevos documentos: la "Memoria del Proyecto de depósito de recepción y de distribución de las obras del Canal de Vento" y la "Memoria del Proyecto de la distribución del agua de Vento en La Habana". En la primera valoraba los aspectos relativos a la ubicación altura capacidad y dimensiones del depósito así como otros aspectos tecnológicos; mientras que en la segunda se argumentaban las condiciones requeridas para un buen sistema de distribución dividido en dos partes interior y exterior así como las particularidades y aportes de cada una de ellas.</p>La inauguración del Acueducto de Albear denominado finalmente así tras la muerte de su artífice el 22 de octubre de 1887 no ocurriría hasta seis años más tarde el 23 de enero de 1893 en medio de condiciones políticas y económicas sumamente adversas plagadas de dificultades no sólo topográficas y tecnológicas sino incluso higiénicas en momentos en que las llamadas "fiebres de Vento" diezmaban a sus constructores. La etapa final de las obras a cargo de la firma Runkle Smith and Co. de Nueva York y encabezada por el ingeniero Sherman Gould por la parte norteamericana fue dirigida de acuerdo con los proyectos originales por un discípulo y continuador de Albear el coronel de ingenieros >Joaquín Ruiz. No obstante su artífice llegó a tener en vida la satisfacción de ver su proyecto premiado con Medalla de Oro en la Exposición Universal de >París de 1878 donde se la consideró como una obra maestra de la ingeniería del siglo XIX. Imprenta de rosendo espina paperback
1852List2521London 1852. Five groups of documents measuring 13 x 8 inches various paginations see full description below. Fine condition. A scarce set of primary source documents relating to the protection of British territory in the Caribbean in particular along the Mosquito Coast during the period of varied interests in the area in the period following the Anglo-Spanish agreement on the slave trade. Consisting of a series of secretarial copies of reports delivered to Peter McQuhae Commodore of H.M.S. Imauam stationed in Jamaica these dispatches offer an overview of the issues confronting the British Navy in Jamaica during the period and in the Caribbean more broadly. Most of the documents refer to issues with Cuba the most interesting perhaps being a letter warning of an impending filibustering expedition against Cuba by a pro-slavery faction in the American South. <br /> <br /> The group consists of five groups of bound documents some bound out of order and likely bound later. Contents are as follows: <br /> <br /> 1. Addington A.M. Four Page Report Concerning Placing a Ship of War at Grey Town to Discourage Invasions on the Mosquito Coast March 13 1851. <br /> <br /> Henry Addington writes McQuhae to recommend stationing a warship at Grey Town:<br /> <br /> “.it would be sufficient that a Ship of War should from time to time look in grey Town without remaining there at any time long enough to endanger the health of the crew… to provide for the case which is possiblee tho’ not at all likely that during the interval between the visits of a Ship of War some expedition of Nicaraguan or some of the North Americans returning from California might take advantage of the comparatively unprotected state of the lace to take possession of it and that the cruiser on its return to Grey Town might find the place so occupied Lord Palmerston concieves taht in such an event it would seem to be inconsistent with the Honor of this Country that a British Ship of War should acquiesce in such an aggression and it would be right that the intruder should be expelled if the Commander of the Ship of War should find as he probably would that he had the means of doing so without much difficulty and that in case he should repel the intruders and re-establish the authorities of the Mosquito Government demanding the liberation of any British or Mosquito subjects who might have been made Prisoners and holding hostages for their relief if they should have been removed up into the interior of the Country.<br /> <br /> It It is to be hoped however that all questions of dispute in regard to Grey Town will beoon be settled because Her Majesty’s government has through Her Majesty’s Minister at Washington proposed to the Government of the United States that an arrangement should be made by which the Sovereignty of Grey Town… should be transferred to the State of Costa Rica… Lord Palmerston desires me to add that there are at present at Washington a plenipotentiaries both from Nicaragua and Costa Rica for the purpose of conducting this negotiation…â€<br /> <br /> 2. Addington G.M. Single Page Letter in Secretarial Hand Warning of Incoming Ships to Cuba Carrying Enslaved Individuals January 24 1852. <br /> <br /> Addington writes to McQuhae about two incoming vessels carrying enslaved Africans passing on information received at Rio De janeiro by another British vessel:<br /> <br /> “I am directed by Earl GraH.M. Minister at Rio reporting that he had recieved information that two Slavers had sailed from Havana to… the coast of Africa… with the intention of returning with Cargoes of slaves which are to be landed at the Entrade de Cuchillo in Cuba.â€<br /> <br /> 3. Seymour G.F. et al. Four Reports Bound Together on Varied Subjects including the Case of the Creole British Fishing Rights in Spanish Waters off of Cuba and Porto Rico and the Case of a Detained British Vessel in Cuba 1852. <br /> <br /> A series of four reports addressed to McQuhae on various subject as follows:<br /> <br /> A. Report dated May 17 1852 from Seymour discussing the case of the Creole detained in 1851:<br /> <br /> “.enclosing copies of a letter from the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs approving of the course I had pursued with regard to the Creole and of a despatch from the Earl of Malmesbury to Her Majesty’s Minister at Madrid relative to the rights of British Subjects to fish on the coast of Cuba…â€<br /> <br /> B. Letter from Augustus Stafford Apriul 23 1852 discussing the Creole mostly discussing the enclosure of varied reports on the subjects but with little specific information. <br /> <br /> C. Addington A.M. April 21 1852 letter discussing the Creole case and the enclosure of documents. <br /> <br /> D. Earl of Malmesbury April 14 1852 letter discussing the Creole case in more detail:<br /> <br /> “ The Right thus claimed rests on this universally admitted precept of international Law “dominium finitur ubi finitur armorum vis†which in modern practice has been construed to mean “about one marine league from the mainland†and H.M.’s Govt are clearly justified in demanding that the Spanish authorities shall be ordered not to meddle or interfere with British fishermen outside that three mile boundary…â€<br /> <br /> 4. Earl of Malmesbury et al. Series of Three Secretarial Copies of Reports Concerning Impending Filibuster Raids on Cuba Giving Instructions for Assisting Spanish Forces. <br /> <br /> A very interesting series of reports detailing the planned response to pending “Piratical Attacks†showing the extent to which British forces were prepared for an American filibuster attack on the island and the degree to which they intended on assisting the Spanish forces. As follows:<br /> <br /> A. Seymour G.F. Secretarial Copy of Letter Written on May 5 1852 from Cumberland at Bermuda relaying the transmission of a full report of instructions to the British forces regarding an impending filibuster raid:<br /> <br /> “ I hereby enclose for your guidance… orders… relative to the assistance which is to be afforded by Her Majesty’s Ships on the application of the Captain General of Cuba in the Transport of Troops in the event of a Piratical attack being again made on that island by which you will govern your conduct…â€<br /> <br /> B. Earl of Malmesbury. Secretarial Copy of a Letter Dated April 10 1862 discussing piratical attacks:<br /> <br /> “.that in the event of a Piratical Attach being made upon that island… HM’s ships might assist in conveying troops to any poiunt of the Coast of Cuba at which the invading Party might effect a landing…â€<br /> <br /> C. Honley P. Secretarial Copy of an Undated Letter c. 1852 regarding piratical attacks:<br /> <br /> “Her Majesty’s ships might assist in coveying Troops to any point off the Coast of Cubat at which the invading Party might effect a landing… you should be instructed until further ORders that if the Captain General of Cuba should require your assistance for the transport of troops in the manner pointed out in your abovementioned dispatch you should comply with that demand…â€<br /> <br /> 5. Crampton Sir John. Copy of a Letter in Secretarial Hand Relaying the Impending Danger of a Pro-Slavery Filibuster Mission from Florida May 17 1852. <br /> <br /> A fascinating letter relaying information received from M. Calderon de la Barca concerning an impending filibuster mission against Cuba led by a Dr. Wren part of an organization called “The Lone Star Association:â€<br /> <br /> “.it would appear that the government of the United States has also received an intimation that something of the sort is on foot for the President informed M. Calderon that orders had already been sent to the U.S. Authorities at the different Ports of the Union to be prepared to take vigorous measures for the repression of any such attempts… an expedition is in fact meditated by certain parties in the South and that it is intended that it should leave some Port of Florida. The real object of this expedition however as as I am told not Cuba… but San Domingo for the purpose of acting as auxiliaries to the Dominicans against the Haytians… it is by no means impossible that its ultimate aim would be Cuba… the persons I am given to understand engaged in the expedition are a Dr. Wren who is president of a society called “The Lone Star State Association…â€<br /> <br /> The letter is worthy of further study - we find references to a Dr. Wren in newspaper articles from the period but were unable to pinpoint his identity or the history of his organization. An article from a Loudon Tennessee newspaper describes Dr. Wren as a “representative of New Orleans societies†and described a meeting in Loudon in 1852 trying to recruit for the overthrow of the Spanish colonial government of Cuba through an invasion. unknown
187312720Cuba 1873. Twelve manuscript documents on folio sheets approximately 8.5 x 12.5 inches all with official rubber-stamped seal. Small pinholes along left margin light wear occasional chipping to edges some ink bleed and light damp staining. Overall very good. A collection of documents recording the liberation or attempted liberation of numerous men women teenagers and a child from enslavement. The child is but seven years old while the remaining slaves range from fifteen to fifty-seven years old. The slave trade ended in Cuba around 1867 but the practice of owning slaves remained legal until 1880 and then was abolished completely by Spanish decree in 1886. Cuba was the penultimate country to outlaw slavery in the western hemisphere beating Brazil to formal abolishment by two years. Even before the official abolition of slavery in Cuba African or criollo slaves were manumitted by a variety of owners and at various costs as evidenced here especially after the practice of importing Chinese indentured servants began. Each of the present documents names the slaveholder and the slave granted "libertad" along with the cost in escudos or pesetas of that liberty. The slaves liberated here are as follows:<br /> <br /> 1 Luis criollo 7 years old for the sum of 28 pesos<br /> <br /> 2 Maria Antonia part criolla 20 years old for the sum of 2500 pesetas<br /> <br /> 3 Catalina morena de Africa 41 years old for c.200 pesetas<br /> <br /> 4 Lorenzo moreno criollo 21 years old for 2500 pesetas<br /> <br /> 5 Lucia morena criolla 15 years old for 320 pesos or 1600 pesetas<br /> <br /> 6 Frigidae "negro.de Africae" 56 years old<br /> <br /> 7 Augusto criollo 19 years old for 1750 pesetas<br /> <br /> 8 Marta criolla 16 years old for 1621 pesetas<br /> <br /> 9 Gil moreno de Africa 57 years old for 1500 pesos<br /> <br /> 10 Carmita morena criolla 20 years old for 1750 pesetas<br /> <br /> 11 Augustina Prieto morena criolla 30 years old for 1750 pesetas<br /> <br /> 12 Edwigio 39 criolla; Lazara 36 criolla; and Maria Leoncia 15 criolla for 2000 pesetas.<br /> <br /> These Cuban slave manumissions are offered with one 1844 manumission document liberating a slave in Spain totaling two pages and measuring about 8.5 x 13.5 inches. The document also has three rubber-stamped official seals at the head noting Isabella II. This document appears to free slave Nicolas 25 years old for the sum of 400 pesos and is signed November 5 1844. unknown
189800009833Chicago: Belford Middlebrook & Co 1898. First edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 4to. Unpaginated. White cloth with decorations in purple and green on the front board. Illustrated with numerous black and white photographs and maps. With introduction and descriptive text. Photographs showcase the beautiful sights of Cuba along with military points of interest and several U.S. Navy ships. A Very Good book with a touch of rubbing to the corners and a bit of soiling to the cloth. Belford, Middlebrook & Co hardcover
1900202981900. Photographers unknown. Cuban rural photographs early 20th century. This group documents agricultural labor family life and rural landscapes in Cuba prior to the Cuban Revolution recording work practices and domestic environments tied to farming economies that shaped the island's social structure. The images show ox-driven cultivation tobacco production and multi-generational presence within agricultural settings providing visual evidence of how rural Cuban communities organized labor and daily life before the political and economic transformations of the mid-twentieth century. Inclusion of a Havana harbor view further situates these rural scenes within a broader geographic context connecting countryside production with national infrastructure.<br /> <br /> Four original black-and-white silver gelatin photographs mounted on black mats with manuscript captions measuring approximately 4.75 x 6.75 inches to 7.5 x 10 inches. Images include oxen tilling soil in tropical farmland with workers riding wooden-wheeled wagons while family members stand near a thatched dwelling surrounded by palm trees. One photograph shows six children standing atop an ox cart drawn by two animals with hemp fields extending into the background and adult workers and dogs in the foreground. Another image depicts a laborer standing before a large tobacco crop covered with protective cloth with palm trees and huts visible behind. A landscape view of Castillo del Morro overlooks the entrance to Havana Harbor connecting agricultural life with a major coastal landmark.<br /> <br /> These photographs align with the structure of rural Cuban economies in the early twentieth century when agriculture particularly tobacco and related crops relied on manual labor and animal power within plantation and smallholder systems. Visual documentation of fieldwork transport methods and domestic settings provides primary evidence for the study of labor organization family roles and environmental conditions in pre-revolutionary Cuba. The combination of agricultural scenes and a Havana harbor landmark situates local labor within wider economic and geographic networks. Minor surface wear; mounts and photographs remain intact with clear imagery and legible captions. Overall very good condition. unknown
18723066Havana 1872. Very good. Manuscript form approximately 8.5 x 6.25 inches. Minor wear at edges; a few small worm holes. Contemporary ink stamp. Light tanning and offsetting. This 1872 manuscript form from a Havana jail the Celaduria de la Punta notes the death there of an "Asiatico" a Chinese indentured servant with the given name of Juan Macao and orders the transfer of the body to the mortuary for cremation. Indentured servants found themselves jailed for several reasons including suspicion of theft and other crimes recapture following runaway or mere suspicion of abandoning a contract. unknown
18963188Guanabacoa: Imprenta el Progreso 1896. About very good. Broadside approximately 17 x 12.5 inches. Previously folded. Some biopredation at left edge not affecting text. Otherwise faint foxing light tanning and dust soiling. Two contemporary manuscript rubrics. Unrecorded broadside that orders the presentation of privately-owned horses and pack animals in the town square of Guanabacoa for requisition by the Spanish army in January 1896 at the outset of the Cuban uprising that would eventually lead to the end of Spanish colonial rule. This bando states first that "Todos los que posean dichos animales sin excepción alguna se presentarán con ellos en la Plaza del Recreo de esta Villa desde las 8 á las 10 de la mañana á partir de mañana 8 con objeto de que reconocidos por la junta al efecto queden requisados." Following these initial voluntary presentations inspections would be made of homes and farms and those found not to have handed over usable animals would be guilty disobeying army orders during a time of war. At this point Spain had 100000 troops on the island and another two years of fighting the insurrection incited by José Marti would pass before the intervention of the United States. Not in OCLC. Imprenta el Progreso unknown
184213073Nueva York: Imprenta Espanola de R. Rafael 1842. viii631pp. Contemporary quarter calf over marbled-paper boards spine gilt gilt leather label. Substantial scuffing and wear to spine and extremities spine ends frayed rubbing to boards. Hinges somewhat tender but holding strong varying degrees of toning and foxing throughout. Good condition. A scarce historical work on Cuba by a Cuban-born Spain-and-France-educated soldier and historian. Jacobo de la Pezuela 1812-1884 was born in Havana went to school in Valladolid and Montpellier then returned to Cuba in his thirties to serve at various army posts and also record the history of his native country. He published several works and later became a member of Spain's esteemed Real Academia de la Historia. In the present work which translates to Historical Essay on the Island of Cuba Pezuela begins at the beginning with Columbus's arrival on the island and continues to almost the present moment concluding with an appraisal of the governorship of Miguel Tacon. In the last chapter Pezuela also includes a section on "Negros emancipados" "Emancipated Blacks". A dense history of Cuba by a Cuban-born historian published in Spanish in New York in 1842.<br /> <br /> Sabin 61329. Imprenta Espanola de R. Rafael unknown
18385957Sancti Spiritus 1838. Good plus. Broadside measuring 12.5 x 17.5 inches. Previously folded. Light wear to edges and along old fold lines with a few small chips at edges. Moderate toning and soiling. An unrecorded broadside that prints statistics relating to agricultural production for the region of Sancti Spiritus in central Cuba during the late 1830s. For each municipality the broadside prints the number of property owners; ranches; land-grant farms; slaves; white employees; animals including mules donkeys cows and sheep; distances to transport and shipping hubs; and several other figures. In the bottom third of the broadside are printed the census figures from 1836 with the population totaling just over 40000 people and split into Black and white groups. Rather pointedly the figures for the white population are divided by gender while the figures for the Black population are divided by status free or slave. A very interesting statistical snapshot of a smaller rural region in colonial Cuba in 1838. Not in OCLC. unknown
18841574Habana 1884. Good plus. 2496 i.e. 498pp. Quarto. Contemporary calf gilt a.e.g.; rebacked with original spine laid down. Corners repaired with later black buckram; boards scuffed spine chipped. Hinges cracked repaired with later cloth and renewed endpapers. Minor scattered foxing and toning to text. Accomplished in a neat highly legible hand. A very attractive manuscript translation into Spanish of Pierre Larousse's well-known work on eminent and historical personages Fleurs Historiques des Dames et des Gens du Monde in a contemporary Cuban gilt goatskin binding. The manuscript connects three figures in the upper social echelons of Cuban society. José Fernandez Pellon the scribe of this volume is recorded as the Grand Master of Cuba's freemasons lodge the Gran Logia Unida de Colón y la Isla de Cuba. The translator Aurelio Almeida helped to found the organization in 1875 and at this time served as the Lodge Secretary. The initials E.D. gilt at the foot of the spine and the dedicatory inscription "A Eugenia Desvernine" refer to Eugenia Desvernine y Galdós b. 1865 daughter of the famous Cuban pianist Pablo Desvernine and Carolina Galdós y Echániz. She was also the niece of Benito Pérez Galdós the Spanish realist novelist who some authorities consider only second in stature to Cervantes. A contemporary social register remarks that Eugenia was one of the most beautiful women in Cuba perhaps an inspiration for the painstaking production of this manuscript.<br /> <br /> The original work by Larousse was a loose collection of religious parables classical myths biographies of ancient and modern historical figures. The title of the manuscript advises that is an extract and in the brief introduction Almeida explains his selection process writing that "He suprimido algunos artículos sobre cosas muy sabidas de la historia sagrada; y otros sobre la de Francia que mencionan frases ó personas casi ninca citadas ó citades solamente por las escritores francesas." He also notes several alterations and additions more relevant to Spanish history saying "En Cambio he agregado algunos artículos sobre historia de España que no están en el original y he tomado unos pocos de otra obra del mismo Mr. Larousse y de libros diversos." The result is an original amalgam of biographies historical episodes and religious parables. Interestingly we find no recorded printed editions of Larousse's work in Spanish so that the present manuscript is also an entirely original work of translation. A fascinating product of the cultural interests and mores of Cuban high society near the end of the Spanish colonial period. unknown
18636222Havana 1863. Good. Two partially printed broadsheets completed in manuscript 13 x 9 inches. Old folds wear at edges; some light worming slightly affecting text. Lightly soiled. A pair of documents recording the indenture of a Chinese national in Havana. The present documents contract the "Asiatico Francisco" as a cook to Don Jose Antonio Battle y Olle; the contract is dated June 28 1861 and is signed by "Francisco" in Chinese characters for a term of two years. At the end it is noted in manuscript that the Asiatico Francisco has completed the two years of his contract. The cedula is dated 1863 and indicates that Francisco is 33 years of age and now indentured for eight years as a "cocinero." An interesting pair of documents showing the continuing servitude of imported Chinese laborers particularly attractive for being signed in Chinese characters. unknown
189587496Havana: Castro Fernandez 1895. First. hardcover. near fine. Folding table. 414pp. 1/2 modern lavender buckram marbled boards original wrappers bound in. Habana: Castro Fernandez 1895. First Edition. Near Fine.<br/> <br/> Laws regulating the telephone and telegraph industries.<br/> <br/> Castro, Fernandez unknown
18673977Havana: August 3 1867. Good. 7pp. on pre-printed folio forms completed in manuscript. Later staple. Moderate tanning and edge wear short separations along some folds. A manuscript manifest listing of 285 Chinese field hands who undoubtedly signed up as indentured laborers in their quest to escape the hardships of China in the vain hope of a better life in Cuba. The document begins "Lista de los colones que fueron embarcados en China." with the name of the French ship on which they were transported "barca francesa nombrada Ephrem" filled in and the captain noted as Boucand. The Chinese name of each "colono" settler is given and also their adopted Christian name as well as age ranging from 18 to 35 sex all men and profession all field laborers "campo". Seven of the listings have an "X" next to them along with "Falleco" passed away written in the column headed "Defuncion." Among those who died on the voyage is a 26-year-old man named Ping Chiong given the Christian name of "Angel."<br /> <br /> Formal slavery persisted in Cuba until 1886 but from the mid-19th century it was accompanied by a significant population working in indentured servitude. Cuba's massive sugar industry had consumed huge imports of African slaves in the 18th century. The abolition of the slave trade in 1808 vigorously enforced by the British Navy meant that a new source of labor was necessary. Indentured servitude became the predominant source for labor in the region. Unlike the earlier waves of European immigrants who travelled to the New World as indentured servants Asia was now the primary source. Between 1848 and 1874 125000 Chinese indentured servants arrived in Cuba alone - a figure outstripped only by the number who indentured themselves in California. A high percentage of these laborers were kidnapped from their homeland with many unable to survive the long passage from China to Cuba as the present document illustrates in sad detail. If these Chinese indentured laborers were fortunate enough to survive the voyage to Cuba these men quickly found out that their working life in the coffee and sugar fields was tantamount to slavery. August 3 unknown
18673978Macau: April 6 1867. Very good. 6pp. on large folio partially-printed forms printed in two columns completed in manuscript. Old folds with minor losses at a few spots along the horizontal fold. Five hundred and fifty Chinese laborers bound for Cuba aboard the Spanish galley "Cervantes" are listed by name with their age and town or city of origin given. The laborers hail from several different cities in China and their ages range from 18 to 36 with the majority of the men in their 20s. The end of the document is signed and dated on the final page by José de Aguilar the Spanish consul at Macau. The left side of the final page contains two separate lists one with five numbers and the other with four numbers keyed to the manifest. The list of five names has an "x" next to each number perhaps noting that these men did not in fact make the trip to Cuba; each "x" could also signal that these men died during the voyage from Macau to Cuba which was a common-enough occurrence that it is often noted on manifests of this kind.<br /> <br /> Chinese indentured servitude in 19th-century Cuba was an insidious practice tantamount to slavery which flourished in Cuba even after the abolition of the peculiar institution in the British West Indies. With their free source of labor no longer available plantation owners in Cuba looked elsewhere; and they looked east. From around 1848 to the mid-1870s over 100000 Chinese indentured servants made their way to Cuba often sailing to Cuba in large groups. Once they arrived Chinese laborers indentured themselves to Cuban masters for terms of at least five years. The treatment of Asian indentured servants in Cuba varied widely with reports of some particularly ill-treated laborers ending their lives by suicide. "Some contemporaries and later historians.have condemned the servitude of the Asians as a thinly disguised revival of slavery. These critics have pointed to a variety of abuses to which the Asians were subjected both legally - with severe laws governing absenteeism vagrancy and insufficient work - and illegally in the form of harassment by vicious masters. Yet other observers have defended the system as a boon to the Asian workers. Voluntary reindenture at the end of their terms was common among the migrants suggesting that many Asians judged the system to be beneficial to them" - Drescher.<br /> Seymour Drescher & Stanley L. Engerman editors A Historical Guide to World Slavery New York 1998 pp.239-42. April 6 unknown
18784011Various places in Cuba 1878. Overall good. 29 leaves varying sizes. In contemporary ad hoc selfwrappers loosely stitched. Rear wrap tattered. Varying degrees of toning and wear. Scattered offsetting throughout. Fascinating gathering of documents and letters that present several cases of Cuban slaves applying for their own freedom in 1878. The gradual abolition of slavery on the island was enacted by Spain in 1880 but prior to this there were several bureaucratic mechanisms by which enslaved people could apply for or purchase their own manumission. The most interesting case amongst the present manuscript documents is the claim of a male slave that states he was born free in Puerto Rico but was somehow included in an inheritance as a young boy transported to Cuba and sold into slavery:<br /> <br /> "Un individuo que hoy se encuentran en la Cárcel del Alacranes y que dice nombrase Juhan ó José Julian Quintana y ser esclavo actualmente de Dn. Serapio Hernandez dueño de los ingenios Escorial ubicado en Colon y Sta. Rosa en Limonar y vecino de esa Ciudad calle del Rio ha solicitado se le restituyan un derechos de libertad por haber nacídolibre en Puerto Rico de donde á la edad de 5 ó 6 años le trajeron à esta Ysla y vencieron como esclavo."<br /> <br /> Interesting for the study of manumission in late-colonial Cuba and certainly worthy of further research. unknown
